From Friday night in the Dominican, Edwin Espinal went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs. Both hits were singles and the RBIs were his first of the winter. He also stole his first base of the winter, equaling his steal total from the last two seasons combined in the minors. Espinal is 7-for-17 (.412) through six games.
After having Thursday off, Jung-Ho Kang returned to the lineup on Friday and went 2-for-4 with two singles and a run scored. He is hitting .156 with 14 strikeouts through his first nine games.
Pablo Reyes went 2-for-4 with two singles. He’s 5-for-22 with four walks in eight games this winter season.
Anderson Feliz was used as the fourth time as a pinch-runner. The only difference this time is that he scored a run and also got to play defense. Feliz spent the final two innings at third base. He’s still looking for his first plate appearance.
In Venezuela, Elvis Escobar struck out as a pinch-hitter in his only at-bat. He is 0-for-8 in his last three games after reaching base safely in each of his first 12 games.
In Mexico from late Thursday night, Carlos Munoz went 1-for-4 with a single. On Friday, he drove in four runs to help his team to a 9-8 victory. Munoz hit a two-run single in the first and then added a two-run homer in the seventh. It was his first homer of the winter.
Christian Navarro played his third game on Thursday, pinch-running for the second time. As mentioned yesterday morning, he’s a rare case in baseball. He’s playing winter ball in Mexico, which is the equivalent of strong Double-A ball, before he has made is pro debut. The Pirates signed him as an international free agent in July.
