On Tuesday in the Dominican, Jung-Ho Kang couldn’t build off his first home run from the day before. He went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, giving him a .107 average through his first eight games of the winter. He has struck out 13 times in 28 at-bats. Two of his strikeouts on Tuesday came against Onelki Garcia, a 28-year-old lefty who appeared briefly in the majors in 2013 and 2017. The other came against Tyler Jones, who has yet to make his debut in the majors, reaching Triple-A for the first time this season.
Edwin Espinal went 2-for-3 with a walk, before leaving for a pinch-runner in the eighth inning. This is an important time for Espinal, who will reach minor league free agency soon if he isn’t re-signed by the Pirates or added to the 40-man roster. He is hitting .400 so far this winter, going 4-for-10 with three walks in four games.
Pablo Reyes went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored. Uncharacteristically, he committed two errors at second base on this night, his first two of the winter. Reyes is hitting .167 through his first 18 at-bats.
Edgar Santana made his second appearance of the winter and it was barely better than his first outing when he allowed two runs and picked up the loss. He recorded two outs this time, while giving up one run on a hit and a walk, with one strikeout. The strikeout came against Pablo Reyes.
Anderson Feliz played his third game and all three have been as a pinch-runner. He stole his first base on this night, but has yet to score a run.
In Mexico, Yoandy Fernandez made his third start and went 5.2 innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on five hits and a walk, with three strikeouts. He had a 7:4 GO/AO ratio and threw 56 of his 86 pitches for strikes.
Carlos Munoz went 0-for-2 with a walk, before leaving for a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning.
