It was a busy Saturday in Australia with every team playing a doubleheader and all four Pittsburgh Pirates got into action. We start with Michael Suchy, who extended his on base streak to 20 games. He has reached base on hits in all but one of those games. Suchy went 1-for-2 with a double and a walk in the first game on Saturday. That double was his team’s only hit of the game in a 2-0 loss. In the nightcap, Suchy had a big game at the plate. He went 3-for-3 with two doubles, his sixth homer, and a walk. He now has 11 doubles this winter. In 33 games, Suchy has a .302/.385/.569 slash line.
Connor MacDonald looked more like the player the Pirates signed on Saturday. The power-hitting first baseman went 0-for-5 with a walk, run scored and three strikeouts during Saturday’s doubleheader. That was after hitting three homers last Sunday, then reaching base during all four plate appearances in his next game (Friday). The Pirates signed him as a pitcher though, and with game two out of hand, MacDonald came on to pitch in the eighth inning. He walked one batter in a scoreless inning of work. He threw a shutout frame in his only other appearance two weeks earlier.
Robbie Glendinning went 2-for-4 with his fifth double and third homer in game one of a doubleheader. In game two, he went 1-for-4 with a single and his fourth stolen base. Glendinning is hitting .375/.451/.569 in 17 games. He handled all seven chances in the field cleanly during the doubleheader and has now made two errors in 80 chances at shortstop.
Sam Street struck out the only batter he faced on Saturday. He has now made six appearances this winter and has allowed four runs on seven hits and three walks in 9.1 innings. Street has 12 strikeouts.
In the Venezuelan league finals, Elvis Escobar went 1-for-4 with a single, as his team lost 4-2 in the series opener. Between the first two rounds of the playoffs, Escobar went 9-for-32 with six walks.
