Winter recaps for the Pittsburgh Pirates in winter ball over the last two days, plus those playing in the Premier12 tournament that runs through November 17th.
Sunday
In the Dominican, Erik Gonzalez started at third base and went 1-for-5 with his second double and a run scored.
Pedro Vasquez made his fourth appearance, going 1.2 innings with one run on two hits. He didn’t walk or strikeout anyone. Vasquez inherited two runners and both scored. He has allowed four runs over his first seven innings.
Jesus Liranzo tossed a scoreless inning on one hit and one strikeout. This was his ninth appearance of the winter and the first time that he pitched on back-to-back days. Liranzo has allowed three runs over 8.1 innings, with all three runs coming in the same game. He is now a free agent (title says five players, which doesn’t include him), but we will continue to cover him in case he re-signs, or until he signs somewhere else.
In Mexico, Fabricio Macias went 0-for-2 with a hit-by-pitch in his team’s 4-3 win. He’s hitting .226/.276/.321 in 19 games.
Fernando Villegas entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the eighth and flew out. He remained in the game in center field and drew a ninth inning walk. He’s 3-for-12 with three doubles in 13 games.
Monday
In the Dominican, Erik Gonzalez started at third base again and went 1-for-4 with a single in his team’s 11-2 loss. He’s hitting .265/.297/.412 in his first nine games.
Adrian Valerio made his winter debut during his team’s 7-1 loss in 16 innings. He went 0-for-2 after entering the game in the 13th inning at third base, then moved to shortstop for the final three innings. Valerio played just one winter league game last year, which was his debut in the Dominican.
No Pirates played in the Premier12 tournament over the last two days, but team USA won on Monday night to avoid elimination and get a step closer to qualifying for the 2020 Olympics. They defeated the Dominican Republic by an 8-2 score. The teams from Venezuela (Elvis Escobar), Canada (Eric Wood) and Australia (Robbie Glendinning) haven’t played their first game yet. If you missed it from the weekend, Cody Ponce tossed five shutout innings.
