In the Dominican on Wednesday night, Alen Hanson wasn’t in the starting lineup for the fourth straight game, but he could see some more action soon. Hanson came in during the second inning after starting second baseman Jose Ramirez suffered a leg injury on a takeout slide, which required him to be carried off the field on a stretcher. The reports were that he is day-to-day, though I’m sure they will be cautious with him. Hanson ended up going 2-for-3 with two singles to raise his average to .284 through 67 at-bats. He also had two hits off the bench on Saturday.
Between struggling at the plate early and Ramirez having three years of Major League experience, Hanson has been on the bench a lot recently. He should see extra playing time now and if he can continue to raise his average, he could remain in the lineup elsewhere in the infield once Ramirez returns.
Willy Garcia went 0-for-1 with a sacrifice fly before leaving for a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning. Garcia is hitting .159 through 16 games and has just one extra-base hit, a double. He also committed his third error.
Gustavo Nunez had another tough November day, going 0-for-3 with a walk, two strikeouts and his sixth error. He is 1-for-21 at the plate this month.
In Venezuela, Elias Diaz went 1-for-3 with a walk. He is hitting .250 through his first six games.
Jose Osuna went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. He is now hitting .339/.388/.458 in 33 games. Osuna started the game in left field, before moving to first base in the eighth. When he made that move, Junior Sosa came in to play left field for the last two innings. Sosa didn’t get a chance to bat.
Elvis Escobar hasn’t had many chances to bat recently. He has been used off the bench late in games for the last month, usually pinch-running or as a defensive replacement. Since October 14th, he has batted twice prior to Wednesday. Thanks to an early one-sided game, he got a chance to enter the game earlier last night and he made the most of his chance. Escobar went 2-for-2, with a double, run scored and an RBI. He committed his second error, but also picked up an outfield assist. In 13 games this winter, he is 3-for-9 with a walk and two stolen bases.
Jhondaniel Medina threw a perfect ninth inning, needing just six pitches to retire the side. He has given up one earned run in seven innings, but hasn’t seen much mound time due to seven walks allowed.
A.J. Morris threw two no-hit innings, issuing a walk and picking up a strikeout to go along with three ground ball outs. He picked up the win and dropped his ERA to 3.27 through 22 innings.
Gorkys Hernandez went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
Julio Vivas has been shutdown by the Pirates this winter. He was ineffective for Aguilas de Zulia in 11 appearances, posting a 6.10 ERA. His team wanted to send him to the Parallel League, which is their version of the minors, but the Pirates requested that he be shutdown instead of being demoted.
In Mexico, Carlos Munoz went 1-for-2 with two walks, a double, an RBI and a run scored. Yesterday, he hit his fourth homer of the winter, which can be seen below.
