In Australia on Thursday, Ji-Hwan Bae continued his early success at the plate, going 2-for-5 with two doubles and two runs scored. He had a nice day on defense, handling all eight chances, including two double plays he started. Through eight games, he is hitting .321/.424/.679, with four doubles, two homers and 11 runs scored.
Jerrick Suiter went 1-for-2 with a walk, RBI and run scored in his team’s 7-5 win. He’s hitting .273/.314/.303 in nine games.
In the Dominican on Wednesday night, Pablo Reyes continued to struggle at the plate, but he also had a tough game in the field. He started at shortstop and went 0-for-3 with a walk, while committing two errors. Reyes was replaced on defense in the seventh inning. He’s hitting .172/.206/.344 in 17 games.
Richard Rodriguez debuted in the Dominican with a shutout inning, retiring the side in order on 17 pitches. He noted to the local media that he was there to get in shape for Spring Training. Rodriguez made 72 appearances with the Pirates this season, plus another two in Indianapolis, so this seems a bit odd that he’s already in winter ball to get in shape for Spring Training. That being said, he’s in his fifth season of winter ball, so he is used to pitching on shorter rest over the off-season. Here’s video of his debut:
Primera presentación de Richard Rodríguez en la temporada 2019-20.
Retiró de 1-2-3 a las #Estrellas.#ElVueloNoSeDetiene #EsTiempoDeAguilas pic.twitter.com/ttYqxqF6jU
— Águilas Cibaeñas (@aguilascibaenas) December 4, 2019
In Puerto Rico, Chris Sharpe went 1-for-4 with a single in his team’s 4-2 loss. He is batting .205/.294/.273 in 14 games, with one double, one triple and two stolen bases.
Ike Schlabach had his best outing of the winter, throwing two perfect innings, while picking up three strikeouts. In six appearances, he has allowed two runs over 5.2 innings on four hits, two walks and six strikeouts.
