For a season preview of the Pittsburgh Pirates two Dominican Summer League teams, check out our article here. For a recap of the DSL All-Star game, check out our article here. Throughout the year, we will provide the recaps of both teams, as well as highlight one player each day. 
PIRATES1
Result: Rangers 5, Pirates 4 in 10 innings
Starting Pitcher: Miguel Ferreras, RHP (4.40) – 3.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Tito Polo, CF (.278) – 1-for-4, 2B, RBI, BB
Other Notable Performers:
Julio de la Cruz, 3B (.203) – 1-for-5, 2 RBI
Arquimedes Lorenzo, RHP (3.27) – 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 HR
Dennis Hurtarte, 1B (.200) – 1-for-4, 2B, RBI
Johan De Jesus, SS (.179) – 2-for-5
Game Notes: The Pirates lost twice to the first place Rangers, eliminating them from the division title. Julio de la Cruz drove in two runs, giving him 35 RBI’s on the year. He leads all Pirates players from both teams in RBI’s. Pablo Reyes had three hits. Luis Benitez had two hits and two stolen bases, giving him 28 steals this year. Tito Polo scored two runs. Rudy Guzman had his ten game hit streak snapped. He went 0-for-6 and struck out four times. The Rangers scored the winning run on a tenth inning error by Johan De Jesus. Reliever Carlos Ruiz allowed the unearned run and picked up his first loss of the season. He has a 1.40 ERA in 16 appearances.
PIRATES2
Result: Pirates 3, Nationals 1
Starting Pitcher: Jose Batista, LHP (2.28) – 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Fredis Padilla, 2B (.270) – 2-for-4, RBI
Other Notable Performers:
Michael de la Cruz, CF (.319) – 1-for-5
Jhoan Herrera, DH (.242) – 1-for-4
Horelbin Ramos, LHP (2-1, 2.09) – 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 HR
Yoel Gonzalez, C (.180) – 1-for-4, RBI
Game Notes: The Pirates2 won for the fourth time in a row, improving their record to 34-23. They are second in their division, 5.5 games behind the Cubs. Starter Jose Batista allowed one run over four innings. He has not allowed more than one run in any of his eight starts this year. Horelbin Ramos notched the win with four shutout innings following Batista. In his last three appearances combined, he has thrown 11.1 scoreless innings, giving up just four hits. Andres Mendoza threw the ninth inning, getting his second save. The Pirates had nine hits in the game, all singles. Catcher Yoel Gonzalez has hits in nine of his last ten games. He batted .133 prior to the All-Star break and he is hitting .267 in 12 games since the break. Alexis Bastardo had two hits, a hit-by-pitch and he stole a base.
Stats Of The Day
The Pirates have had some strong pitching from their starters this season. Out of the 35 teams in the DSL, the two Pirates teams rank 9th and 15th in the league in ERA. The combined records of the two affiliates is 66-51 this season. Below you will find the best of their pitchers, with their record in the starting role. Combined, this group has made 86 of the 117 starts by the two Pirates affiliates:
Jose Regalado, RHP 5-4, 3.03 in 12 starts
Eduardo Vera, RHP 1-1, 1.13 in 11 starts
Omar Basulto, LHP 2-3, 2.12 in 11 starts
Ramon Rodriguez, RHP 1-4, 2.52 in 11 starts
Julio Vivas, RHP 4-2, 2.54 in 11 starts
Dario Agrazal, Jr, RHP 4-0, 2.88 in 11 starts
Jose Batista, LHP 2-0, 1.27 in 8 starts
Christian Henriquez, 2-1, 1.91 in 6 starts
Dan Urbina, RHP, 3-0, 2.19 in 5 starts
