On Saturday night in winter ball, eleven Pittsburgh Pirates players saw action between play in Venezuela, Mexico and the Dominican.
In the Dominican, Alen Hanson made his season debut and it was a great one. He went 2-for-3, collecting two singles, two walks and he scored four runs. Hanson was at second base, where he expects to play all winter.
Willy Garcia also made his debut, coming into the game as a pinch-runner in the sixth inning and he stayed on to play center field. He later walked and scored a run in his only plate appearance.
Wirfin Obispo pitched a scoreless ninth inning in his team’s 4-1 win. He picked up the save, allowing one hit, while striking out one.
Mel Rojas Jr. batted lead-off and played center field, going 1-for-4 with a single.
In Venezuela, Jose Osuna went 0-for-2 before leaving for a pinch-hitter in the seventh. He is just 1-for-17 so far this year. The good part is that he is seeing more playing time in the VWL. Last year, Osuna played eight games in winter ball and had just nine plate appearances, spending the rest of his time in the minors(Parallel League).
Julio Vivas made his second appearance, retiring the only batter he faced. Any playing time that Vivas sees in the VWL is impressive because he spent most of this season in the GCL and the play in Venezuela this time of year is equivalent to AA. As the season goes along, better players join the league and the level of play bumps up to AAA equivalent, so he probably won’t see time during the second half of the season.
Jhondaniel Medina pitched one inning tonight, plus faced two batters in the follow inning without recording an out. All told, he gave up one run on one hit and three walks.
Ramon Cabrera went 0-for-1, coming in as a pinch-hitter in the eighth and he stayed in the game behind the plate.
In Mexico, Stetson Allie extended his hit streak to seven games, a streak that began on Opening Day. He went 1-for-5 with a run scored. This was the first game in which Allie didn’t strike out. He is hitting .333 in 27 at-bats.
Felipe Gonzalez went one inning, allowing one run on one hit, one walk and he struck out one batter. The run came on a homer. Gonzalez just re-signed with the Pirates as a minor league free agent.
Dean Anna also extended his hit streak to seven games, going 1-for-3 with two walks, a run scored and an RBI.
