Joshua Palacios had three hits, including a key home run, helping Indianapolis to a victory on Friday night.
The Pirates' Triple-A squad was down 2-0...
Alika Williams had four hits on Thursday night for Indianapolis.
Since being sent down for Nick Yorke, Williams is 8-for-14 at the Triple-A level. He's...
The DSL Pirates teams ended their seasons this week, which brings the rookie-level affiliates to an end.
I've been reviewing the best performing hitting and...
A few winter league playoff games on Monday....The Mexican Pacific League will begin the semifinal round of the playoffs tomorrow, with Los Venados de Mazatlan playing a series against Los Yaquis de Obregon, and Los Tomateros de Culiacan (wild card team) facing Los Naranjeros de Hermosillo. �Those should also be 7-game series.
DOMINICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
The Dominican round robin tournament will finish up this week. �Los Gigantes del Cibao are currently in first place, with a 9-4 record. �Los Leones del Escogido are in second place, 2 games back, with a 7-6 record.
Gigantes del Cibao 4, �Leones del Escogido 3
Reliever Juan Perez earned a save for Los Gigantes by pitching to just one batter in the top of the 9th. �Escogido was leading 3-2 going into the bottom of the 7th inning. �That's when a walk, two sacrifice bunts, a throwing error, and two RBI singles gave Los Gigantes the lead. �Perez took the mound with two outs, and he got 1B Kevin Barker to hit a foul pop to end the game.
Tigres del Licey 10, �Toros del Este 1
Licey held Los Toros to just 4 hits. �One of the hits was a triple to lead off the 8th inning, and an RBI grounder pushed the runner across the plate for the only Toros run. �1B Yurendell de Caster went 0-for-4 for Los Toros. �Licey scored one run in the 1st on three singles, including one by CF Jose Bautista. C Ronny Paulino walked to begin the 2nd inning, and after two singles, a double, two walks, a wild pitch, and a sacrifice fly, 4 more Licey runs had scored. �Paulino also led off the 3rd inning, this time with a single, and 2 additional runs scored. �Paulino contributed an RBI single in the 6th, and a triple and two singles brought in 2 more runs in the 8th. �Denny Bautista pitched the 7th inning for Licey, and gave up a lone single, while striking out two batters.
VENEZUELAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Los Navegantes del Magallanes remains in first place in the round robin portion of the playoffs, with Los Leones del Caracas in second place. �The round robin tournament continues through Jan 19th, and the next round begins on Jan 21st.
Navegantes del Magallanes 10, �Leones del Caracas 2
Caracas scored a run in the 1st inning and another in the 8th, but that was no match for the surging Navegantes. �Magallanes doubled Caracas' hits (14 - 7). �After four quiet innings to begin the game, Magallanes scored in four of the last five innings, including 4 runs in the top of the 9th. �C Carlos Maldonado went 0-for-3 with a walk for Caracas.
Bravos de Margarita 8, �Tiburones de La Guaira 2
Margarita scored 4 runs in the 4th and another 3 runs in the 7th, while holding Los Tiburones to just 2 hits and 2 runs. �Both of the hits, a triple and a single, came in the top of the 4th, bringing in the first of La Guaira's runs. �The second run came in the 6th inning without a hit recorded -- three walks and a sacrifice fly by 1B Hector Gimenez. The only other base runner for La Guaira after the 4th inning reached base on a walk in the 8th inning, but was erased in a double play.
PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
The Puerto Rican round robin portion of the playoffs ends on Thursday, with the next round started on Friday. �Los Lobos de Arecibo are in first place of the round robin portion, with Los Gigantes de Carolina and Los Criollos de Caguas tied for second place. �None of the Pirates' players or friends appeared in Monday's games.
The winter league playoffs continue on Sunday evening.... with some Pirates' players and friends:
MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE PLAYOFFSVenados de Mazatlan 2, �Tomateros de Culiacan 1 �(1o innings)
Mazatlan was one win away from winning the 7-game first-round series, but Culiacan won two games in a row to force Game 7. �Still not ready to be done, the two teams kept it going into extra innings. �Culiacan scored one run in the 4th inning on a walk, a ground out, and a single. �Mazatlan responded with a run in the 5th on a double and an RBI single by LF Jon Weber (Rays). �Neither team did much over the next few innings. �Los Venados threatened in the 8th inning with runners on the corners, but couldn't score. �Culiacan had runners on first and second base in the 9th, but a grounder force out by 2B Luis Cruz and a strikeout ended the inning without a run scoring. �Culiacan threatened again in the top of the 10th, when a double and a missed catch error put a runner on third base. �A bouncer to the third baseman put another runner on first base with a hit, but it was too close for the runner to try to score, and he didn't get another chance. �Finally in the bottom of the 10th, Weber began the inning for Mazatlan with a single up the middle, and a sacrifice bunt put him on second base. �After an intentional walk, DH Lorenzo Buelna singled into left field, bringing in Weber with the walk-off win, and advancing Mazatlan to the next round of the playoffs.
VENEZUELAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFSLeones del Caracas 4, �Aguilas de Zulia 3Romulo Sanchez had the bad luck for Zulia. �Los Aguilas took advantage of an error to score their first run in the 3rd inning, and they added 2 more runs in the top of the 6th with two solo home runs. �Caracas scored in the 2nd inning when LF Jose Castillo led off with a single, stole second base, advanced to third on an error, and scored on an RBI ground out. �A walk, a wild pitch, and two ground outs brought in Caracas' second run in the bottom of the 6th. �Zulia held the 3-2 lead until the bottom of the 8th inning, when Sanchez took over on the mound. �He got the first out, then gave up a walk and a single plus a throwing error, to tie the score (Blown Save for Sanchez). � A sacrifice fly scored a second run for Caracas and Sanchez was charged with the loss.
Tiburones de La Guaira 5, �Bravos de Margarita 3
Four runs in the 5th inning gave La Guaira the edge over Margarita. �Los Tiburones had scored one run in the top of the 1st, on two walks and 1B Hector Gimenez's RBI single. �Margarita tied it up in the 3rd when a bases-loaded walk forced in a run. �In the 5th, La Guaira took the lead with a 3-run homer, and a double, a walk by Gimenez, and an RBI single added another run. �Margarita scored again with a solo homer in the 7th and another run in the bottom of the 9th, but it wasn't enough.
PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFSCriollos de Caguas 7, �Gigantes de Carolina 3 �(Game 1, �7 innings)
CF Luis Matos and SS Luis Figueroa each had 2 singles for Caguas and scored 3 runs between them. �Matos walked to lead off the game, went to second on Figueroa's single, advanced on a walk, and scored on a double-play. �Carolina responded with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning, and took the lead with 3 runs in the 3rd. �Caguas got closer with a solo homer in the 4th. �Then in the top of the 7th, Caguas punched 5 runs, beginning with back-to-back singles by Matos and Figueroa. �Another single loaded the bases, and a double swept the bases clean. �Two more runs came in on two RBI singles, and Los Criollos had the win.
Criollos de Caguas 6, �Gigantes de Carolina 2 �(Game 2, �7 innings)
Caguas broke a 2-2 tie with 4 runs in the top of the 7th inning. �After a single and a sacrifice bunt by SS Luis Figueroa, a hit batter, three more singles, and a fielding error brought in the 4 runs.
DOMINICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFSGigantes del Cibao 2, �Tigres del Licey 1
CF Jose Bautista smacked a solo home run in the top of the 1st inning for Licey, and that was all the scoring that Los Tigres would do. �They managed only 5 more hits (plus 3 walks) for the remainder of the game. �Ronny Paulino pinch-hit in the 9th inning, and took an intentional walk with a runner on third base, but both were left on base. �Juan Perez pitched the 7th and 8th innings for Los Gigantes, and retired six Tigres in order, including 3 strikeouts. �Los Gigantes scored one run in the 3rd, on a single, a stolen base, and an RBI single. �The score remained tied until the bottom of the 10th, when the first batter of the inning reached base on a fielding error. �The next batter dropped �down a bunt, but Paulino's throw to first went wide for an error, and Los Gigantes had runners on second and third. �An intentional walk loaded the bases, and an RBI single brought the winning run across the plate.
Leones del Escogido 7, �Toros del Este 1
Escogido held Los Toros to just 3 hits, while recording 13 hits and two 2-run homers of their own. �Los Toros' only run came in the 5th, on a lead-off single, a bunt, a stolen base, and an RBI ground out. �1B Yurendell de Caster went 0-for-3 with a walk for Los Toros. �Escogido scored in three consecutive innings, and capped it off with a 3-run 7th inning.
Pirates' players and friends in the winter league playoffs on Saturday evening...
VENEZUELAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFSTiburones de La Guaira 2. �Leones de Caracas 1
1B Hector Gimenez's solo home run to lead off the bottom of the 7th inning was the game-winner for Los Tiburones. �There was a total of only 9 hits in this game -- 5 by Caracas and 4 by La Guaira, and the pitching duel included only 3 walks. �La Guaira scored the first run in the bottom of the 1st, on a single and a double. �There was no more scoring until the top of the 7th, when Caracas scored a run without benefit of a hit -- a fielding error, a wild pitch, a tag-up on a fly out, and an RBI ground out. �That set up Gimenez for his big blast in the bottom of the inning to break the tie.
Navegantes del Magallanes 10, �Aguilas de Zulia 6
Magallanes scored 9 runs over the first three innings and added another run in the 5th, and just didn't let Zulia catch up. �A double and four singles, including one by DH Mike Ryan, started them off with 3 runs in the 1st. �RF Alex Escobar gave them a grand slam in the 2nd inning, and then two more in the 3rd with a 2-RBI single. �Argenis Diaz came into the game as a defensive replacement in the 7th inning, and grounded out in his only plate appearance.
DOMINICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFSLeones del Escogido 3, �Toros del Este 1
Los Toros posted only 4 hits, and their only run came on a solo homer in the 8th inning. �Even the usually productive 1B Yurendell de Caster was hitless in 4 trips to the plate. �Escogido scored one run in the 1st on two doubles, and scored again in the 7th on two singles and a double steal. �They also picked up an insurance run in the 9th on a single and an RBI double by 1B Kevin Barker.
Gigantes del Cibao 8, �Tigres del Licey 4
Los Gigantes scored in four consecutive innings, including back-to-back 3-run innings. �Licey scored their first run in the bottom of the 1st on CF Jose Bautista's triple plus a throwing error. �Bautista walked to begin the 4th inning, and that was followed by a single, a walk to C Ronny Paulino, and two more RBI singles. �Their final run came in the bottom of the 9th, on three singles. �Denny Bautista pitched to two batters in the top of the 9th and retired both.
MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE PLAYOFFSTomateros de Culiacan 5, �Venados de Mazatlan 3
For the second time in a row, Culiacan avoided elimination in this best-of-seven series with a win over Mazatlan. �Los Venados had a 3-1 lead going into the 7th inning. �With one out in the top of the 7th, Culiacan loaded the bases with an error, a walk, and a single. �A bases-clearing triple by 3B Mike McCoy (Blue Jays) brought in 3 runs, and another single brought McCoy across the plate. �Mazatlan could not answer, and the series will continue with Game 7 tomorrow. �2B Luis Cruz went 0-for-3 with a sacrifice bunt for Culiacan. �Los Naranjeros de Hermosillo beat Los Mayos de Navojoa to win their series 4 games to 2. �Los Yaquis de Obregon have already won their series over Los Aguilas de Mexicali to move to the next round.
The Venezuelan Winter League announced that reliever Jean Machi has won the league's Pitcher of the Year award, as well as the title of Closer of the Year. �Machi, who pitched for both the Altoona Curve and the Indianapolis Indians in the 2009 summer season, made 31 relief appearances for Los Navegantes del Magallanes this winter. �He earned a 2-0 record and 16 saves in the regular season for Magallanes, with a 1.25 ERA. � In 36 innings, Machi gave up 22 hits and only 6 runs (5 earned). �He walked only 6 batters while striking out 27. �Opposing batters hit .177 against him. �The Venezuelan native, who will turn 28 next month, has signed another minor league contract with the Pirates for the 2010 season and has been invited to major league spring training.
The Mexican Pacific League had Friday night off, but the other leagues continued their playoffs (round robin style):
PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFSIndios de Mayaguez 16, �Leones de Ponce 1
Oops. �Mayaguez went wild on Ponce, with 6 runs in the 3rd inning on two 3-run homers, then 8 runs in the 5th inning on three doubles, a 2-run double, and a 3-run double. �Ponce scored their lone run in the 8th. �After a lead-off single, 3B Greg Picart was hit by a pitch, and an RBI single brought in the lead runner. �Reliever Jorge Charry pitched the bottom of the 8th for Ponce. �He hit a batter and gave up a walk, but got a pop out and a double play to get out of the inning.
DOMINICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFSToros del Este 9, �Gigantes del Cibao 2
1B Yurendell de Caster led Los Toros with 4 hits, just a homer short of the cycle. �He tripled in two runs in the top of the 1st and then scored on a sacrifice fly. �He singled in Los Toros' run in the 3rd inning, and doubled and scored in their 2-run rally in the 5th. �They scored another run in the 7th without help from de Caster, and he contributed an RBI single and scored again in the 2-run 9th inning. �Los Gigantes could only manage one run in the 4th on a walk, a double, and a sacrifice fly, and a solo homer in the 8th.
Tigres del Licey 9, �Leones del Escogido 1
Another rather lop-sided game. �Licey was ahead 3-1 going into the 8th inning, when CF Jose Bautista and DH Ronny Paulino both blasted solo homers (though not back-to-back) to spark a 6-run rally. �Four singles, a walk, and two wild pitches brought in the rest of the runs in that inning. �Bautista also doubled in the 6th inning, as Los Tigres loaded the bases and had a run forced in with a walk. �Escogido recorded 8 hits but left 7 runners on base and went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. �Their only run came in the 7th inning, on a single, a double, and an RBI ground out.
VENEZUELAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFSNavegantes del Magallanes 10, �Bravos de Margarita 9
This contest started off lop-sided too, but Margarita made Magallanes sweat in the late innings. �Three doubles, including one by LF Mike Ryan, started Magallanes off with 3 runs in the 1st inning. �They scored one run in the 2nd inning, and then two RBI singles and a 3-run homer added 5 more runs in the 4th inning. �Two singles, an error, and a sacrifice fly gave Los Navegantes their final run in the 5th. �Argenis Diaz entered the game as a defensive replacement at shortstop in the 5th inning, and went 0-for-2 at the plate. �Margarita scored their first run in the 1st inning on four walks. �A single and a triple gave them one run in the 3rd and two doubles gave them another run in the 4th. �Los Bravos couldn't do much more until the 8th inning, when two singles, a double, and an RBI ground out gave them two more runs. �They began the bottom of the 9th with a walk and a 2-run homer, bringing them within 3 runs of Magallanes. �Jean Machi was brought in from the bullpen after the homer, but he gave up a walk, got a strikeout, then gave up a double and a single, and two more runs scored -- Margarita was one run away from a tie. �Machi gave up another single, and a wild pitch put two runners in scoring position. �He got a strikeout for the second out of the inning. �Then Corey Hamman came in to get a grounder for the final out of the game. �Machi was credited with a Hold, and Hamman earned a Save.
Aguilas de Zulia 6, �Tiburones de La Guaira 5
Zulia scored one run in each of four innings �plus two runs in the 5th, and by the middle of the 7th inning, they had a 6-0 lead. �After back-to-back singles to begin the bottom of the 1st inning, La Guaira batters bounced into a double play, then went down in order for the next four innings, until they got one more single in the 6th inning. �In the bottom of the 7th, Los Tiburones burst out for 4 runs, on a single, a double by 1B Hector Gimenez, two more singles, and two fielding errors. �A solo home run to lead off the bottom of the 8th brought La Guaira within one run of Zulia. �Gimenez singled after the homer, but could not get around to score. �Two more singles in the bottom of the 9th also went to waste as those runners were left on base when the game ended.
I was reading an article on Evan Longoria's contract (and similar contracts) at DRaysBay yesterday, which got me thinking about Andrew McCutchen. I think...
A few Pirates' players and friends got into Thursday's winter league playoff games:
PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFSGigantes de Carolina 4, �Leones de Ponce 1
Each team posted only 5 hits and committed 2 errors. Ponce's only run came in the 3rd inning on a walk, a passed ball, and a fielding error. �Carolina scored 3 runs in the top of the 1st, and added one more on a solo homer in the 8th. �Ponce's reliever RJ Rodriguez came into the game in the 8th after the homer and one out. �Rodriguez gave up a double and a walk, but then got a pop out and a strikeout to end the inning. �He also pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning, with another strikeout.
DOMINICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFSTigres del Licey 2, �Toros del Este 1CF Jose Bautista made the difference in this game, with his solo homer to lead off the 3rd inning. �That broke a 1-1 tie, after each team scored a run in the 2nd inning. �Licey scored on three singles, while Los Toros scored on wild pitch after loading the bases on a single, a double, and a walk. �Bautista also walked twice. �C Ronny Paulino singled in the 1st inning and also walked for Licey. �1B Yurendell de Caster went 0-for-4 for Los Toros with 3 strikeouts.
Gigantes del Cibao 7, �Leones del Escogido 5
Escogido had a 3-0 lead going into the 7th inning, but Los Gigantes tied the score with 2 runs in the 7th and one run in the 8th. �The two teams took the tie into the 11th inning. �Los Gigantes loaded the bases in the top of the 11th with a single and two walks. �A single complicated by a fielding error allowed 3 runs to score, and another RBI single made the score 7-3. �An RBI double gave Escogido two runs in the bottom of the inning, but that was all Los Leones could get. �Bryan Myrow came into the game as a late-inning defensive replacement for Escogido, and he flied out in his only plate appearance.
VENEZUELAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFSBravos de Margarita 9, �Navegantes del Magallanes 4
2B Ronny Cedeno and LF Mike Ryan were both hitless for Magallanes, who could not overcome four consecutive scoring innings by Margarita. �The score was tied at 2-2 going into the bottom of the 6th, when Margarita scored 2 runs aided by throwing errors on two consecutive plays. �Los Bravos added another 2 runs in the 7th inning. �Magallanes came back with 2 runs of their own in the top of the 8th, but Margarita kept up the pressure with 3 more runs in the bottom of the 8th.
Leones del Caracas 4, �Aguilas de Zulia 3
With the score tied at 3-3 since the 7th inning, C Carlos Maldonado led off the bottom of the 9th by working a walk. �He was replaced by pinch runner Hernan Iribarren, who was bunted over to second base. �After an intentional walk, Zulia brought in reliever Romulo Sanchez. The first batter Sanchez faced grounded to third base, where the Zulia third baseman had trouble handling the ball. �The error allowed Iribarren to scramble around to score from second base and give Caracas the win.
MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
This is not a round-robin style tournament like in the other three winter leagues. �Instead there are three best-of-seven series going on. �One series is completed -- last night Los Yaquis de Obregon won their fourth game to beat out Los Aguilas de Mexicali. �Los Naranjeros de Hermosillo have a 3-2 lead over Los Mayos de Navojoa. �Even with the win on Thursday, Los Venados de Mazatlan have a 3-2 lead over Los Tomateros de Culiacan.
Tomateros de Culiacan 4, �Venados de Mazatlan 1
Mazatlan scored their only run in the 8th inning on a single and a double. �Culiacan got onto the scoreboard in the 1st inning with a run on a single, two ground outs to move the runner along, then an RBI single. �They scored what would be the winning run in the 3rd inning on two more singles. �Two singles, including one by 2B Luis Cruz and two throwing errors added another run in the 6th, and they picked up one more insurance run with a solo homer in the 8th. �</p>
