Tag: Mike Ryan

Cheering for the Pirates' players and friends in the winter league playoff games on Saturday night...

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE
Tigres de Aragua  5,  Leones de Caracas  2  --  The Big Cats had to have a one-game playoff because they finished tied for second place in the round robin tournament.  Former Pirate farmhand Ronald Uviedo made the start for Los Leones, and while he made it through the first inning, Los Tigres got to him in the next three innings.  DH Hector Gimenez blasted a solo homer in the 2nd inning.  A walk, a sacrifice bunt by CF Jorge Cortes, and two RBI's on a double and a single gave Aragua another 2 runs in the 3rd inning.  LF Lastings Milledge started the 4th inning rally with a walk, moved to second on a ground out, and to third on a wild pitch.  An RBI single plated Milledge, and sent Uviedo to the showrs.  The Caracas reliever gave up a single to Cortes, then another RBI single gave Aragua their final run.  Caracas scored their first run on a solo homer by LF Mike Ryan in the 2nd inning.  Ryan also singled in the 7th inning, and came around to score from first base on 2B Jose Castillo's RBI double.  Castillo singled in the bottom of the 9th, and C Carlos Maldonado reached base on an error, and was replaced by a pinch-runner.  With two outs, Wil Ledezma came on to make the final out, earning a save.  Los Tigres will now face Los Caribes in the championship series.  


DOMINICAN LEAGUE
Toros del Este  11,  Estrellas de Oriente  2  --  Los Toros posted 14 hits as they ran over Los Estrellas, who hurt their own cause with 6 errors.  The scoring began with 3 runs in the top of the 1st.  SS Pedro Ciriaco began a rally in the 3rd with a lead-off single.  He scored on a fielding error and a single, and an RBI ground out brought in another run.  A walk, a single, and another error in the 4th made the score 6-0.  Los Estrellas got onto the scoreboard with a solo homer in the 6th, and scored again with two singles in the 7th.  Los Toros kept going, though, scoring 2 runs in the 7th on yet another error, a walk, and a double.  Ciriaco walked in the 8th, and scored on a 3-run homer.  Ciriaco singled in the 6th as well.  Franquelis Osoria pitched the top of the 9th for Los Estrellas, and worked around his teammates' 6th error to keep Los Toros from scoring in that inning.  Los Toros now lead the championship series 4 games to none, and need one more for the series sweep.  

Lots of playoff action in the winter leagues on Friday night:

DOMINICAN LEAGUE
Toros del Este  2,  Estrellas de Oriente  1  -- SS Pedro Ciriaco, who has not been in Los Toros' recent playoff games, started off the scoring in this game.  He singled to lead off the 3rd inning, and moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt.  He stole second base, and scored on an RBI single.  Ciriaco also reached base on an error in the 5th, and made it as far as third base, but did not score.  Los Toros scored again on a walk and two singles in the 7th inning.  Los Toros' starter Fernando Abad pitched 6 no-hit innings, including 6 strikeouts.  The only runner to reach base against him got there on a fielding error in the 6th, and Abad finished the inning with two grounder force outs.  Reliever Jairo Asencio followed Abad with 2 perfect innings.  Los Estrellas' only hit and only run came in the top of the 9th, when reliever Julio Manon gave up a walk and a double, and the runner from third base scored on a wild pitch.  Los Toros have won the first three games of this 9-game series.


PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE 
Leones de Ponce  1,  Criollos de Caguas  0  --   Pitching ruled in the Puerto Rican League also.  Ponce starter Willie Collazo pitched 9 shut-out innings, allowing just 2 singles and 2 walks.  SS Luis Figueroa walked in the 1st inning, and he was Los Criollos' only base runner for the first 6 innings.  Collazo allowed a single and a walk in the 7th, and another single in the 8th.  Los Leones posted 7 hits and had 5 walks, but they fell victim to 4 double plays, and left 8 runners on base.  The only run scored in the 2nd, when the inning opened with a double and two singles.  One of the double plays cut the rally short.  This series is now tied at one game each.  

The Pirates have added a minor league catcher, Kawika Emsley-Pai, to the fold.  The Washington State native was the Diamondbacks' 10th round pick in the most recent (2010) draft, signed out of University of Texas.  He made his pro debut with the Yakima Bears in the Northwest (short season) league, where he caught a bit more than half of the Bears' games.  In his 42 appearances, Emsley-Pai hit .167, with 3 doubles and 8 RBI.  He made just one error behind the plate and had 8 passed balls.  Base runners had about a 50-50 chance against him -- 17 stolen bases allowed, and 19 runners thrown out.  The 22-year-old was released by the D'backs, but the Pirates think he will be able to fill in, probably either at State College or West Virginia.  

On to the winter league games:
VENEZUELAN LEAGUE
Bravos de Margarita  9,  Leones de Caracas  5  --  Los Bravos scored 5 runs in the 7th inning, to put them out of reach for Los Leones.  Los Leones scored early, with a 2-run homer in the top of the 1st, and 2 more runs on a single and four walks in the 3rd.  C Carlos Maldonado had an RBI walk in that inning.  Margarita got onto the scoreboard with a run in the bottom of the 3rd, on a single, a triple, and a sacrifice fly.  An error, two singles, and a wild pitch gave Los Bravos 2 more runs in the 5th, to tie the score.  In the 7th, Los Bravos pounded out a double, three singles, and a grand slam to take the lead.  Jean Machi took the mound for Margarita for the final two innings.  He struck out the side in the 8th, then struck out 2 more in the 9th, but also gave up a solo homer, and a single and a walk after the homer.  LF Mike Ryan went 0-for-4 for Caracas.   

Tigres de Aragua  3,  Aguilas de Zulia  2  --  A pair of doubles began the bottom of the 11th for Los Tigres, for the walk-off win.  Neither team had a hit for the first 3 innings of the game.  Zulia scored their 2 runs in the 6th, beginning with a single, a bunt, and an RBI single.  Wil Ledezma came on in relief for Aragua, and he gave up an RBI double, to give Zulia a 2-0 lead.  Los Tigres tied the score in the 7th inning when LF Lastings Milledge reached base on an error, and came in on a 2-run homer.  Both teams threatened in the 8th, but neither scored, and then the bats were mostly quiet until the 11th inning.  CF Jorge Cortes singled into left field in the 5th for Los Tigres, but was out when he tried to reach second base.  Cortes also doubled in the 8th inning, and was replaced by a pinch-runner, who got as far as third base but did not score.  

In the Dominican championship series, Los Toros del Este took a 2-game-to-0 lead with a 3-1 win over Los Estrellas de Oriente.  Two runs in the top of the 8th broke a 1-1 tie and gave Los Toros the win.  The Puerto Rican League had a night off from their playoff series.  The Mexican Pacific League will begin their championship series on Friday.   

AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE
Canberra Cavalry  5,  Sydney Blue Sox  1  (Thursday)  --  The Cavalry scored 3 runs in the 5th, giving them plenty of insurance over the Blue Sox, who were held to just 3 hits.  Jarryd Sullivan pitched 3 scoreless innings for Sydney, allowing only one hit.  He gave up a double in the 6th, then retired the side in order in the next two innings.

Adelaide Bite  12,  Brisbane Bandits  0  (Friday)  --  The Bite chomped on the Bandits, in a game that ended early, due to a 12-run lead after 6.5 innings.  Back-to-back homers gave the Bite 5 runs in the 2nd inning -- a grand slam by 3B Stan Welch (Mets), then a solo blast.  Another solo homer began the 3rd inning, and another grand slam, by 1B Tom Brice, came in the 4th.  Two singles, a walk, and two RBI ground outs finished the scoring in the 5th.  DH Quincy Latimore went 0-for-3 with a walk for the Bite.  After a dribbly little hit down the third base line by the Bandit's lead-off hitter, Bite starter Brandon Maurer (Mariners) retired the next 21 batters he faced, including 8 strikeouts.  
The Bite finish the season with a double-header against the Bandits on Saturday.  They are currently a half-game behind league-leading Perth Heat in the standings.  The Heat are scheduled to play a double-header against the Melbourne Aces on Saturday.  
 

An update on some recent roster moves by the Pirates:

Pitcher Jose Veras took a few days, but did sign a minor league contract with the Pirates.  Veras is a 30-year-old who was first signed by the Rays in 1998.  He began playing in the US in 2002, and split both the 2003 and 2004 at the AA and AAA levels.  He was granted free agency after 2004 and was signed by the Rangers for 2005, spending that season at the AAA level, where he made 57 relief appearances with a 3.80 ERA.  Veras signed with the Yankees after that, and pitched in their organization for the next 3+ seasons.  He split that time between the AAA level (2.56 ERA in 95 innings, with 115 strikeouts) and the major league club (4.50 ERA in 102 innings, with 94 strikeouts).  The 2008 season was his best of those, with 60 relief appearances for the Yankees and 3.59 ERA and a 5-3 record.  In 2009, the Yankees traded Veras to the Cleveland Indians, where he finished the last 3 months of the season.  The Dominican native made 22 relief appearances for Cleveland with a 1-2 record and a 4.38 ERA, with 22 strikeouts.  He signed with the Marlins for 2010 and began the season in AAA New Orleans.  He began the season slowly, but got better in May and was tough in June:  a 1.80 ERA in 10 innings (10 games) with 12 strikeouts.  That earned him a promotion to the Marlins, where he finished the season with 48 relief appearances.  In 48 innings, he earned a 3-3 record and a 3.75 ERA with 54 strikeouts.  Veras did not play winter ball this off-season.  The righty will be competing for a spot in the Pirates' bullpen

C Wyatt Toregas has also been inked to a minor league contract.  He was the Cleveland Indians' 24th pick in the 2004 draft, and began his pro career in 2005, reaching the AAA level in 3008 and the major leagues in 2009.  Toregas hit .284 for the Columbus Clippers (AAA) in 60 games in 2009, with 7 homers and 69 RBI.  In 19 appearances for the Indians in that season, he hit only.176 with 6 RBI.  The Virginia native was still on the Indians' 40-man roster at the beginning of 2010, but spent the entire season in the minor leagues, possibly battling injuries.  At AA Akron, he got into just 17 games, hitting .203 with one home run and 6 RBI.  At AAA Columbus, he was in just 14 games and hit .200 with 2 homers and 6 RBI.  He has a slim chance of sticking with the Pirates out of spring training, but will more likely be in Indianapolis to begin 2011.

In addition to Veras and Toregas, a few other minor leaguers have been invited to big league camp for spring training:  catchers Tony Sanchez and Eric Fryer, infielders Chase d'Arnaud and Brian Friday, and outfielder Andrew Lambo.  

Checking in on Pirates' players and friends in the winter league playoffs on Monday...

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE
 Criollos de Caguas  2,  Senadores de San Juan  1 -- Los Criollos broke a 1-1 tie with a run in the bottom of the 9th.  SS Luis Figueroa walked, and moved to second base on a balk.  After an intentional walk, an RBI single let the speedy Figueroa score from second base for the walk-off win.  The win moves Caguas into second place in the round robin tournament, with Los Leones de Ponce in first place, San Juan in third, and Carolina fourth.

 
VENEZUELAN LEAGUE
Leones de Caracas  8,  Tigres de Aragua  5  --  Los Tigres de Aragua posted 15 hits, but their 4 errors came back to hurt them.  Caracas scored first, with 2 runs in the top of the 1st, on 3 singles and an error.  Los Tigres responded with 2 runs in the bottom of the inning, on a walk, and 3 singles, including liners up the middle by 1B Hector Gimenez and LF Lastings Milledge.  C Carlos Maldonado gave Los Leones the lead again in the top of the 4th with a solo home run.  Milledge tied the score again in the bottom of the frame with a lead-off single, scoring on a double and a sacrifice fly.  Then Aragua forged ahead to score 2 runs in the 5th, on a lead-off double, an RBI double by Gimenez, and an RBI single by Milledge.  Two singles and an error gave them another run in the 6th, for a 6-3 lead.  Caracas came closer in the 7th inning, when Maldonado led off with a walk.  Another walk and two RBI singles brought in 2 runs, cutting Los Tigres' lead to 6-5.  The top of the 9th began with a single, a sacrifice bunt, and an RBI double for Los Leones.  A walk and a single added another run, but a fielding error by Milledge in left field allowed the go-ahead
run to score.  Los Tigres could not answer in the bottom of the inning.  1B Raul Chavez singled for Los Tigres, but did not score.  LF Mike Ryan was hitless for Los Leones.  Jose Ascanio pitched the bottom of the 8th for Caracas.  He gave up 2 singles, but left both runners on base.  He was the pitcher of record when the winning runs scored in the top of the 9th, so was credited with the win.  

Los Caribes de Anzoategui beat Los Aguilas de Zulia 5-2 in the other Venezuelan game.  There is still another week to go in this round robin tournament.  Tonight's results mean that Los Caribes, Los Leones, and Los Tigres are all tied in first place with identical 8-5 records.  


The Dominican League round robin playoffs ended with Los Toros del Este on top.  Los Estrellas de Oriente and Los Gigantes del Cibao tied for second place, and Los Leones del Escogido finished in fourth place.  Los Estrellas will face Los Toros del Este in the championship series.

The Mexican Pacific League was off on Monday.  Los Algodoneros de Guasave are leading Los Tomateros de Culiacan 3 games to 2 in the semifinal round of the playoffs.  The winner of this 7-game series will face Los Yaquis de Obregon in the finals.  

Cheering for Pirates' players and friends in the few winter league playoff games on Sunday....

DOMINICAN LEAGUE
Gigantes del Cibao  8,  Toros del Este  2 --   A 7-run 7th inning by Los Gigantes included a 2-run homer and a 3-run homer, and it gave them all the firepower they would need.  Former Indy Indian Tim Harikkala finished the 5th inning after Los Toros scored their runs, then loaded the bases with a double and two walks in the 6th, though another reliever was able to end the inning without a run scoring.  Juan Perez pitched the 8th inning for Los Gigantes and struck out the side.  

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE
Leones de Ponce  7,  Gigantes de Carolina   6  --  2B Benji Gonzalez singled and tripled for Los Gigantes, but Ponce pulled it out with 2 runs in the bottom of the 10th.  Los Gigantes began the game with 3 runs in the top of the 1st.  They added a run in the 6th on a single and Gonzalez's RBI triple.  A double and a single gave them another run in the 7th.  Los Leones scored one run in the 5th, then tied the score with 3 walks and a grand slam in the 7th.  The game went into extra innings, but Carolina quickly scored a run in the top of the 10th with a single and a double.  But in the bottom of the frame, Ponce had a runner reach base on an error, and a 2-run homer gave them the walk-off win.  Gonzalez also singled in the 4th but was caught stealing.  

Senadores de San Juan  8,  Criollos de Caguas  2  --  Another game with 3 runs scored in the top of the 1st, and Los Criollos were chasing Los Senadores for the rest of the game.   Los Criollos scored their runs in the 7th, on a pair of doubles and an RBI single by 3B Ramon Vazquez.  SS Luis Figueroa singled in the 4th, but was left on base.  

A few signing notes for former Pirates, all minor league contracts:  
1B Brad Eldred signed with the Giants,  P Ian Snell and INF Ramon Vazquez signed with the Cardinals, and OF Matt Kata signed with the Rangers.  

Cheering for a few Pirates' players and friends in the winter league playoffs....

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE
Leones de Ponce  2,  Criollos de Caguas  1  --  RJ Rodriguez earned his 3rd save of the playoffs with a perfect 9th inning of work.  Los Leones scored their runs in the 4th, on three straight hits -- a single and two doubles.  Los Criollos' only run came in the top of the 6th, on a double, a ground out by SS Luis Figueroa which moved the runner to third, and a RBI single.  3B Ramon Vazquez singled to lead off the 5th for Los Criollos, but he was caught stealing second base.

Gigantes de Carolina  5,  Senadores de San Juan  4  --  Benji Gonzalez made the start at second base for Los Gigantes, and he scored their first run.  In the bottom of the 1st, Gonzalez singled, advanced to third on a throwing error, and scored on a sacrifice fly.  San Juan scored 3 runs in the top of the 2nd, and Los Gigantes countered with a run in the bottom of the 3rd, on 3 singles.  They tied the score in the 7th with a double, a hit batter, and an RBI single.  The tie continued into the top of the 10th, when Los Senadores took the lead with a single and a double.  But four singles in the bottom of the inning drove in 2 runs to give Los Gigantes the win.

The Dominican and Puerto Rican Leagues wind up their round-robin playoff series this weekend, while the Venezuelans continue theirs for another week or so.  

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE
Criollos de Caguas  5,  Gigantes de Carolina  2  --  Los Criollos began the scoring with a fly out-RBI for 3B Ramon Vazquez after two singles.  An RBI single gave them a run in the 3rd, and a 2-run homer made it 4-0 in the 5th.  Los Criollos wrapped it up with a run in the top of the 7th, on two singles, a walk, and a throwing error.  Carolina scratched out a run in both the 7th and 8th innings.  SS Luis Figueroa singled and walked for Los Criollos, but did not score.

Leones de Ponce  7,  Senadores de San Juan  2  --  A 4-run inning in the top of the 8th gave Los Leones the win.  San Juan out-hit Ponce, 10 - 9, but they couldn't bring the runners around, leaving 11 on base.  RJ Rodriguez pitched the bottom of the 9th for Ponce, but gave up three consecutive singles to open the inning, which drove in one run.  He struck out two, then loaded the bases with another single, then ended the inning with a grounder force out.


VENEZUELAN LEAGUE
Aguilas de Zulia  7,  Bravos de Margarita  4  --  Los Bravos got the game started with 3 runs in the top of the 1st, on three singles and two throwing errors.  But Los Aguilas scored a run in the bottom of the 1st, another in the 3rd, and took the lead with a 3-run homer in the 5th.  They added a run on a double and a triple in the 6th, and their 7th run on a double, a hit batter, and a single in the 7th.  Jhonathan Ramos came on in relief for Los Bravos after that run scored in the 7th, and he ended the inning with a ground out.  Ramos came back out to begin the bottom of the 8th.  The first batter of the inning reached on a fielding error, then Ramos gave up a single.  A ground out and a line out followed, and then Ramos was relieved.  Another ground out ended the inning without a run scoring.  

Caribes de Anzoategui  6,  Leones de Caracas  5  --  This one took 13 innings to decide.  Los Leones broke a 2-2 tie in the top of the 8th when C Carlos Maldonado started a rally with a single.  He was replace by a pinch-runner, who scored on an RBI single.  Los Caribes tied the score again with a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 9th, and the game went into extras.  Neither team could get much going in the 10th or 11th, and though Los Caribes threatened in the bottom of the 12th, they still could not get a run across.  Los Leones broke the tie in the top of the 13th.  A double, an intentional walk, and a fielder's choice loaded the bases.  A grounder to third was fired back to the plate, for a force out at home.  Then LF Mike Ryan, who had already singled twice and walked three times in the game, grounded to second base.  The runner going from first to second was out, but Ryan was able to beat out the throw to first, and a run scored.  But Los Caribes were not done yet -- a single and two walks loaded the bases in the bottom of the frame, and a line drive single into left field drove in two runs for the win.  Jose Ascanio pitched a perfect inning in the bottom of the 8th for Caracas.

A few winter league games with Pirates' players and friends...

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE
Criollos de Caguas  4,  Leones de Ponce  3  --  Two runs in the 3rd and another 2 runs in the 6th gave Los Criollos the edge.  SS Luis Figueroa singled and scored a run.  3B Ramon Vazquez drove in a run with a ground out.

Senadores de San Juan  5,  Gigantes de Carolina  4  --  A 5-run 6th inning pushed Los Senadores past Los Gigantes.  That inning included a walk, a fielding error, two singles, and back-to-back triples.  Los Gigantes scored a run in the 4th on an error and a single, then scored 3 more runs in the 5th on two doubles and a triple.  Benji Gonzalez entered the game as a pinch-runner for Los Gigantes in the top of the 8th, but was doubled off second base.  He remained in the game at second base for the bottom of the inning.   

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE
Leones del Caracas  5,  Tigres de Aragua  2  --  Ronald Uviedo earned the win with 5 innings of work, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and a walk.  Los Tigres' first run came in the 4th inning on a single, a double by 1B Hector Gimenez, and a sacrifice fly by LF Lastings Milledge.  In the 5th, a pair of singles, including one by C Raul Chavez, plus another sacrifice fly, gave Aragua their second run.  Los Leones scored 2 runs on three singles in the bottom of the 1st.  In the 2nd, a single, a double, and a sacrifice fly brought in a third Caracas run.  Two walks, two singles, a double, and a sacrifice fly gave Los Leones two more runs in the 4th. LF Mike Ryan singled, but the runner from second base was out at the plate, on the throw in from Milledge to Chavez.  

MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE
Tomateros de Culiacan  6,  Algodoneros de Guasave  3  --  Los Tomateros scored a pair of runs in three different innings, beating Guasave, who scored single runs in three different innings.  SS/LF Luis Cruz led off the bottom of the 8th with a single for Los Tomateros, and he scored on a 2-run homer.  DH Yurendell de Caster walked to lead off the 7th for Guasave, and he came around to score that inning's run on a single, a sacrifice bunt, and a sacrifice fly.  Los Tomateros are leading the 7-game series 2-0.  In the other Mexican League series, Los Caneros de Los Mochis are leading Los Yaquis de Obregon 2 games to none. 

AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE
Sydney Blue Sox  4,  Adelaide Bite  3  --  Bite starter Paul Mildren had some tough innings against the Blue Sox, and he suffered his 6th loss of the season.  A throwing error, and an RBI single gave the Blue Sox their first run in the bottom of the 1st.  Mildren gave up a walk and a pair of doubles, accounting for 2 runs, in the 2nd inning.  He worked around runners on base in the next three innings, including leaving two runners in scoring position after a walk and a double in the 5th.  He got into more trouble in the 6th, opening the inning with a single, a double, and a sacrifice fly, before being relieved.  Overall, Mildren gave up 4 runs (3 earned) on 8 hits and 2 walks, with 5 strikeouts.  Meanwhile, the Bite were scoring a little, but not keeping up.  They picked up one run on an exciting play in the 4th.  1B Todd Gossage drove a liner into right field, and scrambled around for a triple, and when the Blue Sox' shortstop missed the catch on the throw in from right, Gossage was able to keep running, scoring on the error.  Gossage doubled and came around to score in the 7th inning.  Two singles and a fielding error gave the Bite one more run in the top of the 9th.
 

Cheering for the Pirates' players and friends in winter league playoff action ...

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE
Tigres de Aragua  5,  Bravos de Margarita  4  --  A double and a single in the top of the 10th gave Los Tigres the winning run.  Los Tigres had started the scoring in the top of the 1st, on three singles, including an RBI single by LF Lastings Milledge.  Los Bravos countered with a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 4th.   Milledge tied the score with a solo home run in the top of the 6th.  With Jean Machi on the mound for Margarita in the top of the 8th, a walk, a sacrifice bunt, and a wild pitch put a Tigres' batter on third base, and he scored on an RBI single.  Machi came back to pitch a quick 1-2-3 inning in the top of the 9th.  Los Bravos tied the score again in the bottom of the 9th on a solo homer.  Los Tigres broke the tie in the top of the 10th, then held off Los Bravos in the bottom of the frame.  Wil Ledezma pitched a perfect 6th inning for Los Tigres, then gave up a 2-out single in the 7th.  C Raul Chavez and 1B Hector Gimenez picked that runner off first base to get Los Tigres out of the inning.  Gimenez went 0-for-4 at the plate, and Chavez went 0-for-2.  Miguel Perez came into the game as a late-inning defensive replacement behind the plate, but did not have a plate appearance.  

Leones del Caracas  10,  Caribes de Anzoategui  6  --  Seven runs in the top of the 1st gave Los Leones an edge that Los Caribes could not overcome.  Los Leones sent 11 batters to the plate in the 1st inning, and the first 6 batters reached base safely:  single, single, walk, grand slam, single, single (by C Carlos Maldonado).  After a pop out, LF Mike Ryan hit a 2-run homer, which was followed by a double, before the inning ended.  Maldonado added another RBI single in the 2nd inning, and Caracas picked up another 2-run homer in the top of the 9th.  Los Caribes scored in all but one of the first 6 innings, but four of those innings brought in just one run, not enough to catch up.