In the Dominican on Wednesday night, Gregory Polanco went 1-for-4 with a double and walk. It was the seventh double of the season for Polanco. He struck out in the sixth inning, ending a streak of 34 straight plate appearances without a strikeout. Polanco has reached base in 24 of his 25 games this Winter.
On Tuesday night, Polanco played in front of Pirates manager Clint Hurdle and General Manager Neal Huntington, who were both in attendance. Polanco was added to the Pirates 40-man roster on Wednesday afternoon.
Oscar Tejeda went 1-for-3 with a single and run scored. He was pinch-hit for in the ninth inning. Tejeda has played most of his time in left field.
Atahualpa Severino pitched 1.1 scoreless innings. He gave up a single and got three outs on ground balls. On the season, Severino has given up two runs over eight innings in his 11 appearances.
In Venezuela, Andrew Lambo played his second game and went 1-for-3 with a double and two RBI’s in his team’s 7-2 win. Lambo was also hit by a pitch and he scored a run.
Andy Oliver made his season debut and it was a tough outing. He had control troubles all throughout the regular season and it continued into his first Winter game. Oliver got just one out before being pulled from his start. He gave up three runs(one earned) on one hit and two walks. He threw 20 pitches, nine for strikes.
Jhonathan Ramos faced three batters in his outing on Wednesday, getting a strikeout and a ground out. The other batter reached on an error, but was stranded at second base. Ramos has pitched a total of seven innings over his 12 appearances, giving up four runs. He has not walked a batter.
In Puerto Rico, Jerry Sands went 0-for-2 with a walk in his team’s 3-1 loss. Ivan De Jesus Jr was on the winning side, but didn’t help much in the victory. He went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
From the Colombian League on Tuesday night, Harold Ramirez went 0-for-3 with a walk and run scored in his team’s 5-3 win. He is 9-for-28 on the season. On the other side of the field, Yhonathan Barrios made his third appearance, trying to bounce back from his last outing in which he got just one out while giving up three runs on four hits. On Tuesday, he threw one inning, giving up a hit and walk, but he kept the Tigres off the board and picked up his third strikeout in 2.1 innings.
The Pittsburgh Pirates added five pitchers on minor league contracts on Wednesday, including Jay Jackson, who is pitching in the Mexican League this Winter. Jackson has made 13 appearances and is dominating the MWL competition. He has thrown 16.1 scoreless innings, giving up ten hits, five walks and he has 18 strikeouts. Jackson has picked up seven saves already.
