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: Pirates 2, Yankees2 1
Starting Pitcher: Jose Regalado, RHP (2.82) – 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Dennis Hurtarte, 1B (.174) – 2-for-3, 2 2B
Other Notable Performers:
Julio de la Cruz, 3B (.204) – 1-for-4
Tito Polo, LF (.287) – 0-for-4
Jonathan Minier, RHP (0.84) – 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 0 HR
Johan De Jesus, SS (.161) – 0-for-2
Game Notes: The Pirates got great pitching from starter Jose Regalado and two relievers, who combined to allow one run on four hits and a walk. Regalado has pitched well all season and he is doing it with exceptional control. In 54.1 innings, he has allowed just two walks, while striking out 45 batters. Jonathan Minier threw three scoreless innings, giving way to Marcus Beltrez in the ninth inning. Beltrez retired the side in order to keep the scored tied at a run apiece. In the bottom of the ninth, the Pirates got the lead-off runner on when Yunior Aquiles struck out in a ball in the dirt and the catcher threw the ball away. After a sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch, Luis Benitez singled home Aquiles with the winning run. Dennis Hurtarte had two doubles. He is hitting .290 in his last ten games.
PIRATES2
Result: Pirates 9, Blue Jays 4
Starting Pitcher: Julio Vivas, RHP (4-2, 2.73) – 5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 HR
Top Hitter: Michael de la Cruz, CF (.319) – 1-for-3, BB, 2B, 2 RBI
Other Notable Performers:
Steven De La Mota, DH (.317) – 2-for-4, BB
Jhoan Herrera, 3B (.243) – DNP
Luis Brun, RHP (4.50) – 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 0 HR
Yoel Gonzalez, C (.165) – 1-for-5
Game Notes: The Pirates bats broke out in the middle innings on Friday, scoring four runs in the third, then two runs each in the fourth and fifth innings. Starter Julio Vivas picked up his fourth win, giving up one run over five innings. He had a tough first game, but in his other ten outings, Vivas has a 2.03 ERA. Luis Brun threw 2.2 scoreless innings to pick up his first career save. Michael de la Cruz had a hit, walk and drove in two runs. He has reached base 96 times(51 hits and 45 walks) in 45 games. All-Star first baseman Carlos Munoz drove in his 26th run of the year, but he has been in a slump recently. Munoz was leading the DSL in batting two weeks ago with a .403 average. In his last ten games, he is hitting .107 and striking out in almost half his AB’s.
Player Of The Day
In 2010, Miguel Ferreras joined the DSL Pirates and had horrible control problems that limited his mound time. He started one game and pitched ten times in relief, throwing a total of 14.1 innings. Ferreras gave up 20 hits and 26 walks, leading to a 15.07 ERA. He didn’t pitch the next season and at the time, it was assumed that he was released following his very poor performance. He had signed at age 18, which is two years older than the minimum age in the league, so sometimes players like those won’t stick around long. It turned out that Ferreras was injured and he returned to pitch last season.
In 2012, Ferreras made two starts and 15 relief appearances. He threw 29 innings and still had control issues, but he was a much more effective pitching, posting a 3.41 ERA and striking out 29 batters. This season he is pitching strictly in a starting role and the control has been better, but it still needs some work. Ferreras is 1-5, 4.66 in ten starts and averaging nearly a strikeout per inning. He also has an impressive 1.96 GO/AO ratio, a stat he has been strong in all three seasons. Perhaps the most impressive thing about Ferreras is his home run rate, it is 0.0 for all three seasons. He has not allowed a homer in 82 career innings.
