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Winter Leagues: Boscan Shuts Down a Pair of Pirates, Heredia Struggles Again

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In the Dominican, Willy Garcia came off the bench and went 0-for-3 with a strikeout. He did however have a big outfield assist, keeping the score 2-2 in the sixth inning by throwing out a runner at home, though his team ended up losing 3-2 in ten innings. Garcia is hitting .160 this winter, going 8-for-50 with one extra-base hit(a double) and two walks.

Mel Rojas Jr. went 2-for-3 with two walks and a run scored. He was the victim of Garcia’s outfield assist, losing an RBI on the play.

Alen Hanson went 0-for-1 before leaving for a pinch-hitter in the fifth inning. After playing defense in top of the fifth, Hanson got tossed from the game for arguing a play he felt was a double play. He is hitting .264 through 27 games, with a double, homer, three walks and three stolen bases.

Gustavo Nunez went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and his eighth error. He is hitting .203 in 24 games.

In Venezuela, Wilfredo Boscan shutdown Bravos de Margarita, ending their ten-game winning streak and Jose Osuna’s nine-game hitting streak. Boscan threw seven shutout innings, giving up six hits(all singles), no walks and he had four strikeouts. Osuna went 0-for-4, while Elias Diaz went 0-for-3.

Elvis Escobar singled as a pinch-hitter in the ninth. He is hitting .417 now, though he’s just 5-for-12 in 17 games. He played a total of 15 games during his first two winters in Venezuela, so he is seeing more playing time, even if he isn’t getting the at-bats.

Deolis Guerra threw a shutout inning, retiring the side in order on just seven pitches.

Gorkys Hernandez went 2-for-4 with a run scored. He has raised his average to .317 by going 12-for-26 in his last six games.

In Mexico, Luis Heredia continued to go back-and-forth between good and bad outings. He breezed through 2.1 shutout innings last time out, but had control issues in the game before that. Three appearances ago, he threw three shutout innings, but right before that game, he couldn’t find the plate at all. On Sunday he was due for a poor outing and he gave up two runs(one earned) on three hits, while recording only one out. Heredia did well with his control in this game, throwing 20 of his 28 pitches for strikes. He has a 5.17 ERA in 15.2 innings, with 11 hits, 13 walks and seven strikeouts.

Carlos Munoz went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout. He is 5-for-30 in his last eight games, with two walks and no extra-base hits. Despite that slump, his .857 OPS ranks him eighth in the league.

Sebastian Valle went 1-for-3 with an RBI and his first stolen base. He is hitting .258/.269/.355 in 16 games.

In Puerto Rico, Danny Ortiz went 2-for-5 with a run scored and two RBIs. He hasn’t hit well this winter, coming into the game with a .430 OPS, so this was a big game for him.

In Australia from Monday, Sam Kennelly went 2-for-5 with a double. He started at third base and moved to shortstop late in the game. Kennelly has his average up to .222 through 12 games.

John Dreker
John Dreker
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball. When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.

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