Winter ball action has still be going on over the past nine days since our last article. Five players from the Pirates saw action during the past week, with three of them seeing their winter season end, while the other two will continue on in the playoffs. In case you missed it last Sunday, I did a full recap of the 26 current Pittsburgh Pirates who played winter ball this season.
Saturday (1/21)
Jason Rogers went 0-for-3, with a walk.
Elvis Escobar played center field in the ninth inning during his team’s 11-1 loss. He did not get a chance to bat.
*Sam Street also pitched on Saturday, though it was a day game in Australia, so it ended early enough to include in our last winter article that Saturday morning.
Nefi Ogando had his first poor outing of the Dominican playoffs. He allowed one run on two hits and two walks in one inning, giving up his first postseason run. This ended up being his last appearance of the winter.
Danny Ortiz went 3-for-4, with singles.
Elvis Escobar came into the game in the 8th inning left field. He hit an RBI single in the tenth in his only plate appearance.
Elvis Escobar played the last two innings in left field with no at-bats in his team’s 3-1 win.
Elvis Escobar started his first game of the playoffs and went 1-for-3 with a double, as his team lost the championship series. He finished the playoffs with a 4-for-10 at the plate in 16 games. Despite not starting until the final playoff game, Escobar still ended up playing in each of the last 16 games, seeing time in all except the first game of the first round of the playoffs.
Danny Ortiz went 1-for-5 with a single and run scored, as his team lost 6-5 in 12 innings, ending their playoff run. Ortiz hit .235 in the playoffs after winning the league batting crown with a .340 average.
Jason Rogers grounded out as a pinch-hitter in the tenth inning of his team’s 3-2 loss.
Jason Rogers pinch-hit in the seventh, then stayed in the game in left field and went 0-for-2 at the plate. His team won the Dominican league title on Saturday night and they now move on to the Caribbean World Series. Rogers did not play in the final game. After a fast start, he finished the playoffs with a .269 average.
Sam Street pitched 1.1 innings, giving up one unearned run on two hits, with no walks and two strikeouts. He came into the game with two runners on base and both ended up scoring. In six appearances, Street has allowed five runs on ten hits and four walks, with seven strikeouts, in 5.2 innings. His team has clinched a playoff spot, so his season will continue.
Since Street and Rogers are the only two remaining players, this will wrap up our winter coverage for the year. Rogers hasn’t been playing every game, and Street hasn’t been pitching much, so any remaining action they might see wouldn’t be enough for an article. I’ll still be following along, so if you follow me on Twitter, I’ll be sure to mention if either player does anything significant. The Caribbean World Series begins on Wednesday. It features the champs from Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
