On Friday night in the Dominican, Gregory Polanco went 1-for-4 with his third double. His team was off on Saturday, then he played on Sunday and he went 2-for-3 with two singles, a walk and a run scored, while serving as the DH. Polanco is hitting .208/.323/.415 in 15 games.
On Sunday, Oneil Cruz returned for the first time since November 17th. He had a lower body injury/hip/discomfort/something. Cruz went 2-for-4 with a triple and a single. He was 3-for-13 in his first three games before the injury. Here’s video of the triple.
Oneil Cruz with a triple in his first game back tonight #Pirates https://t.co/q6EdS3QMsq
— John Dreker (@JohnDreker) December 13, 2020
On Saturday in the Dominican, Oddy Nunez made his third appearance and he allowed one run on two hits, with a walk and one strikeout, in his only inning of work. He has given up one run on seven hits over four innings this winter.
On Sunday, Edgar Santana made his third appearance and he threw a scoreless inning on one hit, two ground outs and one strikeout. He has allowed one run on five hits in 2.2 innings this winter.
In Mexico, Fabricio Macias went 1-for-3 with a single on Friday, then followed it up with an 0-for-3 night on Saturday. He was 1-for-4 with his eighth double on Sunday. Macias is hitting .235/.290/.365 in 35 games this winter.
In Mexico on Saturday, Randy Romero pinch-ran and scored a run. He didn’t bat or play defense. On Sunday he went 0-for-1 with a walk and a strikeout. He played left field for the last few innings. In 23 games this winter, he is 2-for-24 at the plate, with four walks, seven runs scored and two stolen bases.
In Colombia over the weekend, second baseman Carlos Arroyo finally got some starts and he probably earned more at-bats. Arroyo went 2-for-3 with a walk, two hit-by-pitches, an RBI, a stolen base and four runs scored. The next day he went 2-for-4 with a walk, double and stolen base. In nine games this winter, mostly off the bench, he is hitting .438/.524/.563, with six RBIs and no errors. The 19-year-old Arroyo is a .298/.388/.360 hitter in two seasons of DSL action.
Francisco Acuna has been out of the lineup since the third game of the season, much like Oneil Cruz, without the fanfare. He returned on Sunday and batted lead-off, playing second base. He went 0-for-4 with a walk and run scored.
In Venezuela on Sunday, Luis Oviedo pitched for the first time since being selected by the Pirates in the Rule 5 draft on Thursday. He tossed a scoreless inning, retiring the side in order. He has thrown 6.1 innings without an earned run this winter.
