Friday in Australia provided some highlights as three Pittsburgh Pirates saw action in one game. The highlight here is 19-year-old Brandan Bidois making his season debut and throwing one shutout inning, with no hits, one walk and one strikeout. He pitched an exhibition game last month against Perth, but this is his first regular season game. The strikeout came against former Pirates prospect Sam Kennelly and can be seen below. Bidois has been up to 95 MPH this off-season.
Brandan Bidois was a Pittsburgh Pirates signing during the 2019-20 international signing period. He hasn't made his debut in the Pirates system yet, but the young right-hander has already hit 95 MPH earlier this winter https://t.co/N0xzypksDy
— John Dreker (@JohnDreker) January 15, 2021
Robbie Glendinning went 2-for-4 with a two-run single in the third inning, which gave his team the lead and all the runs that they would need in a 5-1 win. He also singled and scored a run later in the game. Glendinning is hitting .292/.393/.333 in seven games. The outfielder making the throw here is Bligh Madris
Robbie Glendinning gives the @PerthHeat a lead!
📺 https://t.co/PIrl8Bks6G
📊 https://t.co/PuhGOE7HBv #ABL pic.twitter.com/WkQVD1nyHh— Australian Baseball League (@ABL) January 15, 2021
Bligh Madris played in both games of a doubleheader (played against two different teams). He went 2-for-3 with two singles against Perth and 0-for-3 with two strikeouts against Adelaide. He’s hitting .250/.286/.450 in seven games.
No Pirates saw action on Friday in the Dominican with Oneil Cruz still out with a minor back ailment and all three pitchers being idle for the night. However, there is a minor bit of news from the country. The Pirates signed Wilmer Difo yesterday and he played winter ball this year in his home country. In fact, his team is in the finals (Aguilas Cibaenas) but he isn’t playing anymore this winter. Difo hit .221/.286/.260 in 22 games this winter.
In Mexico, Randy Romero started in center field in his team’s 5-3 win on Friday. He went 1-for-3 with a single. He’s 1-for-8 in three semi-final games.
We will have more from Australia tomorrow morning with any other action from Saturday, so don’t get ahead of me.