By Josh Maurer & Will Flemming

Pedro (right) and Audy (left) following batting practice at Fifth Third Field yesterday afternoon.

Growing up in San Pedro de Macoris, Pedro and Audy Ciriaco probably never envisioned themselves playing baseball for a living in Toledo, Ohio. The two brothers were raised to love the sport in their hometown of around 220,000 people. Part of the Dominican Republic, San Pedro has produced such major league talent as Robinson Cano, Jose Valverde, George Bell, and Pedro’s favorite growing up, Sammy Sosa.

Pedro, now 26, and Audy, 24, were both signed in 2005 to play baseball for a living in the United States. Audy was signed by Detroit and sent to Florida to play in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League. Meanwhile, Pedro was inked by Arizona and was sent to play rookie ball in Missoula, Montana.

“No one speaks Spanish in Montana,” Pedro said with a smile. “It’s a lot different than San Pedro, but at least when I was there late in the season it was warm.”

When the two brothers arrived in the United States, they only spoke Spanish.

“When I came over here for the first time, I didn’t know anything about English,” Pedro told me. “I remember meeting everyone, them laughing, and thinking ‘what’s going on?’ But we’ve learned the language by being around the players and getting help from the Latin guys.”

Last year, when Pedro was playing for Indianapolis and Audy played for Toledo, the siblings played against each other for the first time in the professional careers.

“Once Audy was called up from Double-A, I remember checking the schedule to see if we’d play against each other. It was a lot of fun to be able to play against him over here.”

In Game 2 of the series this year in Toledo, Pedro was playing shortstop for the PawSox when Audy reached base and advanced to second. When I looked through my binoculars to see if they were talking to each other, it was obvious they were sharing a few laughs.

“I was telling him, ‘you can fly, bro,’” said Pedro laughing. “I was talking about how he was running hard because he got a stolen base in the first game before reaching that night on an infield single. He surprises me sometimes — he can run a little bit.”

The two played with each other as boys and were both eventually signed to play for the local baseball academy in San Pedro. “If you want to play professional baseball, you have to play for an academy,” Pedro told me. “The competition is better and more organized. It’s there where major league scouts can find you.”

Of the two, Pedro is the one who has reached the majors. Last year, when he made his major league debut with Pittsburgh, his parents were able to fly stateside for the first time to see his debut.

“It was an unbelievable experience playing in the big leagues. Having my family there to watch me was the only thing that could have made it better.”

This is Pawtucket’s only trip to Toledo this season. Assuming both are with the same clubs in late May, the brothers will once again be reunited during a four-game series at McCoy, May 24th -27th.

-AG

@aaronmgoldsmith

agoldsmith@pawsox.com