Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Strong Starting Pitching at Each Level & More

Strong starting pitching performances, home runs by Bubba Chandler and Jack Brannigan, and more in Sunday’s Pittsburgh Pirates minor league roundup

Entering the 9th inning on Sunday it appeared the Indianapolis Indians would be on their way to a victory. However, the wheels completely came off the cart in the top of the 9th inning leading to the top farm club of the Pittsburgh Pirates suffering a 5-2 loss to fall to 62-59 on the season.

Mike Burrows only pitched 2 innings for the Indians as the Pittsburgh Pirates brass continues to be careful with his work load, but he was impressive. In 2 scoreless innings pitched, Burrows did not allow a hit, walked a batter and struck out a pair.

Osvaldo Bido followed Burrows, striking out a pair while also walking a pair in 4 scoreless innings pitched. After Nick Mears pitched a scoreless 7th inning and Travis MacGregor struck a batter out in a 1-2-3 8th inning, Indianapolis took a 2-0 lead into the 9th inning.

Noe Toribio was given the ball in the 9th inning and things quickly went south. Toribio allowed 5 runs on a walk, five hits, he hit batter, and recorded just one out. This outing led to Toribio’s ERA at the Triple-A level rising to 6.00. Cam Alldred would come in to get the final two outs of the 9th inning.

Hoy Park bat leadoff for the Indians, going 0-for-3 with a walk and a run scored. Ji-Hwan Bae, who should be in the majors, was 2-for-4 with a RBI. Diego Castillo went 1-for-4 with a double and a RBI, and third baseman Josh Bissonette also hit a double.