Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Blake Sabol Stays Hot at Indy & More

Double-A Altoona suffers a lopsided loss

The Pittsburgh Pirates Double-A affiliate, the Altona Curve, were easily dispatched by the Erie SeaWolves on Thursday night. Following a 9-2 loss, the Curve have fallen to two games over .500 on the season at 65-63.

Kyle Nicolas started for the Curve and pitched just 3 innings. Nicolas allowed 2 runs on two hits, two walks, and four strikeouts, throwing just 36 of 86 pitches for strikes. He also hit a batter and threw a wild pitch. His best long-term home continues to appear to be in the bullpen.

Enmanuel Mejia followed Nicolas and was shelled. Mejia recorded just one out while allowing 5 runs on three hits and two walks. Mejia now owns a 6.04 ERA in 47.2 innings pitched out of the Altoona bullpen this season.

Brade Case allowed a hit and walked a batter in 2.2 scoreless innings pitched. Case also struck out five batters, now owning a 3.68 ERA in 60.2 innings pitched for Altoona. Bear Bellomy pitched the final 2 innings of the game and allowed 2 unearned runs on four hits.

Even though the Curve lost a lopsided affair, there were some positives. Matt Gorski returned from the injured list, and went 1-for-5 while battling leadoff. Malcolm Nuñez continued to swing a hot bat going 1-for-3 with a walk, a double and a run scored. Henry Davis was 1-for-4, while Connor Scott and Andres Alvarez each had a multi-hit night.

Stop me if you have heard this before, but it was also a big night at the plate for Endy Rodriguez. The newly minted Baseball America top 100 prospect started at second base and went 2-for-4. Rodriguez now owns an OPS of 1.185 in 105 plate appearances across 24 games with the Curve.