Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Owen Kellington Pitches 5 Strong, Jack Brannigan Stays Hot & More

Owen Kellington turned in a strong start at Low-A, Jack Brannigan stays hot at Greensboro, and more in today's Pittsburgh Pirates minor league roundup

Following a lopsided loss against the Iowa Cubs on Tuesday night, the Indianapolis Indians bounced back with a lopsided victory of their own on Wednesday. The top farm club of the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Cubs 9-4, improving to 56-64 on the season.

Lefty Cam Alldred started for Indy, allowing 3 runs in 5 innings pitched. Alldred allowed three hits, walked three batters, surrendered a home run, and struck out six. He threw just 49 of 89 pitches for strikes and uncorked a wild pitch.

John O'Reilly followed Alldred pitched 2.1 strong innings of relief. O'Reilly allowed a run, which came on a solo home run, on five hits, a walk, and a strikeout. Hunter Stratton got the final two outs of the 8th inning before Wil Crowe pitched a scoreless 9th.

Canaan Smith-Njigba bat lead off for Indy, going 2-for-5 with a run scored and a RBI. Nick Gonzales was 1-for-5 with a run scored, Malcolm Nuñez was 1-for-4 with a RBI, and Jared Triolo went 1-for-3 with two walks, a RBI, and three runs scored.

Catcher Grant Koch had a three-hit night for Indy. Koch went 3-for-4, scoring a run while also driving in a run.

Greensboro gets walked off

High-A Greensboro jumped out to a big early lead on Thursday and led the entire game until the 9th inning. In the bottom of the 9th, the Grasshoppers allowed 2 runs to the Rome Braves leading to a 6-5 walk off loss, falling to 62-51 on the season.

Jack Brannigan continues to swing a hot bat at the plate for Greensboro. After going 2-for-4 with an RBI, Brannigan now has a 1.057 OPS at the High-A level this season. Termarr Johnson was 0-for-2 with two walks and two runs scored, Luke Brown was 0-for-2 with a walk, run scored, and two RBI. Josiah Sightler was 1-for-4 with two RBI and Sammy Siani went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.

Derek Diamond started for Greensboro and pitched extremely well. In 7.2 innings pitched he allowed 4 runs, 3 earned, on six hits, a walk, and two strikeouts. He hit a batter and threw 61 of 90 pitches for a strike. The final 2 runs Diamond was charged with came after he exited the game.

Cy Nielson took over for Diamond and immediately allowed a 2-run double. Nielson's struggles continued into the 9th inning, issuing a walk and allowing two singles including the game-winning hit. Nielson, however, was burnt by a Brannigan throwing error in the 9th.

Early runs lead to 1-run Bradenton victory

There was not much offense for the Low-A Bradenton Marauders on Wednesday. However, there was just enough to squeak out a 2-1 victory over the Jupiter Hammerheads. With the win, the Marauders are now 65-60 on the season.

With two outs in the 2nd inning, Jesus Castillo walked and Juan Jerez singled. On the Jerez single, Castillo was able to advance to third base and Jerez to second. Geovanny Planchart reached on a two-out fielding error allowing both Castillo and Jerez to score. This gave Bradenton a 2-0 lead they would not relinquish.

Owen Kellington started for Bradenton and fired 5 scoreless innings. He allowed four hits, walked a batter, and struck a batter out, lowering his ERA to 3.61 on the season in 72 innings pitched across 21 outings.

Jaden Woods followed Kellington and pitched 2 innings. Woods allowed a run on two hits, a walk, and three strikeouts. Brandan Bidois pitched 2 scoreless innings to finish off the game, allowing a hit and striking out four batters.