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.

Curve grab early lead and never look back

Double-A Altoona grabbed an early lead over the Akron RubberDucks on Wednesday and never looked back. The Curve jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 2nd inning and rolled to an 8-1 victory, improving to 54-59 on the season.

The Curve grabbed a 2-0 lead in the 2nd inning when Will Matthiessen doubled in Matt Fraizer and Andres Alvarez. This was part of a 4-for-5 night for Fraizer who drove in a run and scored twice. Matthiessen also had a pair of hits and drove in three runs, while Alvarez went 2-for-5 with a double of his own, an RBI, and two runs scored. Designated hitter Joe Perez went 1-for-4 with a 2-run home run.

Aaron Shortridge started for Altoona and pitched 5 strong innings. Shortridge allowed a run on three hits, four walks, and three strikeouts in 5 innings pitched. Shortridge has now struck out 100 batters in 120.1 innings pitched this season.

The Curve bullpen then took over and fired 4 scoreless innings. Geronimo Franzua allowed a hit and struck out four in 2 scoreless innings pitched. Tyler Samaniego issued a walk and struck a batter out in a scoreless 8th inning, Noe Toribio then struck out a pair in a scoreless 9th inning.

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.