Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Strong Pitching in the Lower Levels & More

Strong pitching performances in the lower minors highlighted Friday's Pittsburgh Pirates minor league action

Friday night's Pittsburgh Pirates minor league action featured a 9-6 victory for the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians over the Iowa Cubs. With the win, the top farm club of the Pirates is now 44-49 on the season.

Andre Jackson started for Indy, allowing 2 runs on two hits, three walks, and three strikeouts in 1.2 innings pitched. Lefty Kent Emanuel was the bulk guy, allowing 3 runs on four hits, two walks, a home run and eight strikeouts in 4.2 innings pitched.

Chase De Jong allowed two hits, walked a batter, and struck a batter out in 2/3 of a scoreless inning. Rob Zastryzny pitched a scoreless 8th inning, and Juan Minaya allowed a solo home run while striking out two in the 9th.

Middle infielder Alika Williams keeps swinging a good bat for Indy. The shortstop was 3-for-4 with his 7th home run of the season, a walk, a double, three RBI, and three runs scored. Jason Delay was 1-for-3 with a walk and a RBI, Rodolfo Castro was 1-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored, and Chris Owings was 1-for-4 with a walk and a solo home run.

Altoona offense struggles in loss

Friday night was not a good one for the Altoona offense. In a 4-1 loss against the Reading Fightin Phils, the Curve recorded just five hits while drawing three walks. With the loss, the Double-A affiliate of the Pirates is now 41-43 on the season.

Matt Fraizer, Jackson Glenn, Domingo Leyba, and Mason Martin were the top four hitters for Altoona. They combined to go 1-for-16 with nine strikeouts. Those kind of struggles at the top of a lineup is never a recipe for success.

Catcher Abrahan Guiterrez had the lone multi-hit game for the Curve going 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Lolo Sanchez was 1-for-3 with a walk and a RBI, while Chavez Young was 1-for-2 with a walk.

Lefty Anthony Solometo started for Altoona and did not pitch as well as he had been of late. Solometo allowed 3 runs on six hits, a walk, and a home run in 4.2 innings pitched. However, he still struck out seven and still owns a strong 2.51 ERA to go with 96 strikeouts in 82.1 minor league innings pitched this season.

Noe Toribio followed Solometo, striking out three and allowing a hit in 1.1 scoreless innings pitched. Geronimo Franzua did not allow a hit in 1.2 innings pitched but walked three on his way to allowing a run. Grant Ford allowed a hit and walked a batter in 1.1 scoreless innings of work to finish off the game for Altoona.

High-A Greensboro takes down Wilmington

The High-A Greensboro Grasshoppers improved to 43-42 on the season with a 7-3 victory over the Wilmington Blue Rocks on Friday night. J.P. Massey started for Wilmington, allowing a run on a hit, three walks, and three strikeouts in 3 innings pitched.

Yunior Thibo followed with 2 hitless, scoreless innings of relief. Cy Nielson struggled, allowing 2 runs on four hits, a walk, home run, and three strikeouts in 1.1 innings pitched. Dante Mendoza struck out a pair while retiring the final five batters of the game.

Tres Gonzalez was 1-for-4 with a walk at the top of the Grasshopper lineup. Sammy Siani was 2-for-5 with a double, walk, and a run scored. Ernny Ordoez (6) and Shawn Ross (7) each hit home runs for Greensboro.

Jase Bowen continues to swing a hot bat for the Grasshoppers going 1-for-4 with a walk, RBI, and a run scored. Wyatt Hendrie was 2-for-4 with a walk, Luke Brown was 1-for-5.