Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Strong Sean Sullivan Start, Cal Mitchell HR & More

Strong start for Sean Sullivan, Cal Mitchell home run, 9th inning woes for Altoona, and more Pittsburgh Pirates minor league action from Thursday

Leading 5-2 entering the bottom of the 5th inning, things appeared to be trending toward a victory for the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians on Thursday night. Well, the bottom of the 5th inning saw the start of bullpen struggles that would prove to be the undoing of the Pittsburgh Pirates top farm club. Despite a 9th inning rally, the Indians lost 8-7 to fall to 16-19 on the season.

Lefty Cam Alldred pitched the first 3 innings for Indy. Alldred allowed 2 runs, 1 earned, on just one hit. However, the one hit he allowed was a home run. Alldred also walked three batters and struck out five batters.

After John O'Reilly allowed a hit in a scoreless 4th inning, lefty J.C. Flowers was summoned for the 5th inning. Flowers allowed 2 runs on a hit, four walks, and two strikeouts. Carmen Mlodzinski pitched 2 innings, having a rare poor outing allowed 4 runs on three hits, a walk, and a home run. Mlodzinski's ERA ballooend from 3.46 to 4.80 with this outing.

Lefty Daniel Zamora pitched a scoreless 8th inning for the Indians.

Cal Mitchell was 2-for-4 with his 4th home run of the season, two runs scored, and three RBI. Catcher Grant Koch also hit a home run, his 2nd of the season, as part of a multi-hit night.

In the 9th inning the Indians attempted to rally. Trailing 8-5, Koch singled to start the inning and scored on Chavez Young's 2nd home run of the season. With two outs Ryan Vilade single, Mitchell was hit by a pitch, and Jared Triolo walked. Malcolm Nuñez then grounded out to end the game.