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.

9th inning problems sink Double-A Altoona

Entering the 9th inning on Thursday evening the Altoona Curve and Akron RubberDucks were tied at 2. The Curve bullpen would unfortunately falter in the 9th inning, allowing a pair of runs leading to a 4-2 loss. With the loss, the Curve fell to 13-15 on the season.

Lefty Tyler Samaniego has pitched well for Altoona this season. However, he allowed 2 runs on four hits in the 9th inning on Thursday leading to the loss. The most gutwrenching part is that the runs came via three straight two-out hits.

In the bottom of the 9th inning the Curve looked primed to at least tie the game. Andres Alvarez was hit by a pitch to start the inning, Connor Scott singled, and the runners were then bunted over to put two runners in scoring position with just one out. Following the sacrifice bunt, Matthew Fraizer struck out and Liover Peguero grounded out to end the inning.

Sean Sullivan started for Altoona and continued to pitch well. In 6 innings pitched, Sullivan allowed 2 runs on seven hits, no walks, and three strikeouts. In 21.2 innings pitched this season Sullivan now owns a 2.08 ERA and an 8:18 BB:K ratio. Cam Junker then followed Sullivan with 2 scoreless innings of his own, lowering his ERA to 2.38.

Even though he grounded out to end the game, Peguero also hit his 2nd home run of the season. Matt Gorski was 1-for-4, Alvarez was 1-for-3, and Scott's 9th inning hit was one of a pair on the night for him. The only other Curve base runners came on a pair of Lolo Sanchez walks and a Claudio Finol walk.

Low-A Bradenton defeats Lakeland once again

Following a 6-4 victory over the Lakeland Flying Tigers on Thursday night the Bradenton Marauders are now 18-12 on the season. Alessandro Ercolani started for the Marauders, allowing 2 runs on two hits, a walk, and three strikeouts in 5 innings pitched.

Joshua Loeschorn followed Ercolani with 2 innings pitched. Loeschorn allowed 2 runs on four hits, a walk, and four strikeouts. Yunior Thibo retired all six batters he faced while striking out three in 2 scoreless innings to close out the game as he picked up his 3rd save of the season.

Left fielder Deivis Nadal was 1-for-4 with a 2-run home run, his 3rd long ball of the season. Termarr Johnson was 1-for-3 with a walk. Alexander Mojica was 2-for-4 with a double, two runs scored, and a RBI.