Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Strong Start for Jared Jones, Endy Rodriguez Homers & More

Jared Jones had a strong start for Altoona, Endy Rodriguez hit a home run at Triple-A, and more Pittsburgh Pirates minor league action from Thursday

The only minor league affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates that was defeated on Thursday were the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians.

The lone run of the night for Indianapolis came off the bat of catcher Endy Rodriguez. The solo home run, his 3rd of the season, was the lone hit of the night for one of the top catching prospects in all of baseball.

Veteran lefty Caleb Smith started for Indy, and allowed just one hit in 5 innings pitched. However, the lone hit Smith allowed was a home run. He walked a pair, struck out, and allowed 2 runs in his 5 innings on the mound.

Carmen Mlodzinski pitched the 6th inning, walking a batter, allowing two hits, and striking out two. Mlodzinski was burnt by poor defense, though. Nick Gonzales committed both a throwing and fielding error at shortstop in the inning, leading to Mlodzinski surrendering 3 unearned runs.

Angel Perdomo also allowed an unearned run, depsite striking out the side in the 7th inning. Cody Bolton allowed a hit and also struck out the side while pitching a scoreless 8th inning.

As a team, Indy went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left six runners on base. Gonzales was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and Miguel Andújar was 0-for-4. Malcolm Nuñez and Cal Mitchell both went 1-for-4, while Ryan Vilade was 2-for-4. Center fielder Chaez Young also had a base knock.

Double-A Altoona rides strong pitching performances to victory

Following a 2-1 victory over the Bowie Baysox, the Double-A Altoona Curve are now 5-7 on the season. This victory was driven by a strong pitching performance from the Altoona pitching staff, led by starter Jared Jones.

Jones pitched 5 innings, allowing 1 run on just seven hits. Jones did not walk a batter, he struck out five, he hit a batter, and he threw 49 of 71 pitches for strikes. Jones now owns a 2.63 ERA to go with a 6:14 BB:K ratio in 13.2 innings pitched this season.

The Curve did not do much offensively, but they did enough to pick up a victory. Trailing 1-0 entering the bottom of the 7th inning Lolo Sanchez walked to start the inning and Andres Alvarez singled. Drew Maggi then laid down a bunt for a single, and a throwing error by Bowie allowed Sanchez to score.

With the game now tied at 1 Matt Fraizer struck out swinging. However, he would reach base on a dropped third strike and a throwing error. Altoona would then take a lead on a sacrifice fly by Liover Peguero that proved to plate the winning run.

Greensboro rolls to blowout victory

High-A Greensboro scored 6-runs in the 1st inning on Thursday and then never looked back or slowed down. This was the start of a blowout victory for the Grasshoppers, who defeated the Greenville Drive 16-6 to improve to 9-3 on the season.

Shortstop Tsung-Che Cheng set the tone at the top of the Grasshopper lineup going 2-for-4 with a walk, two stolen bases, and three runs scored. Outfielder Sammy Siani was 3-for-5 with two doubles, two runs scored, and 3 RBI.

Outfielder Luke Brown was 1-for-4 with a double, a run scored, and two walks. Second baseman Mike Jarvis drew three walks, drove in a run, and scored four times. First baseman Ernny Ordonez was 2-for-4 with a pair of walks, a run scored, and an RBI. Designated hitter Jackson Glenn also had two hits, scoring a run and driving in a run.

Bubba Chandler started for Greensboro and turned in a strong start. Chandler allowed 2 runs on six hits, three walks, and six strikeouts in 5 innings pitched. Brad Case allowed 4 runs while recording just two outs in the 6th inning. Grant Ford, Oliver Mateo, and Drew Irvine combined to strikeout five batters while pitching 3.1 scoreless innings of relief.