Pirates Minor League Report: Two Homer Day for Josiah Sightler

Pirates’ affiliates picked up three wins on Saturday, with Jake Lamb and Gilberto Celestino lighting up the score sheet in Indianapolis for the second day in a row and barrage of home runs down in Greensboro.

Triple-A Indianapolis walked off the Columbus Clippers 4-3 on a two-run double from Gilberto Celestino. Indy’s bullpen helped keep them in the game, putting together five scoreless innings after starter Drake Fellows got roughed up early.

The Altoona Curve outlasted the Richmond Flying Squirrels 4-3 in ten innings, with Tsung-Che Cheng recording the winning hit and Justin Meis picking up the win with two innings in relief.

Greensboro ended up on the other end of the late game heroics, shelled for eight runs across the final two innings in an eventual 8-6 loss. Five Grasshoppers homered on the day. Josiah Sightler made two trips around the bases and Termarr Johnson flashed his opposite field power; Josh Palacios and Luke Brown also cleared the fences.

The Bradenton Marauders rode a two-run first inning all the way to a 2-1 win over the Clearwater Threshers, with Khristian Curtis contributing five innings in relief.

Here are some of the top performances amongst the Pirates’ minor leaguers on Saturday.

Triple-A Indianapolis (26-34)

UTIL Jake Lamb

• Day: 2-for-4 with 2 singles.
• Season: .320/.400/.461 with 13 doubles and 4 homers in 49 games.

LF Gilberto Celestino

• Game: 2-for-4 with a double.
• Season:  .287/.374/.369 with 7 doubles and 2 homers in 45 games.

Double-A Altoona (19-37)

RHP Sean Sullivan

• Game: 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 6 K’s.
• Season: 54.2 IP, 3.29 ERA, 43 K’s in 12 appearances (11 starts).

INF Tsung-Che Cheng

• Game: 3-for-5 with 2 doubles.
• Season: .230/.343/.385 with 6 doubles and 7 homers in 45 games.

High-A Greensboro (31-24)

1B Josiah Sightler

• Game: 2-for-5 with 2 homers.
• Season: .172/.272/.354 with 3 doubles and 5 homers in 27 games.

DH Termarr Johnson

• Game: 2-for-4 with a homer and a walk.
• Season: .211/.388/.360 with 9 doubles, a triple and 5 homers in 53 games.

Single-A Bradenton (24-32)

RHP Khristian Curtis

• Day: 5 IP, 1 ER, 5 K’s.
• Season: 43.1 IP, 4.57 ERA, 44 K’s in 10 appearances (9 starts).

LF Braylon Bishop

• Game: 1-for-4 with a homer.
• Season: .262/.368/.523 with 3 doubles, a triple and 4 homers in 21 games between rookie ball and Bradenton.