SCOTTSDALE, AZ – Pirates prospect Josh Bell reached three times and Tribe backstop Elias Diaz brought home a run, but fellow Bucco farmhand Tom Harlan continued his AFL struggles as the Scottsdale Scorpions (10-14) dropped their fourth consecutive game with a 5-2 loss to the Peoria Javelinas (10-12) on Tuesday afternoon at Scottsdale Stadium.

Making his fifth start of the fall, Harlan allowed three runs on three hits and two walks in just one inning of work. The right-hander loaded the bases with a pair of free passes and single, before yielding a two-run base hit to Jacob Wilson (STL) and RBI single to Bubba Starling (KC) to fall in an early 3-0 deficit. Harlan, who suffered his third loss in as many starts, has registered a cumulative ERA of 9.82 (12 ER/11.0 IP) in five total games with Scottsdale.

Altoona Curve hurler Angel Sanchez took over for his Double-A teammate in the second, authoring his sixth unblemished outing with two scoreless frames in relief. The righty Sanchez currently boasts a streak of 8 2/3 innings over which he has held opponents without an earned run (three runs ), dating back to his debut on Oct. 15.

Bell and Diaz then coaxed back-to-back walks in the third frame to load the bases, plate the Scorpions first run and make it 3-1. The Buccos duo combined for five of Scottsdale’s 12 total free passes and improved their respective OBP to .319 and .386 through action of Nov. 4.

Brandon Nimmo (NYM) plated the Scorpions’ second and final score in the fourth with an RBI groundout.

Peoria’s bullpen then followed with five scoreless innings from five different arms in a lock-down, one-hit effort that sealed the win.

Author’s Note:
This content was originally published on the Indianapolis Indians’ official blog, “The Inside Pitch.”