As the Pittsburgh Pirates were embarking on an 11-inning loss to the New York Mets, their Triple-A affiliate was also in action.

Among the lineup for the Indianapolis Indians was Konnor Griffin, the top prospect in all of baseball. He was the leadoff bat against the St. Paul Saints, the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins.

In his second start in the top rung of minor league ball, Griffin was 2-of-3 with his first Triple-A RBI, two walks, and a run as Indianapolis dropped their second straight game to the St. Paul Saints, 9-7.

His first three chances came against starting pitcher Zebby Matthews, who made 16 starts with the Twins last season to the tune of a 5.56 ERA.

In the bottom of the first, Griffin fought his way through a seven-pitch effort to earn a walk. Griffin was awarded a strike before the first pitch was thrown, earning a pitch timer violation, but was able to come back from it. Griffin was able to make it around to third base, but a groundout double play hit by Rafael Flores ended the inning.

In the third inning, Griffin notched an infield hit, when he connected with a pitch inside towards the third baseman. He wasn’t on first for long, stealing his second base in as many games. That steal put Griffin in scoring position for Ronny Simon, who brought Griffin in with a line drive single to center field.

His final opportunity against Matthews came in the fourth, where the righty bested Griffin. He took a strike in the middle of the zone before chasing a curveball in the dirt, which put him in a 1-2 hole against Matthews. Griffin was able to work his way back to a full count, but was rung up on a seventh pitch. Griffin challenged the strike call, which was upheld.

In the sixth inning, Griffin tallied his second hit of the game, this time against right-hander Andrew Bash. Bash, a reliable Triple-A starter, tossed Griffin a sweeper that he hit towards the shortstop. His hit put runners on the corners for Indianapolis, who eventually had the bases loaded, but couldn’t capitalize.

Griffin’s final plate appearance came in the eighth, where he faced off against righty Trent Baker, starting his first full season in Triple-A. Baker had gotten himself into trouble, loading the bases with no one out in a two-run game.

Normally, you would like to see Griffin smack the strings off the ball in a situation like this. But the 19-year-old showed good patience, not chasing pitches and earning a six-pitch walk to score a run via a free pass.

Indianapolis would tie the game 7-7, but a rough ninth inning for Indians righty Brandan Bidois eventually gave St. Paul a 9-7 win.

Griffin is currently 3-for-6 with one RBI and two stolen bases in a pair of Triple-A games. Indianapolis will look for their first win of the season in the series finale against St. Paul tomorrow. First pitch is at 1:35pm.