Right-hander Kingham debuts at Triple-A

Making his Triple-A debut, right-hander Nick Kingham, the Pirates' No. 8 prospect, threw seven scoreless innings on Friday night. But the Indianapolis bullpen couldn't close out the game and Durham came back for a 2-1 victory in 10 innings.

Kingham, ranked No. 89 on MLBPipeline.com's Top 100 Prospects list, struck out a season-high eight batters, allowed five hits and walked one. He threw 95 pitches and went seven innings for his fifth straight start.

After beginning the season with Double-A Altoona, Kingham was promoted to Indianapolis on Thursday. In 12 starts for the Curve, he posted a 3.04 ERA and a 54-to-25 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 71 innings.

Kingham reached Altoona midway through the 2013 season and threw 144 1/3 innings there over two seasons. He went 2-10 with a 2.87 ERA with 123 strikeouts and 55 walks for the Curve.