India-born Pittsburgh Pirates farmhand gets first win in Gulf Coast League

India-born Pirates farmhand gets win

LAKELAND, Fla. — Pittsburgh Pirates farmhand and reality show contestant Rinku Singh earned his first win Monday in the second game of a Gulf Coast League doubleheader.

Singh struck out the only batter he faced in the Bradenton Pirates’ 10-5 victory over the Detroit Tigers’ affiliate He is believed to be the first India-born player to win a professional baseball game in the United States.

Singh and Dinesh Patel were signed by the Pirates last fall after appearing on an Indian reality TV show called “Million Dollar Arm” that drew about 30,000 contestants in a country where baseball is almost unknown. The show sought to find athletes who could throw strikes at 85 mph.

Singh and Patel made their professional debuts July 4.