BRIEF-Baseball-Indian duo make American minor league debuts

CHENNAI, India, July 5 (Reuters) - Two Indian youngsters took an important step in turning their American baseball dreams into reality when they made their debuts for Pittsburgh's rookie-level Gulf Coast League Pirates on Saturday.

Left-hander Rinku Singh and Dinesh Kumar Patel each threw an inning of relief in the 4-2 loss to the Yankees, according to a statement on the team's website (www.pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com).

The two were signed up last year as non-draft free agents by the Pirates after topping a pitching contest in India, "The Million-Dollar Arm", which offered the winner $100,000. (Reporting by Sanjay Rajan; Editing by John O'Brien; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)