Locke-Ness Monster Leads Curve to First-Ever ELCS Win
Published on September 15, 2010 under Eastern League (EL1)
Altoona Curve News Release
CURVE, Pa. - Jeff Locke (1-0) came up huge for Altoona in Game Two as the southpaw tossed seven innings of two-run ball to lead the Altoona Curve past Trenton, 6-4, on Wednesday night at Blair County Ballpark. It is the first ELCS win in franchise history for the Curve and they've evened up the series heading back to Trenton on Thursday.
For the second straight day, the Curve scored the game's first run on a homer in the first inning as Josh Harrison clocked his third homer of the playoffs, launching a solo-shot off Dellin Betances (1-1) with one out. Trenton tied the game in the third inning off Locke when Luis Nunez scored on Austin Krum's two-bagger out towards right-center but it would be the final time they would tie the game on Wednesday.
Altoona put together a big inning in the bottom of the third, scoring four times off the starter Betances with just one hit. Miles Durham and Anthony Norman ignited the rally with back-to-back walks. Chase d'Arnaud reached on a sacrifice bunt because Betances threw the ball into the ground past first baseman Marcos Vechionacci and it also allowed Durham to score the go-ahead run.
Norman scored on a wild pitch two batters later and Jordy Mercer cracked a two-run homer just over the left-field wall to complete the fourth-inning scoring and put the Curve up by four at, 5-1.
Locke battled through middle innings and gave up an unearned run in the fifth to make the score, 5-2. Locke's seven innings of work tied a Double-A high and he wound up striking out eight batters while allowing six hits.
Trenton cut the deficit to 5-4 in the eighth when Daniel Brewer and Austin Romine homered back-to-back to start the eighth off reliever Derek Hankins. Hankins wound up walking two batters after the two homers and would leave with two men on and two away to turn it over to Daniel Moskos. Moskos struck out Matt Cusick to end the threat and the inning.
With one down in the bottom half of the inning, Altoona got a big insurance run off Mercer's bat when he homered for the second time in the ballgame. It is the first multi-homer game in Mercer's career.
Moskos allowed a leadoff single in the ninth to Krum but then retired the next three men he faced to end the ballgame.
Altoona as a team has now hit 12 home runs in six playoff games with its three tonight. They had 80 home runs in 142 games during the regular season.
Game three of the ELCS takes place at 7:05 p.m. from Waterfront Park in Trenton, N.J. on Thursday night. LHP Justin Wilson (1-0, 0.00) takes the ball for Altoona after throwing six shutout innings against Harrisburg on September 10 while RHP Adam Warren (0-0, 0.00) takes the hill for Trenton.
Airtime for Game 3 of the ELCS on flagship ESPN Radio 1430, WVAM and the Curve Radio Network is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
Eastern League Stories from September 15, 2010
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