Curve Pick up 1,000th Franchise Win with 3-0 Blanking of Squirrels
Published on August 25, 2012 under Eastern League (EL1)
Altoona Curve News Release
CURVE, Pa. - Kris Johnson (2-2) tossed seven scoreless innings and combined with Tim Alderson and Vic Black to lead the Curve to a, 3-0, shutout victory over the Richmond Flying Squirrels tonight in front of 5,366 at Peoples Natural Gas Field. The win is the 1,000th regular-season win in the Curve's 14-year history.
Johnson was superb for the Curve on Saturday night, dealing his seven scoreless innings while giving up just three hits and striking out five. While Johnson was mowing down the Squirrels hitters, Altoona benefitted from a total of eight walks by Richmond pitching on Saturday night to populate the bases.
The Curve's first run came in the third inning off Squirrels starter Justin Fitzgerald (7-8) as a direct result of a few of the free passes on Saturday. After Fitzgerald struck out the pitcher Johnson to start the inning, he walked leadoff man Drew Maggi and Adalberto Santos back-to-back to put runners at first and second.
With Andrew Lambo at the plate, Fitzgerald then uncorked the first of back-to-back wild pitches to move Maggi and Santos to third and second, respectively. The second wild pitch allowed Maggi to score from third and put the Curve in front for good, 1-0.
That lone run looked like it was all that the Curve were going to score on Saturday but that all changed in the eighth when Gustavo Nunez found his first hit with the Curve since joining the team on Thursday. It came in a perfect spot because Nunez singled with the bases loaded to score both Oscar Tejeda and Charlie Cutler. The two extra runs of insurance were more than enough for Black, who knocked down his 10th save of the season by facing the minimum in the ninth.
The all-time franchise record for regular-season play now stands at 1,000 wins and 968 losses after Saturday night's win. Richmond also turned a 5-4-3 triple play on the Curve on Saturday night that ended a Curve rally in the fifth.
Tejeda finished the game with three hits to lead the offense, which had a total of seven hits on the day.
Altoona (64-68) will now seek to claim a series victory over the Richmond Flying Squirrels (67-66) in the 6 p.m. Sunday night finale from Peoples Natural Gas Field. Sunday night marks the scheduled Double-A home debut of Curve pitcher Jameson Taillon, rated the second-best prospect in the Pirates organization by Baseball America.
Coinciding with Taillon's debut, the Curve will hold a "Tie On for Taillon" fundraiser in partnership with the ALS Association, benefitting the family of former Curve intern Maggie Neil whose mother, Sandy, suffers from ALS. Curve fans will be able to purchase ties autographed by Taillon-the Pirates' 2010 first-round draft pick-for $10, purchase red ALS wristbands for a $2 donation, or make a cash donation of their own.
The weekend concludes with another postgame fireworks show on Sunday, and as always, kids will be able to run the bases after Friday, Saturday, and Sunday's home games. Fans are invited to bring non-perishable food items and canned goods to the ballpark to take part in Sunday's St. Vincent de Paul Society Soup Kitchen Food Drive. Fans can also play catch on the field from 5-5:20 p.m. pregame.
Taillon (1-0, 0.00), who struck out six over five innings while scattering four hits in his Double-A debut on Tuesday, gets the ball on Sunday. He'll be opposed by Squirrels southpaw Chris Gloor (4-4, 2.45) in the season-series finale between these two teams. Gates open at 5 p.m. while airtime on ESPN Radio 1430, WVAM and the Curve Radio Network is set for 5:30 p.m. For tickets and more information on the final homestand of 2012, fans can call 877.99.CURVE, visit AltoonaCurve.com or stop by the box office windows at Peoples Natural Gas Field.
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