Four-Homer Effort Not Enough in Walk-Off Loss
Published on May 22, 2013 under Eastern League (EL1)
Altoona Curve News Release
READING, Pa. - The Fightins' Anthony Hewitt hit a three-run, walk-off homer to lift Reading by the Curve, 7-5, and send Altoona to a fifth-straight defeat on Wednesday night. Jarek Cunningham hit a go-ahead, solo homer in the top of the ninth inning only to have Hewitt hit the walk-off in the bottom of the inning. Altoona hit four homers as a team in the loss on Wednesday.
Cunningham's homer in the top of the inning put the Curve back in front after Reading had just tied the game in the bottom of the eighth. Jason Townsend, who finished the eighth, came out to start the ninth and allowed a leadoff double to Cameron Rupp that was just out of the reach of Andy Vasquez in right. Albert Cartwright followed with a sac bunt out towards third and beat out the throw to put runners at the corners with no outs.
Townsend (1-2) battled back to strike out pinch hitter Miguel Abreu for the inning's first out but then surrendered the walk-off homer to Hewitt to end the game.
Altoona carried a one-run lead for most of the game on Thursday thanks to a three-run fourth inning that was solely fueled by home runs. Down two runs entering the fourth, Andrew Lambo led off the inning with a blast to right field that pulled the Curve within two. Charlie Cutler followed Lambo's home run with one of his own, an opposite-field homer to left, to even the game at three. It was Lambo's team-leading ninth homer of the year and the first of the season for Cutler. It was also the first time the Curve went back-to-back since July 23, 2012 when Adalberto Santos and Matt Curry went back-to-back here in Reading.
Fightins starter Hector Neris was able to record the inning's next two outs before dealing to Justin Howard. Howard hit the third home run of the inning, also his first of the season, and put the Curve in front for the first time in the series, 4-3.
Starter David Bromberg put together a solid effort on Wednesday. He allowed a three-run homer to Cameron Rupp in the first inning but all the runs were unearned to Bromberg because of an error that started the inning. The California native then tossed six scoreless innings to reach the eighth.
He came out and allowed a leadoff single to Hewitt in the eighth, who eventually moved to second base on a sac bunt by Derrick Mitchell. Bromberg was then taken out of the game in favor of Nate Baker to pitch to the left-handed hitting Tyson Gillies. Baker retired Gillies for the inning's second out and then got a ground ball off the bat of Edgar Duran out to short.
Gift Ngoepe charged on the ball but appeared to have a problem getting set for a throw that was later ruled an error. Duran was safe at first and Hewitt scored from third to tie the game at four.
That fourth and final run on Bromberg's line was also unearned due to the Ngoepe error and he wound up throwing 7.1 innings while giving up four unearned runs. He struck out eight and did not walk a batter on Thursday.
Mel Rojas, Jr. had the only multi-hit effort in the loss, going 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI triple.
Having lost five in a row, the Curve (19-27) will now look to salvage the final game of the series with the Fightins (18-26) in Thursday morning's 11:35 a.m. series finale. To the mound for the Curve will be RHP Casey Sadler (5-3, 2.79), who won the opening game of this road trip with seven scoreless innings on Friday night in Richmond. He'll be opposed by Fightins RHP David Buchanan (1-5, 5.65) on Thursday.
Airtime on ESPN Radio 1430, WVAM and the Curve Radio Network is scheduled for 11:05 a.m. The Curve return home Friday night to open a Memorial Day weekend homestand with the Squirrels. For tickets and more information on that series, call 877.99.CURVE, visit AltoonaCurve.com or stop by the box office windows at Peoples Natural Gas Field.
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