Altoona Curve Game Information: April 26, 2017
April 26, 2017 - Eastern League (EL1)
Altoona Curve News Release
YESTERDAY: The Curve lost to the SeaWolves, 7-2, their fourth loss in five games on the current road trip. Kevin Newman hit a solo homer, one of his season-high three hits. J.T. Brubaker allowed four runs over six innings. The Curve went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. TONIGHT: The Curve finish the six-game road trip with the finale of three games at UPMC Park against the Erie SeaWolves, Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. The Curve took two out of three games against the SeaWolves at PNG Field last week. The Curve went 13-7 against the SeaWolves last season and hold a 31-14 record against them since the start of the 2015 campaign. FOR ALTOONA: Right-hander Tanner Anderson makes his fourth Double-A start for the Curve and first against Ak- ron. Last time out, he allowed three earned runs over 5.2 innings in a loss at Akron. He opens up 2017 in the Altoona rotation after primarily working as a reliever through his first two professional seasons. He worked three scoreless, one-hit innings in Game 4 of the FSL Championship Series last year and got the final out to clinch the league title. He worked as a starter in the Arizona Fall League, posting a 3.76 ERA in seven outings. Anderson is a native of Tampa and a graduate of Harvard University, where he was an All-Ivy League second baseman. For more on Anderson, see page two.
FOR ERIE: Right-hander Artie Lewicki makes his fourth start of the year for the SeaWolves. Last time out, he allowed six earned runs over 4.2 innings against Binghamton. An eighth-round pick out of the University of Virginia in 2014, Lewicki was teammates in college with current Curve pitcher Brandon Waddell. He reached Double-A in 2016, mak- ing 16 starts for Erie and going 1-7 with a 3.48 ERA. RISP PROBLEMS: The Curve are hitting .196 (30/153) with runners in scoring position so far this year and .169 (13/77) with runners in scoring position and two outs. Over the last six games, the Curve are hitting .136 (10/73) with runners in scoring position and .074 (5/68) when excluding last Wednesday's 8-3 win over Erie. THE 'PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD: Curve relievers have been tough to hit this season. Sean Keselica has held hitters to a .083 batting average, best among relievers in the league. Buddy Borden (.118/3rd) and Jared Lakind (.125/5th) are not far behind. Tate Scioneaux is tied for the E.L. lead with three wins. Members of the Curve bullpen (excluding position player Chase Simpson, who has pitched one game) have combined to post a 1.60 ERA (12 ER/67.2 IP) and a 1.02 WHIP (50 H+19 BB/67.2 IP). KRAMERICA INDUSTRIES: Curve second baseman Kevin Kramer is off to a hot start in his first Double-A debut campaign, hitting .373 (22/59) through his first 16 games, seventh-best in the league, including three home runs. A 2013 College World Series champion at UCLA and a second-round draft pick of the Pirates in 2015, Kramer is cur- rently third in the Eastern League with a .486 on-base percentage. He has reached base in all 16 games he has played to begin the season. HELLO, NEWMAN: Shortstop Kevin Newman is the top-ranked prospect on this year's Curve roster, rated at No. 4 in the Pirates organization by both MLB.com and Baseball America. He made his Double-A debut with the Curve last sea- son and led the Pirates' organization with a .320 overall batting average in his first full professional season, including a .288 mark with the Curve in 61 games. Newman was selected in the first round of the 2015 MLB Draft out of the University of Arizona. Newman has at least one hit in 13 of his 16 games played this year. He had a season-high three hits, including his first home run of the year, on Tuesday night at Erie. DU-RAP IT UP: Altoona closer Montana DuRapau finished second in the Eastern League with 22 saves last year, tied for fourth-most in Curve history. It was tied for the second-most for a Curve pitcher in a season since 2007, behind only 24 by Noah Krol in 2011. He finished last season first in the EL with 43 games finished and fourth with 50 ap- pearances. DuRapau picked up a save Tuesday and sits in third place on the Curve's all-time saves list with 26, trailing only Matt Peterson (29, 2003-06) and Brandon Knight (27, 2006). DuRapau is second in the E.L. with four saves and second with five games finished. ROSTER: The 2017 Curve roster has 11 players that have worn an Altoona uniform prior to this season. 14 are play- ing at the Double-A level for the first time in their careers. There are 13 pitchers and 13 position players on the Curve roster. 25 of the 26 players were originally signed or drafted by the Pirates, with the lone exception being catcher Zane Chavez. 24 players have played with only the Pirates organization in their professional careers (RHP Buddy Borden spent time in the Tampa Bay organization).
FAMILIAR FACES: The 11 players who were with the Curve last year include pitchers Montana DuRapau, John Kuchno, Jared Lakind, Alex McRae, Miguel Rosario and Brandon Waddell, catcher Tomas Morales, infielders Chris Diaz, Edwin Espinal and Kevin Newman, as well as outfielder Elvis Escobar. DuRa- pau and Kuchno also spent time on the Altoona roster in 2015. Kuchno and Morales are the only two players on the team with an experience above the Double-A level. PROSPECT WATCH: The Curve roster currently features four of MLB.com's Top 30 Pirates Prospects: Kevin Nemwan (4), Yeudy Garcia (13), Brandon Waddell (17) and Kevin Kramer (21). The same four players are also ranked in Baseball America's Top 30 Pittsburgh prospects list: Newman (4), Garcia (16), Waddell (17) and Kramer (21). B.A. also named Newman as the organization's "Best Hitter for Average" and Waddell as having the "Best Changeup."
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