Altoona Curve Game Information: April 30, 2013 vs. Akron
Published on April 30, 2013 under Eastern League (EL1)
Altoona Curve News Release
ABOUT LAST NIGHT...: There was a storm brewing in Curve, Pa. and there was no Stolm warning for Curve starter Stolmy Pimentel (2-0), who blanked the Akron Aeros over seven innings in a, 2-0, Curve win on Monday night. Pi- mentel struck out five batters while walking just one in his seven frames of work. The Aeros were able to accumulate six hits off Pimentel but none came around to touch home plate as Pimentel and Jeff Inman combined on a nine-hit shutout, which was the first of the year for the Curve. Inman pitched the final two innings, securing his second save of the season in as many tries. Offensively, the Curve used three hits to produce two runs. Matt Curry drove in the game's first run with an RBI infield single in the first while Alex Dickerson blasted his second home run (first over the wall) of 2013 in the seventh inning to add insurance.
CURVE/AEROS SERIES: The Curve welcome in Akron for the first of three series at Peoples Natural Gas Field this season and the second overall series between the two teams. In Akron on the season-opening road trip, Altoona went 1-1 before the final game of the series was postponed due to rain. Akron does not return to Curve, Pa. after this series until early August. FOR ALTOONA: Looking to continue the trend of superb starts by Curve pitching, Altoona sends RHP David Brom- berg to the mound in the second game of the four-game series. This will be the second start of the season for Brom- berg, who was signed as a minor league free agent this past offseason. His only other start this year came on April 15 vs. Richmond here at Peoples Natural Gas Field and he didn't pitch poorly, allowing two runs on four hits in five innings. The Curve offense that day was held off the board and to just five hits in an eventual, 2-0, defeat. His next three appearances came out of the bullpen due to the rehab appearances of Francisco Liriano and Charlie Morton. For more on Bromberg, see page two.
FOR AKRON: Scheduled Aeros starter Mike Rayl has now been pushed back a day and will start on Wednesday in Game Three. Taking his place on the mound tonight will be RHP Will Roberts, who will be making his Double-A debut. Roberts, 22, began this season in a Carolina Mudcats uniform where he was 1-3 with a 6.10 ERA in his first four starts. His first two and his last two would be unrecognizable if you put them side-by-side. In his first two out- ings of the 2013 season, Roberts went 0-2 while allowing 16 runs (10 earned) in 8.2 IP while surrendering 17 hits. In his two most recent starts, the Richmond, Va. native went 1-1 and combined to allow four runs in 12 innings of work with 13 strikeouts. In 24 games (19 starts) last season with the Mudcats, Roberts was 5-10 with a 5.68 ERA. He was drafted by the Tribe in the fifth round of the 2011 draft out of the University of Virginia.
FOLLOW THE LEADER: Altoona OF Andrew Lambo has had quite a first month to his 2013 season. Entering play on Tuesday night, Lambo is batting .300 (27-for-90) with five doubles, one triple, three homers and 17 RBI. The Newbury Park, Calif native has reached base safely in 23-of-24 games this season, hit for the cycle and delivered the Curve's only walk-off win of the young season. He's also taken reps this season at first base in addition to playing in left field.
FIRSTS: Monday night's win established a few firsts for the Curve for the 2013 campaign. The combined shutout by Stolmy Pimentel and Jeff Inman was the first shutout thrown by Curve pitching this season...The win on a Monday was the club's first...It was also the first time Altoona won a game this year while being out-hit by their opponent.
THEY'RE GOING TO WISH THEY HAD A STOLM WARNING: Curve starter Stolmy Pimentel continued his dominant run to start the 2013 season, which is his first in the Pirates organization. Pimentel has made five starts for the Curve thus far and allowed just one total run in 30.1 innings pitched for an ERA of 0.30. That ERA is second-best in all of Major League or Minor League baseball behind Memphis' John Gast, who has yet to allow a run of any kind in five starts (29.2 IP) for the Redbirds. Pimentel has pitched in 0.2 innings more than Gast and allowed one fewer hit across his five starts to open the season. With Pimentel's seven scoreless on Monday, he now extends his scoreless inning's streak to 17 innings dating back to April 18 in Harrisburg. The only run the San Cristobal, D.R. native al- lowed this season came with one out in the first inning of that start.
WELL THAT'S JUST FINE AND ANDY: IF/OF Andy Vasquez has put on quite a show at the plate in his last eight games played, hitting safely in all eight to a tune of 14-for-31 (.452). He's driven in three runs and scored three during the same stretch. Entering play on Tuesday, the native of the Dominican Republic is hitting .353 in 15 games with two doubles, two homers and four RBI.
WELL, MR. ALDERSON...: After Tim Alderson was able to strand the three baserunners he inherited on Sunday, he then went and pitched a scoreless, hitless ninth inning for his first save of the 2013 season. It was the third time this year that Alderson has turned in a scoreless, hitless outing that exceeds at least one inning. Opponents are batting .108 off the Arizona native and he's struck out 14 batters (with just one walk) in 11.2 innings.
TAKE TO THE PITCH: Altoona enters play on Tuesday with the best staff ERA in the 12-team Eastern League at 3.61. They've allowed the secon- fewest amount of runs in the league (94) and the second-fewest amount of hits (190) only to the Reading Fightin Phils' 168. Reading was rained out on Monday night and did not play a game and all told has played two fewer games than the Curve.
D-UP: Altoona has committed the fewest errors (18) of any team in the 12-team Eastern League. This is in stark contrast to the 2012 Curve team, which committed the most errors in the league (145) and had the worst fielding percentage in the league. Entering play on Tuesday night, Altoona leads the circuit with a .980 fielding percentage.
Eastern League Stories from April 30, 2013
- Thunder Take Two; Sweep DH vs. Fisher Cats - Trenton Thunder
- Comeback Effort Not Enough for Fightins - Reading Fightin Phils
- Pillar Homers But Fisher Cats Drop Two - New Hampshire Fisher Cats
- Roberts Stellar in First Double-A Win - Akron RubberDucks
- B-Mets Top SeaWolves in Seesaw Battle, 6-5 - Binghamton Rumble Ponies
- Rock Cats Lose to Senators 6-2 at New Britain Stadium Tuesday Night - New Britain Rock Cats
- Collins Belts Second Homer of the Season in Loss - Erie SeaWolves
- Workman dominates in Portland's 5-3 win at Reading - Portland Sea Dogs
- Aeros Return the Favor and Blank Curve on Tuesday - Altoona Curve
- Erie SeaWolves at Binghamton Mets Game Notes - Erie SeaWolves
- Altoona Curve Game Information: April 30, 2013 vs. Akron - Altoona Curve
- Baysox, Flying Squirrels Postponed - Chesapeake Baysox
- Squirrels and Baysox Postponed on Tuesday - Richmond Flying Squirrels
- Senators Home for Six Games Beginning Friday Night - Harrisburg Senators
- B-Mets Game Notes: Game #26 - B-Mets (13-11) vs. Erie SeaWolves (12-10) - Binghamton Rumble Ponies
- Sea Dogs Game Notes April 30 at Reading - Portland Sea Dogs
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
