EL1 Altoona Curve

Altoona Curve Game Information: August 14, 2013

Published on August 14, 2013 under Eastern League (EL1)
Altoona Curve News Release


ABOUT YESTERDAY: Portland scored the first five runs of the game on Tuesday night and never looked back in a, 5-2, win that sent the Curve to a second-straight defeat and back to 10 games under .500. Starter Casey Sadler (10-) struggled early, allowing the five runs in the first three innings including an inning where the 'Dogs sent nine men to the plate (third inning). He allowed five runs on eight hits before giving way to the bullpen, who finished the final five innings without allowing a run. Justin Howard put the Curve on the board with an RBI groundout in the sixth before Oscar Tejeda drove home the team's final run in the ninth with two outs. Kenn Kasparek was once again tremendous out of the 'pen, tossing three more scoreless innings before Quinton Miller and Jason Townsend each worked a scoreless frame. The Curve pounded out 12 hits but only managed one run, going 1-for-8 with RISP. Gregory Polanco led the team with three hits while Alex Dickerson and Carlos Paulino also had multi-hit games.

CURVE/SEA DOGS SERIES: Altoona and Portland meet up for the final time in 2013 for this Tuesday-Thursday series this week in Curve, Pa. Altoona won the final two games of a three-game series in Portland in early June.

FOR ALTOONA: Taking the bump for the Curve looking to level the series with Portland will be RHP Nick Kingham, who returns to the mound for the first time in 10 days. The Las Vegas, Nev. native last pitched on August 4 and allowed two runs on seven hits in five innings in what turned out to be a no decision. He walked three in that start after walking six batters in his previous outing on July 30 vs. Binghamton, which has been uncharacteristic for the righty. He's thrown a combined 123.2 innings between Altoona and High-A Bradenton this season, which is just shy of the 127.0 innings that he threw with West Virginia in 2012, and that is why he was skipped his last time through the rotation. For more on Kingham, see page two.

FOR PORTLAND: Kevin Boles sends southpaw Chris Hernandez to the mound for the start on Wednesday night and it will be his second start this year with Portland after being sent down from Triple-A Pawtucket. For the Paw Sox, Hernandez was 3-9 with a 5.72 ERA in 24 games (16 starts). After a tough month to start the season in Triple-A, Hernandez rebounded for a 3-0 mark and a 3.03 ERA in seven games (three starts) during May. From there, he went 0-6 and allowed 41 runs (38 earned) in 43.1 innings pitched (7.89 ERA). His first start back with the Sea Dogs was a good one as he allowed one run on four hits in 6.1 innings in a no decision versus Richmond on August 7. Hernandez, a seventh round pick out of Miami in the 2010 draft, spent most of 2012 with Portland as a starter before earning a promotion to Triple-A.

THE LAMBO LEAP!: Former Curve OF Andrew Lambo did go on to make his MLB debut on Tuesday night in St. Louis as he started the game for Pittsburgh in right field and went 0-for-3 with a strikeout. He is the 109th player to play in Curve, Pa. before making his MLB debut and the eighth this season to make his MLB debut.

RAMMER JAMMER YELLOW HAMMER: University of Alabama alum Jason Townsend worked another scoreless in- ning on Tuesday and continues to throw the ball extremely well after enduring some mid-season struggles. Since the All-Star Break, Townsend has made 10 appearances and not allowed a run (15.0 IP) while surrendering just seven hits to six walks and 10 strikeouts. The right-handed reliever had given up just two runs since July 1 in 18.0 innings and opponents have hit below .200 off him in both July and here in August. He'll jump into the rotation on Saturday and make the spot start in Game 2 versus Erie.

STREAK SANDWICHES: All-Star third baseman Adalberto Santos walked in the third inning on Tuesday to extend his on-base streak to 18 games dating back to July 24. During the on-base streak, Santos is hitting .318 (21-for- 66) with eight doubles, seven RBI, 10 runs scored and 10 walks. He's batted .309 since the break (97 at bats) and .351 in 11 games this month.

JUUUUSSTIN: Curve 1B Justin Howard, like teammate Alex Dickerson, has been on fire since the calendar read June 1. Howard has hit .366 (64-for-175) since the calendar flipped to June 1, which is the best average in all of Double-A for that time period. For the season, Howard is hitting .335 with 11 doubles, a career-high six homers and 32 RBI in 78 games played.

ALEXANDER THE REALLY REALLY GREAT: Alex Dickerson has been on a torrid pace since June 1, going 79-for- 229 (.345) with 21 doubles, 12 home runs and 47 RBI in 61 games. That streak has been one of the best in all of Double-A, going well enough for the third-best average in Double-A behind teammate Justin Howard (.366). His 15 home runs total are tied with Jarek Cunningham's 15 for the team lead while his 62 RBI lead the team. After picking up a pair of Eastern League Player of the Week awards in July, Dickerson was named the league's Player of the Month for July after batting .413 with 10 doubles, six home runs 27 RBI and 23 runs scored in 26 games during the month.

HATS FOR BATS, KEEP BATS WARM: The Curve bats have really taken off as a team since June 1 came around. On June 1, the Curve were hitting .229 as a team, which was last in the Eastern League. Entering play today, the Curve as a team are hitting .253 and are tied for sixth in the circuit in terms of team batting average. Since June, the Curve have hit .273 (570- for-2091).

SITTING THIS ONE OUT: Curve IF Drew Maggi and RHP Luis Sanz are boht serving three-game suspensions resulting from Friday night's benches- clearing incident with Harrisburg here at PNG Field. They'll be able to return to the active roster on Friday night in Erie. Mel Rojas, Jr. will also serve a suspension of three games that will cover the first three games of the series in Erie.

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