Altoona Curve Game Information: June 11, 2013
Published on June 11, 2013 under Eastern League (EL1)
Altoona Curve News Release
ABOUT SUNDAY NIGHT...: Altoona built an early, 2-0, lead on Sunday night over the Binghamton Mets but wasn't able to hold it in an eventual, 5-2, loss to the B-Mets in the series finale. Justin Howard drove in both runs in the loss for the Curve, homering in the second and singling in a run in the fourth. Ethan Hollingsworth was superb in a spot starting role, retiring the first nine batters he faced en route to five innings of one-run ball. Binghamton tied the game off Kenn Kasparek in the seventh and then took the lead for good in the top of the ninth with a three-run homer by Travis Taijeron off Jason Townsend (1-3). Mel Rojas, Jr., Alex Dickerson and Howard all had two-hit games in the loss.
CURVE/ROCK CATS SERIES: This three-game set will be the first of six total games that these two teams play against one another in 2013. New Britain will visit Curve, Pa. at the end of the month (June 24-26).
FOR ALTOONA: On the mound for the Curve in the series opener Tuesday night will be RHP Stolmy Pimentel, who rounded back into early-season form in his last start. Pimentel began the season with a 0.30 ERA through the first month of the season before enduring a tough five-start stretch from May 9-30. Prior to his start on May 9, Pimen- tel had allowed a total of three runs but from May 9-30 he surrendered a total of 29 runs. Last time out, Pimentel notched his first quality start since May 4 and grabbed his first win since April 29 with six innings of three-run (two-earned run) ball versus Reading at Peoples Natural Gas Field. He struck out seven and walked just one while scattering six hits. For more on Pimentel, see page two.
FOR NEW BRITAIN: LHP Pat Dean gets the starting nod for the Rock Cats in the lid lifter on Tuesday night in New Britain and is working in his first full season in Double-A. Dean got a taste of Double-A in 2011, making his final start of the season on September 2, 2011 at home versus the Trenton Thunder (6.0 IP, 9 H, 3 R). Instead of spend- ing 2012 in the Hardware City, Dean spent all of 2012 with High-A Fort Myers, where he went 10-8 with a 3.99 ERA in 28 starts and was named to the FSL mid-season All-Star team. The Connecticut native got the bump up to New Britain for this season and comes in to this start having allowed a total of five runs across his last three outings. In his last 19 innings, Dean has allowed five runs (three earned) on 18 hits while striking out seven. The southpaw was selected in the third round of the 2010 draft out of Boston College.
NO. 104?: The Pirates announced on Saturday that 2012 Altoona Curve RHP Gerrit Cole is scheduled to make his Major League debut tonight at PNC Park as the Buccos take on the San Francisco Giants. When Cole makes his debut, he'll be the 104th player to make his MLB debut after playing in Curve, Pa. He will join Phil Irwin (2011-12) and Robbie Grossman (2012) as the two players to make their debuts this season in the MLB. RHP Duke Welker (2011-12) was recalled to Pittsburgh and on the active roster but did not appear in a game after being called up. Cole was the first-overall pick in the 2011 draft out of UCLA and made 12 starts for the Curve in 2012 and went 3-6 with a 2.90 ERA. This season with Triple-A Indianapolis, Cole is 5-3 with a 2.91 ERA in 12 starts and has not allowed a run in his last two outings (14.0 IP).
CASE IN POINT: RHP Casey Sadler turned in his seventh quality start of the season in the loss to Binghamton on Saturday at Peoples Natural Gas Field, Sadler, 22, leads the team in that category, and also checks in among the league leaders in ERA (3.20, ninth) and innings pitched (81.2, first). All four of Sadler's losses this season have come at home were he is 1-4 with a 4.14 ERA in six starts. On the road, which is when he'll make his next sched- uled start, Sadler is 5-0 with a 2.42 ERA (seven games).
TRIP WIRE: Mel Rojas, Jr. tripled on Sunday night in the loss to Binghamton for the club's 23rd triple of the season, which is second-most in the league behind Portland's 27. Rojas, Jr. now has five triples on the season to lead the team (Carlos Paulino and the departed Andrew Lambo each have four). His five triples are tied for second-most in the circuit entering play today. Of the team's 23 total triples, 16 of them have been hit at home.
MEL'S DRIVE IN: Outfielder Mel Rojas, Jr. was 2-for-4 with a triple in the loss to Binghamton on Sunday night. Rojas, Jr. has his average up to .269, which is up from when he ended April at .226 after 24 games. Since May 14, the younger Rojas has hit .333 (31-for-93) with five doubles, five triples, one home run and 12 RBI in 24 games. More specifically, he's hit in a season-best eight straight games entering play today and in 17-of-19 since May 19.
MIND THE GAP: Altoona turned to Charlie Cutler to bat in the vacant four-hole left by the promotion of Andrew Lambo to Triple-A on Saturday. Cutler was 0-for-3 in the game before ripping a triple inside the bag at first and down into the right-field corner to bring home two runs to break up the B-Mets shutout. Cutler now has 17 RBI in 31 games played and is batting .337. He's hit in four-straight contests entering play today and .412 in the four games he's played in June. This is on the heels of a .347 (17-for-49) clip in 18 games during the month of May.
WELCOME HOME: The Curve are now in a nice stretch of games where they will play 12-of-15 games inside the friendly confines of Peoples Natu- ral Gas Field. Only this three-game trip to New Britain from June 11-13 interrupts the 12 home games. In fact, the Curve play 15-of-27 games overall at home this month.
Eastern League Stories from June 11, 2013
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