EL1 Altoona Curve

Altoona Curve Game Information: June 4, 2017

Published on June 4, 2017 under Eastern League (EL1)
Altoona Curve News Release


YESTERDAY: The Curve blanked the Bowie Baysox, 2-0, behind seven scoreless innings from Alex McRae. Tate Scio- neaux closed out the final two innings to pick up his fourth save and cap the shutout. Tomas Morales hit a solo home run in the third. Jordan Luplow added a solo homer in the seventh, his team-best 12th of the season. Bowie starter Matthew Grimes worked eight innings and allowed two runs. TODAY: The Curve play the second of a three-game set against the Bowie Baysox, Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. This weekend marks the first meetings of the year between the two teams. FOR ALTOONA: Left-hander Brandon Waddell takes the mound in his eighth start of the season for the Curve. Last time out, Waddell worked a season-high six innings and did not allow a run with no walks and six strikeouts. He last faced Bowie on June 24, 2016, when he pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out eight. He began last season with A-Adv. Bradenton and went 4-0 with a 0.93 ERA in five starts. He was 7-9 with a 4.12 ERA in 22 outings (20 starts) for the Curve after being promoted in May. He went 3-0 with a 2.78 ERA in his first four East- ern League starts. Waddell was a 2016 MiLB.com Pittsburgh Organization All-Star. He was drafted in the fifth round in 2015 out of the University of Virginia, where he picked up a win in the clinching game of the 2015 College World Series against Vanderbilt. For more on Waddell, see page two.

FOR BOWIE: Right-hander Brandon Barker makes his 12th start of the season for the Baysox. Last time out on Tuesday, Barker worked eight scoreless innings and allowed three hits while striking out six. Today's game is his fifth consecutive home start. He made his Bowie debut on May 29, 2016 against the Curve, picking up a win after allowing three runs in five innings. He also faced the Curve at PNG Field on July 2, 2016, picking up a loss after allowing two runs in seven innings. Barker was drafted in the 16th round in 2014 out of Mercer by the Atlanta Braves. He was traded to the Orioles on May 23, 2016 in exchange for LHP Brian Matusz. AIR JORDAN: Left fielder Jordan Luplow is tied for third in the E.L. with 12 home runs on the season. His .563 slugging percentage is fifth in the league and he is third with 32 runs scored. He hit two homers in a single game on Monday at Erie for the second time this year, followed with another home run on Tuesday night against Akron, and he hit his fourth homer of the week on Saturday. All four of the home runs were solo homers.

KRAMERICA INDUSTRIES: Curve second baseman Kevin Kramer is hitting .317 (57/180), sixth-best in the league. He is ranked tied for third in the league with a .402 on-base percentage and tied for third with 17 doubles. He has also been hit by a pitch a league-leading ten times. He has reached base in 42 of 47 games he has played and has at least one hit in 37 of his 47 games. Over his last 12 games, Kramer is hitting .204 (10/49) with 16 strikeouts.

WY NOT: In his last 19 games since May 9, Wyatt Mathisen is batting .350 (21/60) with two homers and eight RBIs. During that stretch, he has raised his season batting average from .274 to .311, tenth-best in the league. His .406 on- base percentage is ranked second in the league. He hit a walk-off single on Tuesday night to lift the Curve to a 5-4 win in ten innings against Akron. EDWINNING: 2016 E.L. All-Star Edwin Espinal leads the team with 32 RBIs. He has the third-best strikeout rate in the league (10.53 TPA/SO) and had multiple strikeouts in a game just three times. ROYAL REYES: Beginning with a four-hit game on May 9, Pablo Reyes is batting .329 (24/73) with six doubles and 11 RBIs over his last 19 games. VIEW FROM THE TOP: The Curve have held first place for 47 of their 53 games this season and 40 straight games since April 18. Dating back to July 24, 2016, they have been in first place in the Western Division for 80 of 88 games, including 36 straight games until the last two games of the year. 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 E.L. with 43 games finished and fourth with 50 appearances. With his six-out save on May 19, DuRapau now sits alone with 30 career saves, passing Matt Peterson (2003-06) for the most in Curve franchise history. DuRapau is fourth in the E.L. with eight saves and tied for first with 16 games finished.

PROSPECT WATCH: The Curve roster currently features six of MLB.com's Top 30 Pirates Prospects: Kevin Nemwan (3), Yeudy Garcia (12), Brandon Waddell (16), Kevin Kramer (17), Connor Joe (28) and Jordan Luplow (30). Four play- ers 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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