Altoona Curve Game Information
Published on June 14, 2013 under Eastern League (EL1)
Altoona Curve News Release
ABOUT WEDNESDAY...: Altoona was able to sweep a doubleheader from the New Britain Rock Cats by scores of 7-1 and 3-1 on Wednesday night in New Britain. Stolmy Pimentel (4-3) matched a career-high with seven innings pitched in the first game last night, throwing a complete game will allowing just one run. He walked six, which set a new career-high for the righty, but managed to allow just three hits. The Curve used a four-run third highlighted by a pair of two-run doubles by Drew Maggi and Alex Dickerson to go up, 4-0. Jarek Cunningham homered in the sixth inning, his 12th overall homer of the season, to make it, 5-0, and the Curve added two more for good measure in the seventh. Justin Howard and Cunningham each finished the first game with three hits apiece. In the second game, former Twins righty and Rock Cat from parts of 2010-12 David Bromberg dominated his former team and organization with a 12-strikeout performance in just six innings. Altoona grabbed an early lead for Bromberg with more runs in the third inning. Oscar Tejeda, who was added back to the Curve roster on Wednesday, homered with one out off Trevor May (5-3) and placed the Curve up, 2-0. Bromberg took over from there, allow- ing just one run on a sac fly in the bottom of the third. Mel Rojas, Jr. drove in a big insurance run in the top of the seventh for the 3-1 win.
CURVE/THUNDER SERIES: Trenton makes its second and final visit to Peoples Natural Gas Field for this three-game series over Father's Day weekend. Last time the Thunder were in town, the Curve took two-of-three during what was a pretty good stretch of baseball for the Curve. After this series the two teams have three games remaining in the season series with all three games scheduled to take place at Arm & Hammer Park in Trenton (July 22-24).
FOR ALTOONA: On the mound Friday night as a result of the rained out game in New Britain will be RHP Casey Sadler, who makes his 14th start of the season and is seventh start at home. Last time out, Sadler allowed three runs (one earned) in what turned out to be his seventh quality start back on June 8 vs. Binghamton. However, the Curve let the game get away late in an eventual, 9-3, defeat as part of the B-Mets three-game sweep. Sadler has had some difficulty pitching at home this season, going 1-4 with a 4.14 ERA in six starts and opponents are batting .280 off him in 143 at bats. Compare that with a .217 average in 157 at bats on the road and a 5-0 record and you'll find that Sadler will look to improve on his home splits tonight. For more on Sadler, see page two.
FOR TRENTON: Facing Sadler and the Curve for the first time this season will be Trenton's Nik Turley, who missed out on the Curve during the Thunder's last trip in. In fact, Turley was scheduled to start in the series but ended up receiving a one-start promotion to Triple-A Scranton. The native of Southern California flourished in the start, allow- ing one run on two hits in six innings at home versus Gwinnett at the newly-renovated PNC Field in Scranton. He finished off the month of May in Double-A and pitched well, going 3-1 with a 2.52 ERA in his five appearances (four starts). Last time out, Turley gave up four runs on five hits (two homers) in five innings in a loss to Richmond on June 8. He entered the season as the 14th-best prospect in the Yankees' system according to Baseball America and was taken in the 50th round of the 2008 draft out of Harvard-Westlake HS (Calif.).
RELOADING: The Pittsburgh Pirates have promoted OF Gregory Polanco from High-A Bradenton to Altoona. Polanco was selected to the Florida State League mid-season All-Star team before being promoted to Altoona and was the fourth-best prospect in the system entering 2013 according to Baseball America. The Santo Domingo, D.R. native is coming off a banner year for Low-A West Virginia in 2012 where he was named the Topps South Atlantic League Player of the Year as well as the Pirates Organizational Minor League Player of the Year. He batted .325 in 116 games for the Power with 26 doubles, six triples, 16 home runs, 85 RBI, 84 runs and 40 steals. This year, Polanco was hitting .312 with 17 doubles, six homers and 30 RBI in 57 games with 24 steals.
UNEXPECTED HIBERNATION: The Curve were rained out again on Thursday in New Britain and wound up only play- ing a day's worth of baseball in the three-day trip. Since Sunday, the Curve had an off day Monday, were rained out Tuesday, played a doubleheader Wednesday and then were rained out again on Thursday. Altoona's bullpen should be well rested for the upcoming series with Trenton, having only used Luis Sanz for one inning (second game on Wednesday). None of the other members of the bullpen pitched in the one-day series.
YOU COMPLETE ME: RHP Stolmy Pimentel's complete game in Game 1 on Wednesday night was the second com- plete game this season thrown by a Curve pitcher and the third in his MiLB career. It was, however, the first seven- inning complete game of his career as his others were of a five-inning (rain-shortened) and six-inning (losing side of a seven-inning game) variety. His seven innings matched a career-high, something that the San Cristobal, D.R. native has done nine times in his career and three times this season.
REMEMBER ME?: Former Twins farmhand David Bromberg really took it to his old team on Wednesday night in the second game. The California native pitched in New Britain for parts of the 2010-12 seasons before sign- ing with the Pirates this offseason as a minor league free agent. His 12 strikeouts were a season high for Curve, surpassing the pair of 10 strikeout games by Jameson Taillon earlier this year. The 12 punchouts, however, are not a career high for Bromberg, who whiffed 13 for Low-A Beloit of the Midwest League on August 24, 2008. It's also the most strikeouts for a Curve pitcher in a single game since '05 and just behind the franchise mark set by Tom Gorzelanny on 9/9/05 vs. Akron in a playoff game (13).
MEL'S DRIVE IN: Outfielder Mel Rojas, Jr. was a combined 1-for-8 with an RBI in the pair of games on Wednesday. Since May 14, the younger Rojas has hit .317 (32-for-101) with five doubles, five triples, one home run and 13 RBI in 26 games. His 0-for-4 effort in game one on Wednesday ended his season-best hitting streak at eight games but he's hit safely in 18-of-21 since May 19.
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