EL1 Altoona Curve

Altoona Drops Father's Day Finale Versus Fightins

Published on June 15, 2014 under Eastern League (EL1)
Altoona Curve News Release


Curve, Pa. - The Altoona Curve suffered an extra-inning, 7-5, loss at the hands of the Reading Fightin Phils on Sunday night at Peoples Natural Gas Field. The Curve relinquished two leads in the game and suffered the series loss to the Fightins two-games-to-one.

Jarek Cunningham continued his fine hitting in the series when he got the Curve on the board first in the second inning. After a leadoff double and an error allowed Justin Howard to go to third, the third baseman lined a single up the middle that scored Howard from third and gave Altoona a 1-0 lead.

The Curve added their second run of the game in the third. With two outs and nobody on, Matt Curry belted his third home run of the year over the right field wall that gave the home team a 2-0 edge.

The two-run lead vanished in the fifth inning thanks to a two-out rally by Reading. Peter Lavin singled, swiped a pair of bases, and with two runs in scoring position, Fightins pitcher Perci Garner collected his first two RBI of the year on a single to tie the game at two.

Altoona ran into some fortune in the eighth inning when they took their second lead of the game. After Howard singled to left, he advanced to second on a wild pitch, then to third on a sacrifice bunt by Cunningham, who also reached base thanks to a throwing error by Nefi Ogando. After a flyout, Junior Sosa provided the then-go-ahead run when he laid down a safety squeeze, allowing Howard to score from third which gave the Curve a 3-2 lead.

In the ninth inning, Altoona's bullpen blew its 11th save of the season. With two outs and the go-ahead run on base, Reading's Anthony Phillips hit a two-run triple off Emmanuel de Leon that gave Reading a 4-3 advantage and he scored on a wild pitch that provided an important insurance run for the Fightins.

Altoona tied it up in the bottom of the ninth which started from a pair of hits by Alen Hanson and Drew Maggi. After a fielder's choice by Keon Broxton put runners on the corners, Curry tallied his second RBI of the game with a single to right that plated Hanson. After Hanson scored, Broxton crossed home on a single from Howard that deflected off the glove of Reading's third baseman.

Reading took their final lead of the game thanks to a two-run tenth and the Curve couldn't muster any more late-inning magic.

Joely Rodriguez took a no-decision despite a quality start from the southpaw, who tied his career-high with seven innings and two runs on four hits. Matt Benedict (0-3) suffered the tough-luck loss for Altoona after he allowed the two runs in the tenth. Seth Rosin (1-1) received the win in relief while Mike Nesseth registered his first save.

Altoona (25-41) lost two out of the three games against Reading (33-33) and concluded their homestand with a 1-3 record. After an off day on Monday, the Curve will embark on a ten-game road trip that begins with a three-game series against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (AA - Toronto Blue Jays). Tuesday's game in New Hampshire will begin at 7:05 while pregame on ESPN Radio 1430, WVAM, and the Curve Radio Network is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

Altoona will return home on June 26 when they host the Binghamton Mets for a four-game series at Peoples Natural Gas Field. For tickets and more information, visit AltoonaCuve.com, call 877.99.CURVE, or stop by the box office at Peoples Natural Gas Field.

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Eastern League Stories from June 15, 2014


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