Cats Go for the Series Sweep on Sunday
June 8, 2025 - Eastern League (EL)
New Hampshire Fisher Cats News Release
The New Hampshire Fisher Cats (26-30) and Altoona Curve (24-32) finish off their six-game set with a 1:35 PM first pitch on Sunday afternoon. It will be the sixth and final time the Fisher Cats and Curve play this season, with the Cats taking each of the first five games of the season series. New Hampshire has a chance to collect its seventh consecutive win, and first series sweep since the Fisher Cats swept the Curve in a three-game series to open the 2023 campaign.
LAST NIGHT
The Fisher Cats enjoyed another historic night on Saturday as Rafael Sánchez (W, 2) tossed the third complete game no-hitter in Fisher Cats history. Sánchez delivered seven blank innings with a pair of punchouts and walks to become the first Fisher Cats pitcher to polish off his three complete games. The righty out of Antilla, Cuba, joined Fisher Cats alums Jamie Vermilyea (2004) and Kyle Drabek (2010) to throw complete game no-hitters.
Playing as the Manchester Buffalo Tenders in game one, the Fisher Cats took an early lead in game one thanks to catcher Alex Stone, who belted his first Double-A homer to give New Hampshire a 3-0 lead. New Hampshire added another run in the bottom of the fourth inning when left fielder Gabriel Martinez tucked a single down the left field line to plate right fielder Jace Bohrofen and extended the Cats' lead to 4-0. Since getting reassigned from High-A Vancouver on June 4, Martinez is 4-for-9 with three extra-base hits and two driven in.
Game two started at 9:05 PM EDT with righty Grant Rogers (W, 2) toeing the rubber for the Fisher Cats. Rogers pitched three scoreless innings to extend New Hampshire's scoreless streak to 40 innings before Altoona's Termarr Johnson drilled his seventh homer of the year to lead off the top of the fourth inning. Rogers went on to throw six innings with one earned run on five hits to collect his first career Double-A win.
New Hampshire took a lead for the seventh straight game when catcher Jacob Sharp poked a single to bring left fielder Dasan Brown in from second. Sharp then scored as the go-ahead run in the bottom of the fourth inning when second baseman Eddinson Paulino sent a single to the right-center gap that allowed Sharp to score from first on an Altoona fielding error. Tied at 2-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning, New Hampshire loaded the bases with one out before Martinez knocked a sacrifice fly to take a 3-2 lead. The Cats then called upon pinch-hitter Devonte Brown, who followed with a double to the left field corner that cleared the bases and finalized the scoring at 5-2.
Righty Grayson Thurman (S, 1) worked around a two-out walk to shut down the Curve in the top of the seventh inning and secured his first save of the season.
The Fisher Cats are on their longest winning streak since they won seven in a row from June 18 to June 25 in 2021.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Sunday's game will feature the same pitching matchup as the series opener on Tuesday, with right-handed Ryan Watson making the start for New Hampshire. Watson (4-2, 3.58 ERA) went 6-2/3 scoreless, two-hit frames and piled on a season-high six punchouts on Tuesday night to secure his fourth win of the season. The righty owns a team-best 3.58 ERA and has reached the four-inning mark in each of his 10 appearances this season. Watson's first outing came in relief on opening weekend, when he piggybacked Sánchez with four scoreless, one-hit innings with five strikeouts to earn his first Double-A win. Last year, Watson started the year with the Florence Y'alls of the Frontier League before signing a free agent deal with Toronto on May 31.
Altoona's Alessandro Ercolani (1-5, 4.79 ERA) will make his 11th start of the year and second against New Hampshire on Sunday afternoon. Ercolani made a four-inning start on Tuesday night and suffered the loss despite allowing one earned run. The lone mistake made by the righty was to Bohrofen in the bottom of the second inning, when the Cats' outfielder sent an opposite field homer to left field to give New Hampshire an early 1-0 advantage. Ercolani surrendered one hit after that and fanned four in his fifth loss of the year. The 21-year-old out of Bargo Maggiore, San Marino, signed a free agent deal with the Pirates as a 16-year-old in 2021. Ercolani can become the first person out of the fifth-smallest country in the world to make a Major League roster.
THIS DAY IN FISHER CATS HISTORY
June 8, 2019 - The Fisher Cats tied the game with two runs in the eighth and then beat the Richmond Flying Squirrels 5-4 in 10 innings with a steal of home. Santiago Espinal started the inning at second, advanced to third on a pair of walks, and then completed a successful straight steal to win the game.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Fisher Cats hit the road to take on the Reading Fightin' Phils at FirstEnergy Stadium in Reading, Pennsylvania. New Hampshire finishes the first half at Delta Dental Stadium when it takes on Somerset starting on Tuesday, June 17.
Eastern League Stories from June 8, 2025
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- Senators Win Pitcher's Duel 3-1 Behind Cornelio's Strong Six Innings - Harrisburg Senators
- Reading Falls as Harrisburg Takes Series Finale - Reading Fightin Phils
- Yard Goats Blast Two Homers and Ride Strong Pitching to 5th Straight Win - Hartford Yard Goats
- Rosier Collects Three Hits in 6-2 Loss to Yard Goats - Portland Sea Dogs
- Cats Go for the Series Sweep on Sunday - New Hampshire Fisher Cats
- June 8, 2025 Sea Dogs Game Notes - Portland Sea Dogs
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