Curve Score Four in Sixth, Knock off 'Ducks
August 3, 2018 - Eastern League (EL1)
Altoona Curve News Release
CURVE, Pa. - Six runs in the fourth inning held for the Altoona Curve in a series-opening win, 6-4, over the first-place Akron RubberDucks at Peoples Natural Gas Field on Friday.
With the victory, the Curve (58-49) move within five games of the RubberDucks (65-46) atop of the Western Division standings.
Will Craig drove a bases-loaded, two-run single to center that plated the first runs of the game in the fourth against Kyle Dowdy (Loss, 3-5), who was making his first outing in the Indians organization since a trade from Detroit on July 31. Logan Hill knocked in two more on a single of his own to build a 4-0 lead. Arden Pabst put an exclamation point on the six-run frame with a two-run homer over the left field wall, his first at Double-A.
Unable to get on the scoreboard against Eduardo Vera (Win, 5-3) in the first four innings, Akron's comeback attempt started with a solo homer by Daniel Salters in the fifth. The RubberDucks plated two more in the sixth with a sacrifice fly from Connor Marabell and Ka'ai Tom followed with an RBI single to put the 'Duck within three.
Vera tossed 5.2 innings and struck out five, walked three and allowed three runs to win his fourth decision in his last five starts. Despite a leadoff triple in the first by Sam Haggerty, Vera held Akron off the scoreboard. He danced around danger in the second when a runner reached scoring position with no outs and used double plays to erase runners in the second and third innings.
Akron loaded the bases in the eighth inning with three straight singles off Yeudy Garcia. Garcia induced an RBI groundout by Mark Mathias before giving way to Matt Eckelman (Save, 4) to close out the frame and strand two more Akron baserunners. Eckelman retired all four batters he faced including two strikeouts in the ninth to close out the victory.
Craig's two RBIs in the first inning ran his season total to 88, the third-most in a single season by a batter in Curve history behind Adam Hyzdu (106, 2000) and Jose Bautista (90, 2005). Craig and Hill each collected two hits in addition to their two RBIs in the fourth inning.
The Curve and RubberDucks continue their series on Saturday at 6 p.m. with right-hander Luis Escobar (2-0, 3.38) pitching for Altoona opposite left-hander Sean Brady (5-6, 4.32) for Akron.
The ballpark gates will open at 5 p.m. for the Josh Bell bobblehead giveaway to the first 1,000 fans, the first baseman of the 2018 Fans' Choice All-Time Curve Team, presented by Peoples. For tickets or more information, visit AltoonaCurve.com, call 877.99.CURVE or stop by the PNG Field box office.
• Discuss this story on the Eastern League message board...
Eastern League Stories from August 3, 2018
- Baysox Beat Fightins to Start Weekend - Reading Fightin Phils
- Curve Fourth Downs RubberDucks - Akron RubberDucks
- Baysox Cruise to 6-1 Victory - Bowie Baysox
- Curve Score Four in Sixth, Knock off 'Ducks - Altoona Curve
- Better Late Than Never, Thunder Take 2-1 Win over Hartford - Trenton Thunder
- Goats Lose Thriller on Two Unearned Runs - Hartford Yard Goats
- Maine Rain Postpones Squirrels - Richmond Flying Squirrels
- Friday's Sea Dogs Game Rained Out - Portland Sea Dogs
- Fisher Cats - SeaWolves Game Postponed Due to Rain Friday - New Hampshire Fisher Cats
- Senators and Rumble Ponies Postponed - Harrisburg Senators
- Series Opener Postponed in Binghamton - Binghamton Rumble Ponies
- Sosebee Returns from SWB - Trenton Thunder
- 2018 Playoff Tickets on Sale Now - Trenton Thunder
- Sea Dogs Game Notes August 3rd vs. Richmond - Portland Sea Dogs
- What a Day for the 'Dogs, Sweep Erie 9-1 and 5-0 - Portland Sea Dogs
- Rumble Ponies Game Notes: Game #111 - Rumble Ponies (51-59) vs. Senators (56-52) - 7:05 PM - Binghamton Rumble Ponies
- Game Notes vs, New Hampshire - Erie SeaWolves
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
