Six-Run Eighth Turns Nailbiter into Rout as Curve Roll
Published on June 7, 2012 under Eastern League (EL1)
Altoona Curve News Release
READING, Pa. - Jeremy Farrell's bases-loaded single snapped a late 1-1 draw in the eighth inning, and the Curve added five more runs in one of their biggest frames of the season, turning a nailbiter into a laugher with a 7-1 victory over the Reading Phillies Thursday night at FirstEnergy Stadium in Reading.
After the two teams traded runs in the first two innings, with Altoona's early 1-0 lead after the opening-frame RBI single of Quincy Latimore erased in the second, pitching became the story. Curve starter Phil Irwin and Phillies starter Austin Hyatt each got into a groove, tossing six innings apiece and allowing just one run. Each worked out of various jams to keep the game knotted as it drew toward its last third, but neither factored into the decisions in a night decided by the bullpens.
In the eighth, the Curve decided they'd had enough. A series finale that was delayed for an hour by rain at its outset turned Altoona's way in the decisive frame. Farrell's run-scoring base hit put the Curve up 2-1, kept the bases loaded, and was followed one out later by a hot-shot single on an Elevys Gonzalez grounder to first that brought home two more runs.
Brock Holt then cleared the bases with a single to left that, combined with an error on a wild throw to the plate by Leandro Castro, extended the Curve's lead to 7-1. The Curve's uprising came against right-handed reliever Colby Shreve (0-1) who took the loss in his first Double-A appearance, allowing five earned runs on six total over two-thirds of an inning.
Altoona didn't look back from there, with Kris Harvey retiring six of the seven men he faced over the eighth and the ninth. Lefty Jhonathan Ramos (2-0) who pitched the bottom of the seventh, retiring the side on just eight pitches, earned the victory.
Friday, the Curve hit Akron and a three-game series with the first-place Aeros. Altoona turns to the left-hander Nathan Baker (3-6, 5.40) in the opener with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Airtime on ESPN 1430 in Altoona and the Curve Radio Network slated for 6:35.
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