The Force Is Strong for Altoona in Star Wars Night Victory
June 4, 2022 - Eastern League (EL)
Altoona Curve News Release
CURVE, PA - Mash or Crush. There is no weakness for Blake Sabol offensively right now. In a three-RBI performance, he slammed his sixth home run of the season as Altoona defeated Bowie 5-3 on Star Wars Night in front of 6,831 fans at Peoples Natural Gas Field.
The Force Awakened for Sabol in the first inning, when he lined a one-out triple to right field off Bowie starter Antonio Velez (L, 1-6) to give the Curve the early 1-0 lead. He scored in the next at-bat as Matt Gorksi hit an RBI-single up the middle to double Altoona's lead, his fourth-straight game with a run batted in.
Bowie saw the Return of the Jedi in the fifth inning, when Sabol smashed one to a galaxy far far away for his sixth home run of the season. It was a two-run shot to give Altoona a 4-0 lead off Velez that scored Andres Alvarez, who reached on a one-out double.
Luis Ortiz (W, 2-2) proved to be The Phantom Menace for the Baysox lineup in the start. He carried a perfect game into the fifth inning and faced the minimum until the sixth, when The Empire Struck Back for Bowie. Ortiz walked two batters with two outs, setting up a bases-clearing double from César Prieto that ended the day for Ortiz, who struck out seven batters on two hits in 5.2 innings.
Noe Toribio entered and prevented an Attack of the Clones by recording the final out in the sixth for the Curve. The Baysox found A New Hope in the seventh when Cody Roberts knocked an RBI-single to cut the lead to one for the Curve. However, the Rise of Skywalker, Tyler Samaniego, stranded the tying-run at first base to end the inning.
An insurance run was provided by Gorski in the eighth inning on another RBI-single to score Sabol off Adam Stauffer. Left-hander Samaniego was The Last Jedi called upon for Altoona's bullpen, recording the final four outs to pick up his second save of the season. He has still not allowed a hit since April 15th in Greensboro, a streak that now stands at 16.1 innings.
Altoona found Revenge on the Sith with its second win of the series over Bowie. Sabol and Gorski each had multi-hit games in the win over the dark side, restoring balance to the galaxy.
Altoona concludes its six-game series with the Bowie Baysox, Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, on Sunday night at 6:00 p.m. in our Game of Hope. LHP Drew Rom is slated for the Baysox, while Altoona has yet to announce its starter.
For tickets or more information, visit AltoonaCurve.com, call 877.99.CURVE or stop by the PNG Field box office. Additionally, the Stockyard Team Store is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., during every home game and online 24/7/365.
Eastern League Stories from June 4, 2022
- Richmond Blanks Ducks 6-0 - Akron RubberDucks
- Sea Dogs Split Twin Bill with Fisher Cats - Portland Sea Dogs
- Squirrels Shut Down 'Ducks in 6-0 Saturday Win - Richmond Flying Squirrels
- Alvarez's Walk Off Sacrifice Fly Propels Spiedies Over Patriots on Spiedie Saturday - Binghamton Rumble Ponies
- Rumble Ponies Defeat Patriots in Extras - Somerset Patriots
- The Force Is Strong for Altoona in Star Wars Night Victory - Altoona Curve
- O'Hoppe Slam Not Enough in Battle at Hartford - Reading Fightin Phils
- Bowie Falls on a Fast Night in Altoona - Chesapeake Baysox
- Carpenter Homers Twice in 4-2 Win over Harrisburg - Erie SeaWolves
- Rodriguez Homers in 4-2 Loss to Erie - Harrisburg Senators
- Mets RHP Tylor Megill to Make Rehab Start for Binghamton Sunday - Binghamton Rumble Ponies
- June 4, 2022 Sea Dogs Game Notes - Portland Sea Dogs
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.
