Tag: Starling Marte

Akron Aeros �2, �Altoona Curve �0 (box)

CF Gorkys Hernandez had the Curve's only hit on Tuesday night as three Akron pitchers combined for the one-hit shut out. �Aeros' Scott Barnes earned the win with 5.1 hitless and scoreless innings, then Steven Wright followed with 1.2 more hitless and scoreless innings. �Omar Aguilar pitched the final two innings, and he also kept the Curve scoreless, but Hernandez led off the 8th with his hit. �Hernandez got as far as third base on two ground outs, but he was left there 90 feet away from scoring. �The catch for the Aero pitchers was that they allowed a total of 8 walks. �The Curve had at least one base runner on in 6 of their 9 innings because of all the walks. �They even loaded the bases on three walks in the 6th, but could not push a run across the plate.

Curve starter Justin Wilson pitched 5.2 innings and allowed both of the Aeros' runs on 5 hits and a walk, while striking out 6 batters. �Wilson worked around two singles and a throwing error by C Hector Gimenez in the 1st inning, then got a strikeout to slide out of a jam with runners on the corners in the 2nd. �He retired the next 11 batters in order before giving up a walk and a 2-run homer in the 6th. �Tony Watson came on in relief of Wilson after the homer. �Watson finished the 6th with a fly out, then gave up a lone single in each of the next two innings. �Ronald Uviedo pitched the 9th inning and also gave up a lone single.

The Altoona Curve had a scheduled day off on Monday. �The West Virginia Power were rained out. �They will play two against the Delmarva Shorebirds on Tuesday, beginning at 6:05 pm.

That leaves just the Bradenton Marauders playing on Monday evening. �First, a few updates:

OF Starling Marte's visit to the hand surgeon in Pittsburgh got him a diagnosis -- broken left hamate bone -- an a date with a hand surgeon for Tuesday. �The hamate bone is the wrist bone that is closest to the bones of the little finger. �The "hook" of the hamate (a tail piece of the bone) will be removed in surgery. �The estimated recovery time after this procedure is 8 - 10 weeks... that would have Marte returning to action in August or so. �This is the same surgery that Pedro Alvarez had after he broke his hamate bone in 2008. �Marte has a .283 average with the Marauders in 26 games this season, with 6 doubles, 2 triples, 12 RBI, and 9 stolen bases.

Hunter Strickland has been promoted from the West Virginia Power to the Marauders, filling the roster spot just vacated when Bryan Morris moved up to Altoona. �Strickland has an 0-4 record in 8 starts. �He has pitched a total of 43 innings, allowing 58 hits and 28 earned runs, for a 5.86 ERA. �He has walked 8 and struck out 15. �Strickland's longest start so far this season came on May 5th, when he went 7 innings.

Altoona's Jared Hughes was named the Eastern League's Pitcher of the Week for the week ending yesterday. �Hughes won both of his starts last week, and was the first pitcher in all of the minors to collect 7 wins this season. �He pitched a total of 14 innings in those two starts, and allowed just one earned run (plus 2 unearned runs), on 9 hits and 2 walks, with 6 strikeouts.

Daniel McCutchen has been placed on the Indy Indians' Disabled List with arm fatigue. �He might miss one or two starts.

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Dunedin Blue Jays � 11, � Bradenton Marauders �3 (box)

A 6-run 6th inning sank the Marauders on Monday night in Dunedin. �Aaron Pribanic made the start for the Marauders. �He gave up a run on a pair of singles in the 1st, and two more runs on a throwing error by SS Brock Holt and two more singles in the 2nd inning. �Pribanic continued handing out the singles -- one in the 3rd, two in the 4th -- but kept the Blue Jays from scoring for those innings. �Three more singles and a throwing error by Pribanic added another run in the 5th.

The bottom of the 6th began with a solo homer, then a walk, a single, and a throwing error by C Tony Sanchez on a pickoff attempt put runners on second and third bases. �Pribanic got a ground out, and at that point he was relieved by Tyler Cox. The first batter Cox faced singled into right field, and when RF Erik Huber had trouble picking up the ball for another error, two runs scored. �A double plated the fourth run of the inning, and the second homer of the inning brought in two more runs. �Dunedin 10, �Bradenton 3.

The Marauders had threatened in the 2nd inning, when 1B Calvin Anderson singled and Huber doubled with two outs. �But the inning ended with them still on base. �The Marauders were able to take advantage of a Dunedin error in the 3rd inning, and scored two runs on a single by Holt, a double by CF Robbie Grossman, complicated by a throwing error (Holt scores), then an RBI ground out by Sanchez. �DH Eric Fryer led off the 4th inning with a solo homer, to give the Marauders their third run.

Pribanic suffered the loss, as he surrendered a total of 12 hits and 7 runs (5 earned) in his 5.1 innings. �Tyler Cox was responsible for 3 hits and 3 runs in the 6th inning, then he retired the side in order in the 7th. �Mike Felix pitched the 8th inning for the Marauders, and he gave up a solo homer for the final Dunedin run.

LF Quincy Latimore singled twice in the game. �Calvin Anderson and Erik Huber both had a single and a double. �Each member of the Marauders' line-up had at least one hit except for Sanchez, who still contributed an RBI. �But just getting on base is not enough. �The Marauders could not push the runners across the plate -- they left 10 runners on base.

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The big news on Sunday afternoon in the Pirates' minor league organization is that the team has promoted righty starter Bryan Morris from Bradenton to AA Altoona. �Morris won his 3rd victory for the Marauders yesterday, and has been mowing 'em down in the Florida State League. �In 44.2 innings, Morris has allowed 37 hits but just 8 runs, and only 3 of those runs are earned. �He has allowed just 7 walks, while striking out 40 batters. �He has also not allowed a home run. �He leads the FSL with an ERA of 0.60, and his WHIP is 0.99. �The Florida State League has hit .220 against him. �He is first in the FSL with those 44.2 innings pitched, and his WHIP is 4th highest in the league.

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West Virginia Power �8, �Delmarva Shorebirds �4 (box)

The Power turned on their power in the 4th inning, scoring 5 runs on their way to a 14-hit afternoon. �Righty starter Victor Black made his 2010 debut with a 4-inning start, and struck out 7 batters.

The Power got onto the scoreboard in the bottom of the 1st. �2B Jarek Cunningham got started with a solo home run. �DH Aaron Baker followed the homer with a walk, and LF Rogelios Noris and C Ramon Cabrera loaded the bases with back-to-back singles. �After a fly out, 1B Kyle Morgan brought in Baker with another single.

Victor Black gave up only two walks over the first three innings, while striking out 5 batters. �He gave up his first single in the 4th, then hit the next batter with a pitch. �The third batter of the inning smacked a 3-run homer, giving Delmarva a 3-2 lead. �Black finished the inning with a ground out and two more strikeouts, to end his afternoon.

In the bottom of the frame, the Power sent 8 batters to the plate. �3B Elevys Gonzalez singled, and went to second on SS Adenson Chourio's sacrifice bunt. �Gonzalez stole third base, and after CF Evan Chambers walked, a wild pitch moved him to second base. �Another wild pitch on strike three to Jarek Cunningham loaded the bases. �Aaron Baker brought in Gonzalez and Chambers with a single into right field. �Then Rogelios Noris made it 7-3 with a 3-run homer over the left field wall.

Marc Baca pitched a scoreless 5th inning for the Power. �Jason Erickson took the mound for the next three innings. �He gave up a solo homer in the 6th, but the Power got the run back in the 7th. �RF David Rubinstein led off with a single, and went to second on a passed ball. �He scored on Kyle Morgan's second RBI single of the game.

Erickson retired the side in the 7th. �He gave up a lead-off single in the 8th, but erased that runner with a double play. �Duke Welker pitched the 9th and worked around a throwing error at second base by Cunningham, striking out the final two batters of the game for a scoreless inning.

Rogelios Noris went 3-for-5 with a 3-run homer, while Jarek Cunningham, David Rubinstein, and Kyle Morgan each had two hits.

Daytona Cubs �2, �Bradenton Marauders 1 (box)

Starter Bryan Morris pitched 6 scoreless innings, allowing 3 hits and a walk, while striking out 4 Cubs' batters. �Unfortunately he did not earn a win, as the Marauders lost in extra innings. � Morris had to work around a fielding error and a walk in the top of the 1st inning, but got out of the frame leaving two runners on base. �He allowed only one base runner over the next 4 innings, and that was a double to lead off the 4th. �Back-to-back singles began the 6th inning, and a sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position, but Morris got a strikeout and a pop out to end that inning.

The Marauders were also held scoreless over the first 5 innings. �They had at least one runner on base in each of those innings, but base running errors erased two of the runners. � Four runners were left on base, two after singles and two after walks. �Finally in the 6th, Daytona starter Brooks Raley was relieved, and the Marauders got going. �With one out, four consecutive singles, by C Tony Sanchez, LF Quincy Latimore, 3B Jeremy Farrell, and 1B Calvin Anderson brought in one run, and the Marauders had a slim lead.

Casey Erickson took over for Morris to begin the 7th inning. �He retired the side in order in the 7th, but then gave up a run on a double and a single in the 8th to tie the game. �SS Brock Holt singled in the bottom of the 7th, but was left stranded. �They also went down in order in the 8th and 9th, and the game went into extras.

Noah Krol relieved Erickson to begin the 9th. �He gave up a lead-off single, but did not let that runner score. �Then in the top of the 10th, a walk, a stolen base, and a triple brought in the go-ahead run for Daytona. �The Marauders could not respond in the bottom of the inning, and Krol was charged with the loss.

This was Bryan Morris' fourth straight start in which he did not allow an earned run. �That gives him 26 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. �Morris's ERA stands at 0.66 -- 3 earned runs over 40.2 innings.

The Indianapolis Indians lost, but the rest of the Pirates' affiliates won on Saturday.

Altoona Curve �9, �Erie SeaWolves �7 (box)

A 6-run 2nd inning boosted the Curve to an early lead, and a late-inning rally kept them on top for a win at home on Saturday. �The Curve sent 11 batters to the plate in the 2nd, collecting 8 hits for their 6 runs. �DH Jim Negrych got the fun started with a single through the hole into right field. �2B Josh Harrison and LF Alex Presley both doubled, and RF Miles Durham added another single, and two runs were in before an out had been recorded. �After a fly out, SS Chase d'Arnaud singled, bringing in both Presley and Durham, and a fielding error accounted for the second run (so only one RBI for d'Arnaud) and moved d'Arnaud to third. �Three more consecutive singles, by CF Gorkys Hernandez, 3B Jordy Mercer, and 1B Matt Hague, and another run came in. �That brought it back to Negrych, who this time brought the 6th run in with a sacrifice fly, before a ground out by Harrison ended the inning.

Starter Tim Alderson elected to work entirely out of the stretch as he worked on mechanics. �He�kept the SeaWolves from scoring over the first three innings, but gave up one run in the 4th on a single and an RBI double. �He ran into more trouble in the 5th, giving up a single, a double, a sacrifice fly, and another double, and then another single, for 3 runs. �Alderson was relieved at that point, just one out away from qualifying for the win, having surrendered 4 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks over his 4.2 innings, with 6 strikeouts. �He was replaced by Dustin Molleken, who gave up another single, but the throw in from Durham in right field put the runner from first out at third base to end the inning. �Curve 6, SeaWolves 4.

Erie moved within one run of the Curve in the 7th, when Molleken gave up a double, a wild pitch to move the batter to third base, then a sacrifice fly. �The Curve responded in the bottom of the inning with 3 more runs to maintain a bigger lead. �Hernandez led off with a double, and Hague walked. �A grounder by Negrych forced Hague out at second, but left runners on the corners with two outs. �Harrison brought both Negrych and Hernandez in with a line drive double into left field, and he moved to third on the throw in to the plate. �That meant that he was able to score on a wild pitch, and the Curve had a 9-5 lead.

Jeff Sues came in fro Molleken to begin the 8th inning, and he was greeted by a solo home run by Erie 1B Michael Bertram. �Sues got two outs, then gave up a single, a wild pitch, and another single. �Danny Moskos finished the inning for Sues with a fly out. �Moskos had to work around a fielding error by SS d'Arnaud and 2B Harrison in the 9th, but still kept Erie from scoring, to earn his 7th save of the season. �Molleken was credited with the win, his first of the season.

Gorkys Hernandez had a 3-hit night for the Curve, with a double and one RBI. �Jim Negrych, Josh Harrison, and Alex Presley each had 2 hits for the Curve.

West Virginia Power �2, �Kannapolis Intimidators �0 (box)

Kyle McPherson and Maurice Bankston combined for 9 shutout innings against Kannapolis on Friday. �McPherson scattered 4 hits, no walks over 7 innings, while striking out 9 Kannapolis batters. �He had to work around 3 errors by his teammates to keep the Intimidators from scoring. �The first error came in the top of the 1st -- a throwing error by 3B Jesus Brito. McPherson worked around that runner, then around back-to-back singles in the 3rd. �A throwing error by 2B Jarek Cunningham stopped what should have been a double play in the 5th, allowing the batter to reach second base, but McPherson got a strikeout and a ground out to end that inning. �A throwing error by Brito in the 7th after a single put runners on second and third bases, but again McPherson worked around them, leaving both of them right there.

Bankston pitched the last two innings. �He gave up three singles in the 8th, but the first was doubled off first base after a fly out, and the other two were left stranded. �He gave up a walk in the 9th, but struck out two, earning his first save of the season. �The win was McPherson's second of the year.

The Power batters were having to work hard to get their runs. �Kannapolis starter Terry Doyle struck out 14 Power batters in his 7 innings of work, including 3 strikeouts each by LF Rogelios Noris and DH Kyle Morgan. Each member of the Power line up struck out at least once.

The Power put a runner on base in each of the first three innings, but couldn't score. �CF Evan�Chambers singled and stole second base in the 1st inning, and C Ramon Cabrera singled and went to second on a wild pitch in the 2nd, but neither could come around to score. �Cunningham singled in the 3rd, but was also left stranded. �Noris finally got the scoring started in the 4th, when he led off with a solo home run, his second homer in two days.

After the homer, the next 12 Power batters went down in order. �In the bottom of the 8th, when Doyle had been relieved by Garrett Johnson, the Power were able to get things going again. �RF Wes Freeman greeted Johnson with a double, SS Benji Gonalez walked, and Chambers loaded the bases with his second hit of the game. �Cunningham was hit by a pitch, forcing in Freeman with the Power's insurance run. �A grounder to first forced Gonzalez out at the plate, and Chambers was caught out between third and the plate, and no further runs scored.

Richmond Flying Squirrels �2, �Altoona Curve �1 (box)

Three singles in the bottom of the 11th inning gave the Squirrels the walk-off win on Thursday night in Richmond. �Reliever Ronald Uviedo, who had allowed runs to score in only one of his previous 8 appearances for the season, gave up the singles in the 11th and suffered his second loss.

The Curve scored first, way back in the top of the 1st inning. �With one out, CF Gorkys Hernandez singled, 2B Josh Harrison walked, and 1B Matt Hague brought Hernandez in with an RBI single. �Richmond responded with a run off starter Derek Hankins in the 4th, scoring on a double and two ground outs.

The scoreboard filled up with a lot of donuts after that. �The Curve went down in order for three consecutive innings, until SS Chase d'Arnaud walked in the 5th. �He stole second base and went to third on a wild pitch, but got no farther. �Harrison walked in the 6th but was eliminated in a double play.

In the 7th, the Curve got close. �C Kris Watts doubled and moved to third base on a wild pitch. �Pinch-hitter Jim Negrych lined out to left field, and when Watts tried to tag up and score, he was thrown out at the plate. �They loaded the bases in the 10th, on a single by 3B Jose De Los Santos (in his first game back since being involved in a collision with Gorkys Hernandez on Monday), an intentional walk to pinch-hitter Jordy Mercer, and a single to short by d'Arnaud. �But Hernandez bounced into an inning-ending double play, and the threat ended. �Hague and RF Miles Durham had back-to-back singles in the 11th, but both were left on base.

Meanwhile, Derek Hankins was also pitching well. �He scattered 4 singles and a walk over the other 5 innings he pitched besides the 4th. �He left after 6 innings, with the game tied. �Tony Watson relieved Hankins, and he pitched 3 shutout innings, allowing three singles and a hit batter. �A timely double play got him out of a jam in the 7th, when he had runners on first and second with one out. �Ronald Uviedo replaced Watson to begin the 10th. �Uviedo gave up a two-out single and a walk, then ended the inning with a strikeout. �But when he returned in the top of the 11th, the Squirrels ended the game quickly.

Matt Hague and Miles Durham each had two hits for the Curve. �Watts' double in the 7th was the Curve's only extra base hit. �LF Alex Presley's hitting streak came to an end at 19 games (2nd longest in Curve history) when he went 0-for-4, but he did continue his on-base streak with a walk in the 1st inning.

The Indy Indians have Cinco de Mayo as a scheduled day off, and the Bradenton Marauders have an early game:

Bradenton Marauders �5, �Palm Beach Cardinals �0 (box)

Bryan Morris continued his domination of the Florida State League this morning, with 7 scoreless innings of work. � Morris scattered 4 hits and a walk, while he struck out 6 batters. �He retired the first 8 batters he faced, before giving up lone singles in the 3rd and 4th innings. �Palm Beach got a runner as far as third base in the 5th, with a lead-off single and a stolen base. �The runner advanced to third base when C Eric Fryer made an error as he tried to throw out the runner trying to steal. �Morris walked the next batter, but then induced an inning-ending double play that kept the Cardinals off the scoreboard. �Morris gave up another two-out single in the 6th, then retired the side in the 7th before sitting down for the rest of the game.

The Marauders' bats were quiet for a few innings after SS Brock Holt's lead-off double. �They got onto the scoreboard in the 4th when LF Quincy Latimore reached base on a two-out ground rule double. �3B Jeremy Farrell singled up the middle, and Latimore raced around from second base to score, giving the Marauders a 1-0 lead. �They added another run in the 5th, when 2B Greg Picart walked, moved to second base on RF Robbie Grossman's ground out. �He scored when CF Starling Marte lifted a fly ball that just kept floating over center field, eventually landing in the deep part of the field.

Picart began another rally in the 7th inning. �With one out, he lined a single into right field. �SS Brock Holt doubled, and Picart scored all the way from first base. �Marte also singled, driving in Holt, to give Bradenton a 4-0 �lead, but the rally ended when Marte was thrown out trying to steal second base. �The Marauders added one final run in the 8th. �DH Tony Sanchez led off with a double, and he scored on Farrell's single.

Diego Moreno pitched the last two innings of the game and allowed a hit in each of them, but left the runners stranded. �The win is Morris's third of the season. �His 3-0 record leads the team, and his 0.78 ERA leads the whole Florida State League.

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Altoona Curve 9, �Richmond Flying Squirrels 1 (box)

Rudy Owens shot down the Flying Squirrels on Tuesday night with 6 no-hit innings and 11 strikeouts. �He was one walk away from a perfect game -- after mowing down 17 straight Squirrels, Owens walked Richmond relief pitcher Craig Whitaker. �Owens was clearly not pleased with himself with that walk, but he held on to strike out the next batter. �He was relieved after the 6 innings due to the pitch count. �He had thrown 97 pitches at that point, and his limit was 100. �Owens struck out the side in the 1st inning, one in the 2nd and 5th, and two in the 3rd, 4th, and 6th. �He got a little help from his friends, of course, with SS Chase d'Arnaud and 1B Matt Hague making two critical fielding plays in the 5th and 6th respectively.

Reliever Jeff Sues earned his 4th save of the season with three strong innings of work. �He gave up an unearned run in the 7th, when the lead-off batter reached on a fielding error by 3B Jordy Mercer, and two singles followed. �Mercer made another error in the 8th, but Sues worked around it, and kept that runner from scoring.

The Curve posted 13 hits on their way to 9 runs. �LF Shelby Ford, who has been struggling over the past month, led the way by going 3-for-3 at the plate. �That doubled his hit total for the season, and lifted his average to .188. �D'Arnaud and Ford started the scoring in the 1st inning, when d'Arnaud singled and Ford doubled, moving d'Arnaud to third. �Mercer's RBI ground out brought in the run.

D'Arnaud and Ford got another rally started in the 3rd inning, this time reversing the hits -- d'Arnaud doubled and Ford singled. �Mercer again brought a run in, this time with a sacrifice fly to score d'Arnaud. �Ford stole second, and he scored on 2B Jim Negrych's single up the middle.

The Curve sent 10 batters to the plate in the 4th inning, as they added on 5 runs. �CF Alex Presley led off with a walk, and stole second base. �C Hector Gimenez doubled Presley in, then moved to third base on Owens' sacrifice bunt. �D'Arnaud brought in Gimenez with a sacrifice fly. �That cleared the bases with two outs, but the Curve got going again. �Ford singled and Mercer reached base on a fielding error by the Richmond third baseman. �Hague doubled, scoring both Ford and Mercer. �Negrych walked, and then RF Miles Durham singled to bring in Hague. �Matt Hague doubled again in the 9th inning, and added one more run to the Curve total when Durham singled again.

Chase d'Arnaud, Matt Hague, Miles Durham, and Alex Presley each had two hits in the game. �Presley's hitting streak is now at 18 games. �The Altoona team record in 21. �Durham's hitting streak is now at 8 games.

Ross Ohlendorf will be making a rehab start with the Curve on Wednesday night.

Three hits were the common theme in these minor league games on Monday:

Palm Beach Cardinals �1, �Bradenton Marauders �0 (box)

The Marauders were held to just 3 hits in this shut-out on Monday night in Palm Beach. �CF Robbie Grossman, DH Starling Marte, and C Tony Sanchez were the only batters to get a hit, and all three hits were singles. �Grossman and Sanchez also walked in the game, and Marte was hit by a pitch.

Two of those base runners came in the top of the first. �With two outs, Marte was hit by a pitch, and stole second base, then Sanchez walked. �A wild pitch put the runners on second and third bases, but they were left there when LF Quincy Latimore struck out to end the inning. �The next 14 Bradenton batters were retired in order, until Grossman singled in the 6th. �Grossman was thrown out trying to steal second base.

Marte and Sanchez led off the 7th inning with back-to-back singles, but Marte was picked off and caught stealing, and Sanchez was left on base after two ground outs. �Grossman also walked in the 9th inning, and went to second base on a balk, but was again left stranded.

In a sad twist, Bradenton starter Nate Adcock also gave up only 3 hits in his 7 innings of work. �It was his longest start of the season -- his first four starts were all 5 innings in length. �Adcock struck out a season-high 8 batters (he's struck out 7 batters twice) and did not allow any walks. �Unfortunately, one of the hits was a solo home run by Palm Beach's RF Alex Castellanos to lead off the 3rd inning. �That was the only run of the game, making Adcock the hard-luck loser. �Adcock gave up a single to begin the 2nd inning, but got a pop-out double play to erase the runner. �Castellanos also singled with two outs in the 5th, and he was Palm Beach's only runner left on base.

Casey Erickson relieved Adcock to pitch the 8th. �He also gave up a two-out single, but that runner was caught stealing second base to end the inning.

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Altoona Curve �6, � �Harrisburg Senators �1 (box)

Washington Nationals' #1 Prospect Stephen Strasburg was scheduled to make one last AA start on Sunday afternoon, before heading over to AAA Syracuse. �The Curve wanted to make sure Strasburg learned one more lesson at the AA level before being promoted. �That lesson: �sometimes you have to take a loss. �The Curve were not all that cowed by Strasburg the first time they faced him, back on April 11th, and they were not any more impressed today. �After going down in order in the top of the 1st, the Curve began the top of the 2nd with a walk by 1B Matt Hague, followed by three consecutive singles by 2B Jim Negrych, RF Miles Durham, and LF Alex Presley. Negrych just beat out the throw from the shortstop for an infield single. �Durham floated a little single over the head of the Senators' center fielder. �Presley's single through the right side of the infield�brought Hague and Negrych in to score with the throw in from the outfield not even close, and the Curve had a 2-1 lead. �C Kris Watts walked, again loading the bases. �Strasburg got his mound opponent Justin Wilson to strike out. �SS Chase d'Arnaud grounded to short, and it looked like Strasburg was going to get out of the inning with a double play. �Watts was forced out at second, but Senators' 2B Michael Martinez threw wildly to first base, and the ball skittered away, as two runs came across the plate, and d'Arnaud was safe at first. �The Curve took a 4-1 lead.

The Curve kept poking at Strasburg, and made him work for his outs. �In the 3rd inning, 3B Jordy Mercer led off with a walk, and Hague singled. �After a fly out, a double play got Strasburg out of the inning. �Strasburg retired the side in the 4th, but began the 5th by hitting d'Arnaud with a pitch. �Singles by CF Gorkys Hernandez and Mercer loaded the bases, but again Strasburg got a timely double play. �Hague grounded to third, and the Senators started a 5-2-3 double play, forcing d'Arnaud out at the plate. �That was the end of Strasburg's afternoon. �He finished with 4.2 innings, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits and 3 walks with 4 strikeouts, and was charged with the loss. �Strasburg has allowed 9 runs (4 earned) in his 5 starts -- 8 of those, including all of the earned runs, have been by the Curve.

Starter Justin Wilson gave up a run to the Senators in the bottom of the 1st, on a single, a walk, and an RBI single that slipped just past d'Arnaud. �Wilson worked around runners on base in each of the next three innings, but allowed only that one run over 4 innings, on 4 hits and 3 walks, with 2 strikeouts. �Mike Dubee, just returned to the Curve from Indianapolis, pitched the next three innings for the Curve. �Dubee retired 9 batters in order, with one strikeout. �That earned him his first win. �Ronald Uviedo followed Dubee by retiring all 6 batters he faced, also with one strikeout.

Some nice shutout pitching (at least for a few innings) on Saturday evening:

Altoona Curve �9, � Harrisburg Senators �2 (box)

Starter Derek Hankins pitched 5 shutout innings in his start in Harrisburg. �He scattered two doubles and two walks over those 5 innings, and struck out 2 batters. �Tony Watson relieved Hankins to begin the 6th inning, and he also kept the Senators scoreless for the next two innings. �Watson got into some trouble in the 8th, though, giving up a double, a walk, and a single to the first three batters of the inning, loading the bases. �Watson got the next batter to strike out, but then was replaced by Jeff Sues. Sues gave up a sacrifice fly, and then a single, both scoring one run. �Those runs were charged to Watson. �Sues finished the 8th inning with a ground out. �He got two ground outs in the 9th, allowed a walk, then struck out the last batter of the game.

Meanwhile, the Curve batters were busy piling up 15 hits and 9 runs. �LF Alex Presley, who is hitting .471 over his last 10 games and is 8-for-15 in his last 3 games, led the charge by going 4-for-5 tonight, all singles, for 3 RBI. �C Hector Gimenez had 2 doubles and a single, and both 1B Matt Hague and 2B Josh Harrison had two singles each. �Each position player in the starting lineup had at least one hit. �The scoring started slowly, with one run in the 2nd inning. �RF Miles Durham tripled with two outs, then scored on Presley's first single. �They added two more runs in the 4th, when singles by Hague and Harrison, along with a missed catch error on a pick-off attempt, put runners on the corners. �A balk scored Hague, and Presley's second single scored Harrison. �Presley was out at second as he tried to stretch it into a double.

The Senators tried changing pitchers to begin the 6th inning, but it didn't help them. �3B Jordy Mercer led off with a single and moved to second base on a wild pitch. �Matt Hague's single scored Mercer. �A walk to Durham and Presley's third single scored Hague with another run. �Gimenez's double brought in Durham and Presley, and gave the Curve a 7-0 lead. �Walks to pinch-hitter Jim Negrych and CF Gorkys Hernandez loaded the bases, but a fly out ended the inning and left the three runners stranded.

A double by SS Chase d'Arnaud and an RBI single by Hernandez made it 8-0 in the top of the 8th. �The Senators scored twice in the bottom of the frame, but by then it was too little too late. �The Curve added one more for good measure in the top of the 9th. �With two outs, Durham walked, and Presley beat out a grounder to short for his fourth hit. �Gimenez's second double brought in Durham with the Curve's 9th run.