37.3 F
Pittsburgh

Altoona Curve Player Reports 9/2/11

Published:

Altoona lost to the Richmond Flying Squirrels tonight by a score of 8-4, going down early with an 8-2 deficit after six innings.  Brett Sinkbeil took the loss, giving up all eight runs, with six earned, in 5.1 innings.  Here are the reports from the game.

Starling Marte

Marte didn’t do much in his last three at-bats, and aside from extending his hitting streak to 15 games, he had a quiet night.  However, he did some good things in his first two at-bats.  Marte led off the game with a deep fly out to center field, with the ball being caught just shy of the 405 foot sign in straight away center.  The ball would have been a home run to any other part of the park.  Marte came back in the third inning displaying some speed.  He got on base with an infield single, beating out a ground ball to shortstop.  Marte moved to third base on a single to right field by Brad Chalk.  He scored after a passed ball, showing some speed by making it home before the catcher could retrieve the ball and get back to the plate.  The ball didn’t roll far away from the plate, ending up just short of the grass that surrounds the home plate area.

Quincy Latimore

Latimore had a nice night at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs.  The homer came in the eighth inning, and was hit down the left field line.  It bounced off the top of the wall in the little nook in left, and went over the fence, although it would have been 3-4 rows deep if it had been hit in to the bleachers in left field.  Latimore also had a few hard hit balls early in the game.  However, in the final at-bat of the game he struck out taking a big cut at a high fastball, leaving the bases loaded with Altoona down by four.  He’s definitely got some power, hitting his 32nd double and 15th homer of the year tonight, but he’s also got some plate patience issues.

Tim Alderson

Alderson had two perfect innings with one strikeout, although his fastball was still closer to the mid-80s.  He had success tonight because he was mostly working off of his curveball.  That kind of approach, when used over the long term, tends to not work, and it also can be dangerous for the health of his arm.

Sanchez caught two runners stealing tonight.

Tony Sanchez

He didn’t do anything offensively, but he did catch two runners trying to steal second, out of three attempts.  The first attempt came in the second inning.  Sanchez had a strong throw, but it was to the right of the bag, hitting the runner in mid-slide, and carrying in to center field.  Sanchez had another attempt later in the inning, and gunned down the runner with a perfect throw.  He caught another runner trying to steal in the ninth inning.  His arm is strong, although his accuracy does come in to question.  Tonight, however, he was on the mark.

The Pirates Prospects season ending tour will continue tomorrow from Altoona, where Aaron Pribanic will be on the mound.  I will be reporting live from the game, with a recap and more player insight afterwards.  If you’ve enjoyed the reports so far, show your support to the site by purchasing a copy of the 2011 Prospect Guide, which is now on a season ending clearance sale.

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

Related Articles

Article Drop

Latest Articles