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Tag: Jarek Cunningham

Veal Moves Up To Altoona, But Curve Bombarded

Sunday action with the Pirates' lower minor leaguers:

Portland Sea Dogs  12,  Altoona Curve 4
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The Sea Dogs posted 17 hits on their way to 12 runs, scoring in three big innings.  They began with 3 runs in the top of the 1st off Curve starter Aaron Pribanic, who suffered the loss.  A walk, two singles, and two doubles brought in the runs in the 1st.  Portland added a run in the 2nd on a single, two stolen bases, a fielding error, and an RBI ground out.  Pribanic retired the side in order in the next two innings, but gave up one more run in the 5th on three singles.  Pribanic gave up the 5 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks, with 4 strikeouts.  He threw 90 pitches with 61 strikes.  

The Curve were held to 6 hits, and three of them belonged to C Kris Watts, including a solo homer.  SS Jordy Mercer had 2 hits, both solo home runs.  CF Starling Marte's double was the other run.  Watts singled and 3B Jeremy Farrell was hit by a pitch in th 2nd inning, but both were left on base.  Mercer put the Curve onto the scoreboard with his first home run in the 4th, and Watts also singled after the homer.  

Aaron Thompson pitched a scoreless 6th inning for the Curve, then Donnie Veal, who was just promoted from the Marauders, pitched the 7th.  Veal gave up a solo homer to lead off the 7th, then gave up a single and a 2-run homer, giving Portland an 8-1 lead.  Things got even worse in the 8th, with Diego Moreno on the mound.  a single, a double, and a walk loaded the bases, then a grand slam raised Portland's lead to 12-1.  

Mercer's second home run came in the bottom of the 8th, after Marte's double.  Watts picked up his third hit in the bottom of the 9th, a solo home run, but that was all the Curve could get.   

Taillon Wins #2; Four Hits For Santos

West Virginia Power  5,  Lexington Legends  4
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Jameson Taillon surrendered 4 runs on 8 hits in 5 innings, but he still pulled out his second win of the season.  The 4 runs all came in the bottom of the 6th inning.  The Legends started the inning with back-to-back doubles, driving in one run.  A single and a fielding error by LF Rogelios Noris added a second run, then a 2-run homer made the score 4-0.  

The Power tied the score in the top of the 4th.  RF Dan Grovatt started the rally with a walk, and moved to second base on a wild pitch.  DH Kawika Emsley-Pai and C Elias Diaz also walked, loading the bases.  With two outs, 2B Andy Vazquez lined a single into center field, bringing in Grovatt and Emsley-Pai, and leaving runners on the corners.  Another walk, to 3B Eric Avila, loaded the bases again.  Then SS Drew Maggi lined another 2-RBI single into right field, plating Diaz and Vasquez to tie the game at 4-4.  

Grovatt began another rally in the 5th, with a single.  A passed ball advanced Grovatt to second base, and he moved up to third base on 1B Justin Howard's ground out.  Emsley-Pai drove Grovatt in with a single up the middle, and Grovatt came in with the go-ahead run.  

Taillon worked around at least one runner on base in 4 of his 5 innings.  He had a batter reach on a throwing error by Avila in the 1st, and he also gave up a single in the bottom of the 1st.  Taillon allowed a single and a double in the 3rd, but a double play helped him out of that jam.  He also gave up a lead-off single in the 5th, but retired the next three batters on three ground outs.  

Casey Sadler relieved Taillon to begin the 6th.  Sadler pitched 3 scoreless innings and allowed just one single in the 6th, and a walk in the 8th.  He struck out 3 Legends' batters.  Jason Townsend earned his 5th Save of the season with a scoreless 9th, allowing a single.  

After taking the lead in the 5th, the Power put at least one runner on base in every inning for the rest of the game.  Maggi tripled in the 6th, and Howard singled in the 7th.  Noris reached base on a fielding error in the 8th.  Both Grovatt and Howard walked in the 9th inning.  None of them could push around to score.  

Locke Strikes Out 8; Veal Makes A Start

Thursday evening's action with the Pirates' lower minor leaguers...

Altoona Curve  5,  Trenton Thunder  1
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Starter Jeff Locke struck out 8 Trenton batters in his 5.1 innings of work, while getting plenty of run support -- 3 home runs from his offense.  The only run Locke surrendered came in the bottom of the 2nd, when Trenton loadd the bases on a walk, a hit batter, and a single.  Another walk by Locke forced in the run, then a strikeout and a double play got him out of the inning.  Locke allowed only a walk and a double over the next three innings.  He began the 6th with a pair of walks and a strikeout before being relieved by Diego Moreno.  

Meanwhile, the Curve were pounding out the hits -- a total of 15, including 3 by 2B Brock Holt.  Each Curve batter had at least one hit.  1B Matt Curry, who had two hits in the game, began the Curve scoring with a solo home run to lead off the top of the 2nd.  Holt led off the 3rd with a line drive single to short, then moved to second on LF Quincy Latimore's walk, and scored on SS Jordy Mercer's RBI single.  

Back-to-back solo homers by Latimore and Mercer added another 2 runs in the 5th inning.  The Curve loaded the bases on three consecutive singles in the 6th -- by RF Jose Hernandez, Holt, and CF Brad Chalk, but Latimore struck out to end the inning and leave all three runners on base.  The final Curve run scored in the 8th.  The inning began with back-to-back singles by DH Travis Scott and 3B Greg Picart.  Picart was picked off first and caught stealing, but Scott advanced to third, and he was plated by Hernandez's sacrifice fly.  Holt also tripled in that inning.  

Moreno finished the 6th inning for Locke with a strikeout and a pop out.  Then he struck out the side in the 7th inning.  Michael Dubee pitched 2 scoreless innings to end the game.  He loaded the bases with a double, a single, and a walk in the 8th, but got out of that jam with a strikeout and a force out.  Then he worked around a single for a scoreless 9th.  


Tough Afternoon In Altoona; Von Rosenberg’s First Win

The Curve played an early game on Wednesday afternoon, with the Marauders and the Power playing in the evening: 

Trenton Thunder  7,  Altoona Curve  3
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A 4-run 6th inning by the Thunder was too much for the Curve to overcome, in an early afternoon game in New Jersey.  The Curve posted 11 hits, with Brad Chalk, playing center field today, collecting 3 hits.  LF Quincy Latimore, 1B Matt Curry, and 3B Jeremy Farrell all had 2 hits each.   

Each team scored one run in the 1st inning.  Chalk began the Curve rally with his first single, but was forced out at second on Latimore's grounder force out at second.  A throwing error by the second baseman on the play let Latimore reach second base.  SS Jordy Mercer singled into right field, scoring Latimore.  Two singles and a grounder force out gave the Thunder a run in the bottom of the inning to tie the game.  

Latimore also double in the 3rd inning, but didn't score.  Curry began a rally in the top of the 4th when he worked a walk.  Farrell singled, pushing Curry to third base, and a passed ball let Farrell move up to second base.  DH Tony Sanchez's RBI ground out scored Curry to give the Curve a 2-1 lead.   Trenton tied it up again in the bottom of the 5th, with a single, a throwing error by starter Aaron Thompson, and a sacrifice fly.  

Chalk singled again in the 5th, but was out in a force play.  The Curve threatened in the top of the 6th.  Curry, Farrell, and Sanchez hit three consecutive singles to load the bases with one out.  C Kris Watts grounded to first for a fielder's choice as a throw back to the plate forced Curry out at home.  A ground out ended the inning, leaving the bases loaded.  

Trenton got to Thompson again in the bottom of the 6th.  With one out, a single, a stolen base, and an RBI single gave Trenton a 3-2 lead.  Matt McSwain relieved Thompson, but the first batter McSwain faced reached base on a fielding error by Curry.  The next batter swatted a 3-run homer, giving Trenton a 6-2 lead.

The Curve got one run back in the top of the 7th.  Chalk and Latimore hit back-to-back line drive singles with one out.  Mercer popped up for an infield fly rule out, then Curry's single through the hole and into left field brought Chalk in to score.  That was all the Curve could get, though.  Sanchez walked to begin the 8th inning, and was erased on a double play, and the next four Altoona batters went down in order.  

McSwain gave up one more run in the bottom of the 7th, on a two-out triple and an RBI single.  Thompson was charged with his 5th loss of the season.  


Power Pitchers Dominate In Early Game; Complete One-Hitter For McPherson

The Power had an early game today, while the Curve and the Marauders are scheduled for the evening:

West Virginia Power  3,  Hickory Crawdads  2  
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Three Power pitchers combined to hold Hickory to just 4 hits in the late-morning start.  Colton Cain earned his 4th win of the season, going 6 innings and allowing 2 runs, only one of which was earned.  He gave up 3 hits and 2 walks, and struck out 5 batters.  Two of those 3 hits came in the top of the 1st -- a lead-off single, then after two outs moved the runner to second base, another single when the batter beat out the throw on a grounder to third base.  But Power 1B Justin Howard was paying attention, and he was able to throw from first base back to the plate, where C Elias Diaz tagged out the runner who had rounded third and was trying to score.  

Three consecutive hits began the bottom of the 1st for the Power:  singles by SS Drew Maggi and CF Mel Rojas, and an RBI double by RF Dan Grovatt, who drove in Maggi.  DH Cole White brought in Rojas with an RBI ground out, to give the Power an early 2-1 lead.  

Cain retired the side in order in the 2nd, then began the 3rd by giving up a double.  A sacrifice bunt moved that runner to third base.  The next batter was hit by a pitch, giving Hickory runners on the corners.  Then a wild pitch by Cain and a throwing error on Diaz as he tried to retrieve the ball, let both base runners score, to tie the game.  

The Power put runners on base over the next two innings, but base running problems eliminated the runners -- picked off and caught stealing, and being caught off base on a fly out for a double play.  2B Andy Vasquez singled to lead off the 5th, and he too was doubled off first base when Maggi flied out.  Rojas walked after Maggi was out, then Grovatt doubled for the second time in the game, and also drove in his second run, as Maggi gave the Power the lead.  

Cain allowed only 2 walks over his last three innings of work.  Vincent Payne made his first appearance for the Power this season, with 2 scoreless innings.  He retired the side in order in the 7th, then gave up a walk in the 8th, but that runner was caught stealing.  Zac Fuesser pitched the 9th.  He gave up a single, but also picked the runner of first base, and was credited with his first Save.  

The Power had only two base runners over the last 3 innings, when 3B Eric Avila walked and was erased in a double play, and a single by Grovatt, for his third hit of the game, in the 8th.  Grovatt stole second base, but was left on base.   

Losses For All The Affiliates

The Pirates and all four of their minor league affiliates lost in Sunday's play:

Hickory Crawdads  4,  West Virginia Power  3
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Jameson Taillon pitched well in his 5-inning start this afternoon.  He surrendered one run on two hits, with no walks, and he struck out 4 batters.  Taillon zipped through the first two innings, retiring the Crawdads in order.  He gave up the only run in the 3rd inning, when the first Hickory batter of the inning homered.  Taillon set down the next three batters, then gave up a ground-rule double to the first batter in the 4th.  He retired three more batters in the 4th, then pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the 5th.  Taillon was on the short end, 1-0 when he left the game.

The Power put one runner on base in each of the first three innings -- singles by CF Mel Rojas in the 1st and 3rd, and  C Elias Diaz in the 2nd.  Each time they were left on base.  2B/CF Andy Vasquez got as far as third base in the 5th inning, with a single, a stolen base, and a throwing error, but he too was left stranded.  

Victor Black pitched a scoreless inning for the Power in the 6th, taking over for Taillon.  It was only his second appearance this season, and his second scoreless and hitless inning.  

Casey Sadler came on to pitch the 7th.  He walked the first batter he faced, then got two outs.  A single and a hit batter loaded the bases for Hickory.  A ground-rule double brought in two runs, to give Hickory a 3-0 lead.  The Power tied the score in the bottom of the frame.  RF Justin Howard started the rally with a single up the middle.  C Kawika Emsley-Pai walked, and a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position.  Diaz lined a single in to right field, scoring both Howard and Emsley-Pai.  3B Eric Avila singled on a liner into left field, then a bunt by Vasquez again moved two runners into scoring position.  SS Drew Maggi singled, driving in Diaz from third base.  The rally ended when Avila was caught trying to steal home and Rojas struck out.  

The tie did not last long.  Sadler struck out the first two batters in the top of the 8th, then gave up a walk and a double, which brought the lead runner racing around from first to score, to give Hickory a 4-3 lead.  Jason Townsend pitched the top of the 9th, giving up two singles, but no runs.  RF Dan Grovatt led off the bottom of the 8th with a single, but he was the only Power batter to reach base in the final two innings.  
 

Curve Have A Hit-Happy Morning; Cumpton Strikes Out 8

The Indianapolis Indians have a scheduled day off on Wednesday, and the Curve played a morning game.  The Marauders and the Power play in the evening.

Altoona Curve  7,  Bowie Baysox  1
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After allowing a run in the top of the 1st, the Curve pitchers held Bowie scoreless for the rest of this morning's game. The Curve posted a total of 14 hits, double the number they allowed the Baysox, and every hitter in the Curve lineup but one had at least one hit.  

Starter Mike Colla began the game by giving up a double into center field to the Bowie lead-off hitter.  A ground out moved the runner to third, and a sacrifice fly brought him in with the first run of the game.  The Curve managed only a single by CF Starling Marte in the bottom of the 1st, but they got things going in the bottom of the 2nd.   3B Jeremy Farrell and C Eric Fryer led off with back-to-back singles.  DH Kris Watts dropped down a bunt, but a quick move by the Bowie catcher forced out Farrell at third and left Fryer on second and Watts on first.  After a pop out by 1B Miles Durham, RF Brad Chalk lined a single into right field, scoring Fryer.   Watts advanced to third base and Chalk moved up to second base on the throw.  2B Brock Holt brought in both Watts and Chalk with a triple into right field, giving the Curve a 3-1 lead.

Four consecutive singles began the bottom of the 3rd for the Curve.  LF Quincy Latimore, SS Jordy Mercer, Farrell, and Fryer all singled, adding 2 more runs as Latimore and Mercer scored.  A ground out by Watts moved both Farrell and Fryer into scoring position, and after another out, Chalk singled to first base, plating Farrell and chasing the Bowie starter to the showers.  The Curve had a 6-1 lead.  

Colla worked around at least one runner on base in each of his 5 innings.  The biggest threat he faced after the 1st inning came in the 4th, when he gave up a ground-rule double and a single, to put runners on the corners with one out.  Colla got out of the jam by striking out the next two batters to end the inning.  Colla pitched 5 innings, throwing 76 pitches (53 strikes).  He gave up the one run on 5 hits and a walk, while striking out 4 batters, to earn his 3rd win of the season.  Tim Alderson took over for Colla for the 6th inning.  Alderson pitched a scoreless inning, allowing one hit.  Bryan Morris came on for the last 3 innings.  He earned his first save with 3 scoreless innings, allowing only a walk and a single in the 8th.  

The Curve added their final run in the 7th.  Marte led off with a double, moved to third on Latimore's ground out, then scored on Mercer's sacrifice fly.  Marte, Holt, Farrell, and Chalk each had 2 hits in the game, and Fryer went 3-for-4.

The Curve play another morning game on Thursday.  

Marauders Bombard Tigers; Curve Fall In The 9th

The West Virginia Power have a scheduled day off on Tuesday...

Bradenton Marauders  9,  Lakeland Flying Tigers  0 
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The Marauders broke a 7-game losing streak by bombarding the Flying Tigers in Lakeland.  Bradenton posted 12 hits, led by DH Calvin Anderson, who went 4-for-5 in the game, and missed hitting for the cycle by leaving out the triple.  2B Jarek Cunningham also doubled and homered, while 1B Aaron Baker contributed 2 hits. 

The game began with the Marauders blasting off for 5 runs in the top of the 1st.  They batted around, beginning with a single by RF Robbie Grossman, a walk to C Ramon Cabrera, and a single by Baker to score Grossman.  3B Elevys Gonzalez doubled to bring in both Cabrera and Baker.  Elevys Gonzalez scored on Anderson's double, and Anderson scored on LF Adalberto Santos' RBI single.  

The hits and runs kept coming for the Marauders.  They did not score in the 2nd inning, though Cunningham doubled.  He was out when Cabrera lined out to the Tigers' shortstop, who stepped on the second base bag to double off Cunningham.  Baker led off the 3rd with a ground-rule double.  He moved to third on a fly out, then scored on Anderson's RBI single.  Cunningham added 2 more runs in the 4th with a 2-run homer after Grossman had walked.  Anderson's solo homer came in the 5th, and by then the Marauders were leading 9-0.  

Brett Lorin was the recpient of all that run support, earning his second win of the season.  He pitched 6 shutout innings and struck out 6 batters, while scattering just 2 hits, a walk, and a hit batter.  Both the hit batter and the walk came in the 2nd inning, but Lorin got a fly out to end the inning.  Lorin allowed a single in the 5th and a double in the 6th.  

The Marauders went down in order for the first time in the 6th.  They loaded the bases in the 7th on a walk to Baker, and singles by CF Evan Chambers and Anderson, but a strikeout and a ground out ended the inning with the bases loaded.  Grossman was the only Bradenton batter to reach base in the final two innings, when he walked in the 8th.

Eliecer Navarro relieved Lorin to begin the 7th inning.  He retired the side in the 7th, and worked around a runner who had reached base on his own missed catch error (on a grounder towards first base) in the 8th.  Navarro also retired the first two batters in the bottom of the 9th.  Jason Erickson finished the game by grounding out the only batter he faced.  


Avila And Noris Homer In Power Loss; Baker Strikes Out 8

Lakewood BlueClaws  6,  West Virginia Power  5
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The Power played an early game today, but fell to the BlueClaws in the 10th inning.  Starter Jameson Taillon did not factor into the decision, though he pitched 5 innings and allowed 3 runs on 7 hits and a walk, while striking out 2 batters.  The first two runs Taillon allowed came in the first two innings of the game.  In the top of the 1st, a single, a ground out, and another single gave the Claws their first run.  Two more singles, a double steal, and a sacrifice fly made it 2-0 in the top of the 2nd.

The Power tied the score in the bottom of the 2nd.  1B Matt Curry walked, and DH Justin Howard moved Curry to third with a double lined into left field.  C Kawika Emsley-Pai brought in Curry with an RBI single, and LF Rogelios Noris plated Howard with a sacrifice fly.   

Taillon walked a batter in the 3rd, and with a stolen base and a missed catch error by 2B Andy Vasquez on the throw to second, the runner reached third base.  Taillon escaped without a run scored, though, when the next batter flied out and RF Dan Grovatt made an on-target throw to Emsley-Pai, who tagged out the runner at the plate.  Taillon worked around a single in the 4th, but got into trouble again in the 5th.  A single and two ground outs again put a runner on third base, and an RBI single broke the tie, giving the Claws a 3-2 lead.  

The Power tied the score again in the bottom of the 5th.  3B Eric Avila led off with a walk, and moved to second base on a wild pitch.  Pinch-hitter Kevin Mort sacrifice bunted Avila to third base, and SS Drew Maggi's single through the hole into left field let Avila score.  

Tyler Waldron relieved Taillon to begin the 6th inning.  Waldron gave up a double in both the 6th and 7th innings, but both times left that runner on base for two scoreless innings.  Avila was next to break the tie with a solo homer to lead off the bottom of the 7th.  But back-to-back solo homers in the top of the 8th gave the lead right back to the Claws.  Noris was the next to homer, tying the score again, 5-5, in the bottom of the 9th to send the game into extras.

With Waldron still on the mound in the top of the 10th, the Claws made two outs, then began a rally with a walk.  Waldron struck out the next batter, but strike three was a wild pitch, and the Claws got a second chance with the batter reaching first base safely.  They took advantage of the opportunity, with an RBI single to score the runner from second base.  Casey Sadler relieved Waldron and struck out the next batter to end the inning.  The Power had a chance in the bottom of the 10th, when Curry doubled with two outs.  Lakewood also brought in another reliever, who also got a strikeout (of Howard) to end the Power's threat and the game.  

Curve Split Another Double Header; Three Hits For Maggi And Howard

The Curve were making up a rained out game with a double header:

Altoona Curve  2,  Akron Aeros  0     (Game 1)
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After shutting out the Aeros last night, the Curve pitching staff continued their dominance with another 7 shutout innings in Game 1 of the double header.  Tonight it was Aaron Pribanic who earned his 4th win with 7 scoreless innings, for a (shortened) complete game.  He gave up 6 hits, no walks, and also worked around two errors by his fielders.  Pribanic had at least one base runner on in all but one inning.  Akron had a small threat going in the 6th, when Pribanic gave up back-to-back singles with one out, but a foul pop ended that inning.  With one out in the 7th, Pribanic gave up a hit, then another batter reached on 3B Jeremy Farrell's throwing error.  Pribanic got a grounder force out and a fly out to end that inning.  

The Curve also posted just 6 hits, but they made them count.  Farrell singled in the bottom of the 2nd, and moved to second base on a wild pitch.  He scored on DH Eric Fryer's single up the middle.  Fryer also advanced to second on another wild pitch, and 1B Miles Durham walked, but they were left on base.  CF Starling Marte contributed the Curve's only other run with a solo home run in the 3rd.  Marte also singled in the 1st inning.  SS Jordy Mercer singled in the 2nd, but was picked off and caught stealing, and singled again in the 6th.  C Tony Sanchez walked in the 4th and stole second base.  


Aeros  8,  Curve  1       (Game 2)
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Curve starter Bryan Morris continued the streak with 3 scoreless innings, in which he gave up only a walk, and struck out 3 batters.  But the streak ended in the 4th, when Morris started out by giving up a single and a walk.  He was relieved by Matt McSwain.  The first batter McSwain faced dropped down a sacrifice bunt to put both runners in scoring position.  McSwain then walked the next two batters, forcing in a run, before striking out two batters to end the inning.  McSwain came back out in the 5th and began with a hit batter and a walk.  The lead runner stole third base, then scored on an RBI single.  A triple drove in two more runs, to give Akron a 4-0 lead.  

The Curve were held to just 3 hits, and two of those were by LF Quincy Latimore.  Latimore singled in the 1st but was thrown out trying to steal second base.  He singled again in the 4th and was left on base.  The only other hit was a solo home run by C Eric Fryer in the 5th inning, for the only Curve run of the game.  The last 7 Curve batters were retired in order.  

Brian Leach took the mound in relief of McSwain in the 6th and retired the side in order.  The Aeros rallied again in the top of the 7th.  The inning began with a double, a single, and a walk to load the bases.  A triple cleared the bases for 3 runs.  After a walk, a sacrifice fly brought in the 4th run of the inning.  Leach surrendered another single, then was relieved by Noah Krol, who ended the inning with a grounder force out.

Hit-Fest In Bradenton; Curve Pitchers Throw A Shutout

Friday night's action:

Altoona Curve 2,  Akron Aeros  0
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Three Curve pitchers combined to throw a 3-hit shutout of the Aeros.  Starter Mike Colla had to work around runners on base in 5 of his 6 innings, but he held the Aeros scoreless and earned his second win.  He scattered 3 hits, 2 walks, and one hit batter over those innings.  The only inning in which Akron had 2 runners on base was the 3rd, when Colla walked two.  Anthony Claggett also gave up two walks in the 8th, after a 1-2-3 inning in the 7th, but he did not allow a hit or a run.  Noah Krol picked up his 9th Save with three quick ground outs in the 9th.

The Curve posted 11 hits, but scored only two runs (8 runners left on base).  In the bottom of the 1st, with two outs, LF Quincy Latimore looped a single into right field, then scored from first on SS Jordy Mercer's ringing double into center field.  C Tony Sanchez singled and DH Kris Watts doubled in the 2nd inning, but Sanchez was out at the plate on the throw in from left field.  The Curve added an unearned run in the 3rd.  2B Brock Holt led off the inning with a strikeout, but he reached first when strike three was a wild pitch.  Holt stole second base, then scored when the Akron center fielder made an error on Mercer's ball.

The Curve put runners on base in each inning after that, but could not bring any of them around to score.  Sanchez and 1B Miles Durham both singled in the 4th inning, and that was the only inning after the 3rd when the Curve had two runners on base.  CF Starling Marte singled twice, Watts singled, and Mercer doubled again.


Taillon’s First Loss; Marauders And Curve Bombarded

The Power played a double-header this afternoon, and the Curve and Marauders have evening games:

Lexington Legends  4,  West Virginia Power  2    Game 1 
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Jameson Taillon suffered his first pro loss this afternoon, as the Power were one-hit in the first game of their double-header.  Taillon began by giving up a solo homer in the bottom of the 1st.  Lexington scored two more in the 2nd inning with a single, a double, then an RBI ground out and an fielder's choice and throwing error by 3B Eric Avila.  Taillon had to work around another fielding error, this one by 1B Matt Curry, and a single in the 3rd inning, but he kept Lexington from scoring.  A single, a stolen base, and another single drove in the Legends' 4th run in the 4th inning.  Taillon gave up a total of 7 hits, no walks, for 4 runs (3 earned) in his 4 innings, and he struck out 4 batters.

The Power threatened in the 2nd inning, when both RF Justin Howard and DH Jairo Marquez walked, but a double play got the Legends out of that inning.  LF Andy Vasquez reached base in the 5th when he was hit by a pitch, but he was picked off first base.  The Power scored their only runs in the 6th, on only one hit.  2B Kevin Mort and LF Rogelios Noris both walked to lead off the inning, then SS Drew Maggi singled to load the bases.  CF Mel Rojas's grounder force out with a throwing error by the Legends' shortstop let Mort and Noris score.  Curry also walked, but two strikeouts ended the inning.  



Power  9,  Legends  3    Game 2
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Apparently the Power were saving up their hits and runs for the second game.  They put up 14 hits on the way to 9 runs, while holding Lexington to just 5 hits.  DH Dan Grovatt, 1B Matt Curry, and C Kawika Emsley-Pai each had 3 hits, with homers by Grovatt, Curry, and LF Rogelios Noris.

The Power jumped out to a 5-run lead in the top of the 1st.  With one out, CF Mel Rojas and Grovatt singled, then Curry brought them in with his 3-run homer.  Emsley-Pai singled up the middle, and Noris added his 2-run homer for a 5-0 lead. 

Curry led off the 3rd with a single, and he scored from first on Emsley-Pai's double.  Noris tripled, plating Emsley-Pai, and a wild pitch let Noris come across the plate.  Power up 8-0.  Dan Grovatt made it 9-0 with a solo home run in the top of the 4th. 

Tyler Waldron made the start in Game 2.  Waldron buzzed through the first two innings, retiring 6 Legends in order.  He loaded the bases in the 3rd, on a walk and two singles, but got a double play to end the frame.  The lead-off batter in the bottom of the 4th homered for the only run Waldron surrendered.  Kevin Decker relieved Waldron to begin the 5th.  He retired the side with two strikeouts and a fly out in that inning, but gave up 2 more runs in the 6th.  A double, a single, and a walk loaded the bases for Lexington.  A sacrifice fly brought in one run, and a throwing error by Decker allowed the second run of the inning to score.  Decker also retired the side in order in the 7th, earning the win.