The Curve had two runners on base in the bottom of the inning, when Hague walked and Gimenez was hit by a pitch, but ground outs got the Senators out of that situation.� Hansen gave up a single and also hit a batter in the 9th, but he kept the Senators from scoring again.
The Curve made one last push in the bottom of the 9th.� CF Anthony Norman led off with a single, and pinch-hitter Yung Chi Chen lined another single into right field, sending Norman to third base.� D’Arnaud grounded out to first, allowing Norman to score.� Then SS Jordy Mercer singled through the hole and into left field.� Chen came around from second to score, as the throw from left field to second base was high, allowing Mercer to slide in safely under it.� That was all the Curve could get.� A new relief pitcher got Hague to ground out to end the game.
The two teams will meet again in Game 2 on Thursday, again in Altoona.� Jeff Locke is scheduled to make the start for the Curve.� The Trenton Thunder beat the New Hampshire Fisher Cats 2-0 in the other half of the first round of playoffs.
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Charlotte Stone Crabs� 10,� Bradenton Marauders� 2 …��� (box)
The Stone Crabs tied up the series, and they also used two big innings in their win.� Like the Curve, the Marauders were first onto the scoreboard.� They put runners on base in each of the first three innings — RF Robbie Grossman singled and CF Starling Marte doubled in the 1st, DH Jordan Newton doubled in the 2nd, and 2B Shelby Ford reached on a fielding error in the 3rd.� None of them were able to get around to score.
The top of the 4th began with three consecutive singles, by C Eric Fryer, 1B Calvin Anderson, and 3B Adam Davis. With the bases loaded, Newton grounded to third, and the throw back to the plate forced out Fryer.� SS Greg Picart also bounced to third, but this time a fielder’s choice play didn’t work, and Anderson scored, leaving the bases still loaded.� After a pop out, Grossman walked, forcing in another run, and the Marauders had a 2-0 lead.
Brian Leach, making the start for Bradenton, had faced the minimum number of batters over the first three innings.� He had walked a batter in the 1st, but then Fryer had thrown that runner out trying to steal second base.� Leach began the bottom of the 4th by walking another batter, and again Fryer threw the runner out stealing second.� Then a single, a ground out, and another single drove in a run, and the score was 2-1.
Leach got into more trouble in the 5th.� With one out, a single, a double, a triple, and another double brought in 3 runs.� Phillip Irwin relieved Leach, but a wild pitch and another single added another run (charged to Leach), and the Stone Crabs had a 5-2 lead.� Irwin retired the side in order in the 6th, but the Stone Crabs rallied again in the 7th.� With one out, a double, a hit batter, and another double added two runs and chased Irwin from the mound.� Gabriel Alvarado relieved Irwin, and first gave up a walk and got a ground out, leaving runners on the corners.� Next, another single, a walk, and a single brought in three more runs, and Charlotte had the 10 – 2 lead.
Duke Welker pitched the 8th inning and retired the Stone Crabs in order, but it was too late.� Fryer singled and Anderson doubled in the 8th, but could not score, and the Marauders went down in order in the top of the 9th to end the game.
The two teams meet again in Charlotte on Thursday for the final game of this 3-game series.� Nate Adcock is scheduled to start for the Marauders.� The Tampa Yankees beat the Dunedin Blue Jays 3-0 on Tuesday, and Tampa is currently leading Dunedin 7-0 in a game that got off to a delayed start.
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NOTES:
Some of the players recently called up from Indianapolis got into tonight’s game for the Pirates, who lost to the Atlanta Braves, 9-3.� Alex Presley made his major league debut, entering the game in the 7th inning, playing center field, when the Pirates were down 9-1.� Brandon Moss also entered at that point, playing left field, Jason Jaramillo came in to catch, and Steven Jackson took the mound.� Jackson retired the side in order.� Jaramillo popped out to third in the bottom of the inning, and Presley took his first major league at-bat, worked the count full, then struck out swinging.� The Pirates rallied in the bottom of the 9th, though, and our heroes were involved.� After Pedro Alvarez led off with a double, Pedro Ciriaco pinch-hit and lined a double into left field — his first major league at-bat, first major league hit, and first major league RBI.� John Bowker struck out, and Argenis Diaz grounded out.� Then Jaramillo worked a walk, and Presley beat out an infield single to first to load the bases.� Brandon Moss singled to third, scoring Ciriaco, before Neil Walker struck out to end the game.� (Walker had already singled in the 1st inning, extending his hitting streak to 15 games.)
Pitcher Ramon Aguero had his elbow evaluated, and the results were hopeful — no evidence of ligament damage, just flexor muscle strain.� He will not be pitching for the Curve in their playoff run.
In the International League playoffs, the Western Division winning Louisville Bats beat the Southern Division winning Durham Bulls 8-4.� The Wild Card Columbus Clippers defeated the Northern Division winning Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees 6-4, courtesy of a walk-off 2-run homer by former Indy Indian Luke Carlin.� This is a best-of-five round.
