Reading Phillies 9, Altoona Curve 7
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The Curve thought they had this game well in hand with a 6-3 lead going into the top of the 9th. A 6-run explosion by the R-Phils in the top of the 9th changed that thought. The Curve began with a run in the bottom of the 1st on a double by CF Starling Marte and singles by 2B Brock Holt and RF Andrew Lambo. Marte drove in a second run in the 2nd, after LF Quincy Latimore was hit by a pitch and sacrificed to second by pitcher Kyle McPherson.
McPherson had allowed a hit in each of the first two innings, then gave up a run in each of the 3rd and 4th. A walk, a stolen base, and a double brought in the run in the 3rd, and a walk, a double, and a ground out gave the R-Phils the run in the 4th, tying the game at 2-2. The Curve broke the tie in the bottom of the 5th with a 4-run rally. Marte got this one going too, with his third hit and second double of the game. He tagged up and advanced to third on Holt’s line out to right field, then scored on Lambo’s double. A fielder’s choice on C Tony Sanchez’s bunt attempt had Lambo out at third but left Sanchez at first. SS Josh Rodriguez, who had just joined the Curve from Indianapolis, singled up hte middle, then back-to-back doubles by 3B Jeremy Farrell and 1B Matt Curry drove in Sanchez, Rodriguez, and Farrell, to give Altoona a 6-2 lead.
McPherson finished his evening with 2 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks, with 7 strikeouts in 5 innings of work. He had thrown 89 pitches, with 58 strikes. He was relieved by Matt McSwain, who pitched the next two innings and allowed only one hit — but that hit was a solo homer in the top of the 7th. Michael Dubee retired the R-Phils in order in the 8th.
Noah Krol came on to pitch the 9th, and he had a very un-Krol-like outing. The inning began with a double, then he got a strikeout and a ground out. One out away from ending the game, Krol walked the next batter, then surrendered a 2-RBI double and an RBI single, to tie the game. A walk and a 3-run homer gave the R-Phils a 9-6 lead, and gave Krol a Blown Save and the loss. The Curve picked up one more run in the bottom of the 9th, when Sanchez walked, moved to third on Rodriguez’s third single of the game, and scored on Farrell’s RBI ground out. But it was not enough, and the Curve had the loss — but with more runs than they had scored in their previous 6 games combined.
West Virginia Power 4, Lexington Legends 3
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A double by DH Cole White in the bottom of the 8th gave the Power the go-ahead run and the win. 1B Justin Howard put the Power onto the scoreboard in the bottom of the 1st with a 2-run homer, after SS Drew Maggi’s lead-off single. Lexington got one of the runs back in the top of the 2nd, with a double and an RBI single off starter Colton Cain.
The Power added a run in the 4th. White walked and LF Rogelios Noris singled, then C Kawika Emsley-Pai reached base on a throwing error by the Lexington pitcher, loading the bases. A sacrifice fly by 2B Kevin Mort brought in White, to boost the Power’s lead to 3-1.
Cain pitched scoreless innings in the 3rd and 4th, allowing a 2-out walk in each. He gave up a run in the 5th, on a single, a walk, and an RBI ground out. Casey Sadler relieved Cain to begin the 6th. Sadler was charged with a Blown Save when he gave up a solo homer in the 6th, tying the score at 3-3. He went on to pitch two perfect innings in the 7th and 8th.
The Power bats were quiet over the middle innings, then with two outs in the 8th, Howard walked. White followed with a double, and Howard raced around from first to score the go-ahead run, which turned out to be the winning run. Porfirio Lopez pitched the top of the 9th, allowing a walk, but held on to the lead. Sadler earned the win and Lopez earned his second Save.
Mahoning Valley Scrappers 6, State College Spikes 4
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The Spikes continue to struggle, dropping their record to 2-10 with this loss to the Scrappers. They posted 9 hits, but scored only 4 runs. The first two runs came in the 5th, on singles by 2B Jorge Bishop, DH Walker Gourley, CF Alex Fuselier, and SS Kirk Singer. Gourley and Singer picked up RBI’s. LF Wes Freeman singled and reached third base on a fielding error in the 6th, and Bishop walked. A balk let Freeman score and put Bishop on second base. 3B Brian Sharp’s RBI single brought in Bishop with the Spikes’ fourth run.
Bryce Weidman made his first start for the Spikes, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 5 hits and 2 walks in 3.2 innings. One run scored in the bottom of the 1st, on a single, two stolen bases, and a fielding error. The Scrappers scored two more in the 2nd, on two singles and a triple. Weidman gave up a walk in the 4th, but picked that runner off first base. With two outs, he walked another batter, then was relieved by Rinku Singh. Singh threw a wild pitch, then gave up an RBI double for the fourth Scrappers’ run.
With the score tied at 4-4 in the bottom of the 7th, Singh had a batter reach on a throwing error. A double drove in that runner, then an RBI single brought in a second run. The Spikes put runners on base in their final two at-bats — a single by RF Carlos Mesa in the 8th, and a walk by Bishop in the 9th — but could not bring them around to score. Emmanuel De Leon pitched a scoreless bottom of the 8th for the Spikes, but hit two consecutive batters with pitches.
