Termarr Johnson homered in a three hit day for the Altoona Curve on Saturday.
In the seventh inning, Johnson led off with a solo homer, his second of the year since being promoted to Double-A. That put Altoona up 3-1 in a game they would eventually win 4-2.
Johnson had two other hits in the game. He led off the third inning with a single, and eventually scored the first run of the game. He also led off the fifth inning with a single, but was erased on a double play ball.
It’s only been 11 games at the new level for Johnson, who is hitting .184/.273/.368 with a double and two homers. He went 2-for-13 with a homer in his first four games. That was followed by an 0-for-16 stretch in his next four games. He’s since gone 5-for-9 with a double and a homer in his last two games.
TRIPLE-A: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
INDIANAPOLIS won 9-4
- LF Billy Cook: 2-for-5, HR, 4 RBI
- SS Nick Yorke: 1-for-3, 2 BB, SB, RBI
- 2B Liover Peguero: 2-for-5, RBI
- RF Matt Gorski: 1-for-3, 2B, BB, RBI
- RHP Aaron Shortridge: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K
Billy Cook hit a grand slam in the second inning, giving Indianapolis a 5-0 lead early in the game. The homer was his 16th of the season at the Triple-A level, his second in the last two days, and his third of the month. Matt Gorski hit his 24th double of the season to bring in a run in the fifth. Aaron Shortridge threw three shutout innings in relief.
STATCAST HEROES
Hardest Hit: Cook, 105.2 MPH, Home Run (410 feet distance)
Jake Lamb, 2-for-5: 103.5 MPH Single, 98.5 MPH Single, 98.5 MPH Sac Fly
Aaron Shortridge: One whiff, nine called strikes on four-seam (43% CSW). Two whiffs and two called strikes on slider (40%). One whiff and one called strike on the cutter (50%).
DOUBLE-A: ALTOONA CURVE
ALTOONA won 4-2, helped by the big day at the plate by Termarr Johnson
- CF Matt Fraizer: 3-for-5, SB
- 3B Kervin Pichardo: 1-for-5, 2B, RBI
- 2B Tsung-Che Cheng: 2-for-4, BB, 2 RBI, SB
- LHP Nick Dombkowski: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HR
- DH Brenden Dixon: 1-for-3, BB
Nick Dombkowski has pitched great in his last three starts for Altoona. He’s combined to allow two earned runs in 15 innings, with five hits, two walks, and 16 strikeouts. Matt Fraizer picked up three hits and his tenth stolen base of the season in Double-A. Kervin Pichardo hit his 14th double of the season.
HIGH-A: GREENSBORO GRASSHOPPERS
GREENSBORO won 1-0
- LHP Michael Kennedy: 5.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 10 K
- CF Mitch Jebb: 1-for-3, 3B
- 1B Omar Alfonzo: 1-for-3, HR, RBI
- DH Duce Gourson: 1-for-3
- RHP Landon Tomkins: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Michael Kennedy made his second start of the year for Greensboro, and had one of his best starts of the season. The left-hander threw 5.2 shutout innings, striking out ten and allowing just one hit. This was his career-high for strikeouts, surpassing the eight strikeout mark he’s reached three other times. This was also the fourth time this season that he’s pitched into the sixth inning. Kennedy was helped by a solo homer from Omar Alfonzo, hitting his fifth of the year since being promoted to High-A. Mitch Jebb hit his seventh triple of the season.
SINGLE-A: BRADENTON MARAUDERS
BRADENTON won game one 10-5
- 1B Esmerlyn Valdez: 2-for-2, HR, 3 RBI
- 3B Jhonny Severino: 1-for-4, HR, RBI, SB
- LF Shalin Polanco: 1-for-2, 3B, 2 BB, 2 RBI
- C Axiel Plaz: 1-for-3, 2B, BB
- RF Will Taylor: 1-for-4, BB, SB
Bradenton was helped by an early power surve. Esmerlyn Valdez hit his 22nd homer of the year as a solo shot in the first inning. Shalin Polanco knocked in two more runs with a triple in the third. After Polanco scored on a sacrifice fly by Valdez, Jhonny Severino hit a solo homer, his sixth since moving up to the FCL. Bradenton scored five in the third, coasting to an early 6-1 lead.
BRADENTON lost game two 5-4
- RHP Khristian Curtis: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 1 HR
- CF Shalin Polanco: 2-for-2, BB
- SS Jhonny Severino: 1-for-2, BB, RBI
- 2B Keiner Delgado: 1-for-3, BB, SB
- 3B Yerry De Los Santos: 0-for-2, BB, 2 SB
Khristian Curtis has been pitching well over his last few starts of the year. In 19 innings over his last five starts, he has a 1.89 ERA, with a 20:9 K/BB. Shalin Polanco added two more hits and a walk to his daily total. Keiner Delgado stole his 24th base of the season, while Yerry De Los Santos stole two, giving him ten in Single-A.
SUNDAY’S SCHEDULE
- Triple-A: Indianapolis, 2:05 PM – RHP Mike Burrows (0-1, 3.12)
- Double-A: Altoona, 1:10 PM – TBD
- High-A: Greensboro, 2:00 PM – RHP J.P. Massey (3-5, 5.28)
- Single-A: Bradenton, 5:00 PM – RHP Zander Mueth (1-3, 4.58)
