After Strasburg’s departure, the Curve scored again in the 7th inning. �Back-to-back walks by 2B Josh Harrison and d’Arnaud opened the 7th. �Hernandez moved the batters up one base each with a sacrifice bunt. �A wild pitch scored Harrison and put d’Arnaud on third, then a sacrifice fly by Mercer plated d’Arnaud, to add two more runs to Altoona’s total.
The win gave the Curve 5 straight wins, and a sweep of the series against the Senators. �The Curve remain in first place in the Western Division of the Eastern League, with a 15-6 record, 2 games ahead of second place Richmond — tomorrow’s opponent.
Alex Presley’s hitting streak now stands at 16 games. �That hitting streak began three weeks ago, when he singled off Strasburg in Altoona. �It’s the third-longest hitting streak in Curve history. �He is hitting .361, which is currently second in the Eastern League. �In the pre-game interview, manager Matt Walbeck said that Presley has been “hitting left-handed pitching really well”, and has been carrying the team with strength in the bottom third of the batting order.
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Charlotte Stone Crabs 3, �Bradenton Marauders 1 (box)
The Stone Crabs put a pinch on the Marauders this afternoon, holding them to just 5 hits and one run. �Charlotte starter Joseph Cruz faced only two batters over the minimum in the first 6 innings — he gave up a single to RF Austin McClune in the 4th and another single to SS Greg Picart in the 6th. �The Marauders could not make any progress until the 7th, when DH Starling Marte led off with a single and stole second base, then C Tony Sanchez walked. �That was all for Cruz, and he was relieved by Matt Bush, who walked LF Quincy Latimore to load the bases, then struck out the next three batters, all swinging, to leave three runners on base.
The Marauders also had a walk, to 2B Rodolfo Cardona in the 8th, and he too was left on base. �The lone Bradenton run came in the 9th, after Bush had been replaced by Josh Satow. �With one out, back-to-back doubles by Latimore and 3B Jeremy Farrell brought in Latimore.
Bradenton starter Aaron Pribanic was having a much tougher time against the Charlotte batters. �He lasted 6 innings, but allowed 3 runs on 11 hits, though no walks, with 4 strikeouts. �Pribanic worked around �one runner on base in each inning but the 3rd, and he used a double play to help him out of the 4th inning. �In the 5th, the hits multiplied — with one out, four consecutive singles brought in two runs. �A fifth single would have added to the total, but an accurate throw in from the outfield by McClune and some base running issues by the Charlotte runner ended up with a runner tagged out at the plate by Pribanic (McClune to Sanchez to Picart to Pribanic).
Tom Boleska finished the game on the mound for the Marauders. �Pribanic began the 7th by allowing three more straight singles, without an out, bringing in one more run. �A sacrifice fly back to Boleska moved the runners up, but he retired the next two batters and did not let another run score. �Boleska had a 1-2-3 inning in the 8th, and worked around a lead-off single in the 9th.
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Greenville Drive �9, �West Virginia Power �1 (box)
A 4-run 1st inning put the Drive ahead to stay this evening in Greenville, giving the Drive a 3 games to 1 win of the series. �The Power were limited to 6 hits, and half of those were off the bat of 1B Aaron Baker.
Greenville jumped all over Power starter Kyle McPherson in the bottom of the 1st. �McPherson hit the first batter with a pitch, then gave up a single, an RBI double, an RBI ground out, and then a 2-run home run. �A walk followed the homer, but McPherson got a strikeout and a line out to Baker at first to end the inning. �The Drive went down in order in the 2nd inning, and McPherson gave up a lone single followed by a stolen base in each of the 3rd and 4th innings. �He did strikeout the other three batters he faced in the 4th. �The 5th inning brought more trouble, opening with a solo home run, a single, and a fielding error by 3B Jesus Brito. After a fly out, another single loaded the bases, and sent McPherson to the showers. �Marc Baca took over, and he struck out the first batter he faced. �Then an RBI double brought in two more runs, both charged to McPherson, who finished with 7 runs (5 earned) on 8 hits and a walk, plus 6 strikeouts, in 4.1 innings.
Despite only 6 hits, the Power had at least one runner on base in each inning but the 8th. �Two batters (RF�David Rubinstein and DH�Jose Hernandez) were hit by pitches, and 5 Power batters walked. �They just couldn’t get the runners moving around to score — 10 runners were left stranded. �The Power loaded the bases in the 2nd, on a walk to C Ramon Cabrera, Rubinstein’s hit-by-pitch, and a walk to Hernandez. �But all three were left standing there, as a strikeout and a line out ended the inning. �Aaron Baker singled in the 1st inning, doubled in the 5th, and singled again in the 7th, but each time was left on base. �He got as far as third base in the 5th, after tagging up on a fly.
The only Power run came in the 4th inning. �LF Rogelios Noris and David Rubinstein led off with back-to-back singles, and a wild pitch moved both of them up one base. �SS Benji Gonzalez brought in Noris with a ground out to the right side of the infield.
Marc Baca gave up another hit to the Drive in the 6th inning, on a hit batter and an RBI double. �Duke Welker gave up two walks inthe 7th, but kept the Drive from scoring in that inning. �Welker did give up one more run in the 8th, on a single with a fielding error by Rubinstein, then a walk, a wild pitch, and a sacrifice fly. �McPherson was charged with the loss, his 3rd of the season.
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