Tag: Duke Welker

Thursdays' action in the Pirates lower minor league organization:

Binghamton Mets �4, �Altoona Curve �3 (box)

It only took two innings to get all the scoring done in this game, as Bryan Morris suffered his 4th loss with the Curve in what will be his last start before the All-Star break and his participation in the Futures Game. �Morris didn't get past the 2nd inning, as he gave up all 4 Mets' runs on 6 hits. �Morris got the first batter he faced to ground out, but then immediately got into trouble with a single and a ground-rule double, putting two runners in scoring position. �A ground out allowed the runner from third base to score. �A hit batter put runners on the corners, and two singles followed, with a second run scoring. �Morris struck out the last batter of the 1st inning and the first batter of the 2nd inning. �Then he gave up a solo home run, and the Mets had a 4-0 lead. �A walk, a single, and a wild pitch followed the home run, but Morris was able to leave them on base as the inning ended. �I suspect he had run into problems with his pitch count as well, because Derek Hankins came out to pitch the 3rd inning.

The Curve batters came back with 3 runs of their own in the bottom of the 2nd. �2B Jordy Mercer led off with a line drive double, and he scored when 1B Miles Durham and LF Anthony Norman hit back-to-back singles. �Bryan Morris sacrifice bunted Durham and Norman into scoring position, and both of them scored on SS Chase d'Arnaud's RBI single. �The Curve were behind by just one run, 4-3.

But the Curve couldn't erase that narrow margin. �They put runners on base in all but one of the remaining innings, but none of them could come around to score. �Nine base runners were left stranded. �Two runners were left on base in the 3rd, when 3B Josh Harrison singled and RF Brandon Jones walked. �Mercer doubled again in the 6th, and Norman walked, again leaving two runners on. �In the top of the 9th, the Curve's final effort, CF Gorkys Hernandez singled with two outs, but a fly out ended the game.

Derek Hankins pitched 6 scoreless innings after Morris hit the showers. �He retired the first 6 batters he faced in order, including striking out the side in the 4th. �He hit a batter in the 5th, but immediately erased him with a double play. �Another double play got Hankins out of a walk-and-single jam in the 7th. �Anthony Claggett pitched the final inning. �He gave up a single, but that runner was thrown out trying to steal second base.

Bradenton catcher Eric Fryer, who was hit in the face by a pitch on Thursday night, has broken facial bones around his eye. �That will require surgery to fix -- get the bones properly aligned and stabilized. �He's going to be out of action for at least several weeks and possibly for the rest of the season. �This is the same type of injury that Paul Maholm had years ago, though his injury occurred when he was hit in the face by a line drive while on the mound.

Friday night's action:

State College Spikes �5, �Williamsport Crosscutters �4 (box)

Late inning rallies gave the Spikes the walk-off win over Williamsport. � The Spikes got on the scoreboard in the 3rd inning when C Matt Skirving singled and SS Gift Ngoepe blasted his first home run of the season, a 2-run homer. �Williamsport tied it up in the top of the 5th. �The first run, off starter Tyler Waldron, came on a double and a single. �A throwing error and a sacrifice fly brought in an unearned run to tie the score.

Waldron pitched 5 innings and allowed the two runs (one earned) on 6 hits, no walks, with 3 strikeouts. �He was relieved by Trent Stevenson, who pitched the next 3 innings. �He gave up a run in the 6th, on a single, a stolen base with a throwing error, and a double, to give the Crosscutters the go-ahead run. �The Spikes caught up and tied the score again in the bottom of the inning. �Singles by Ngoepe and LF Adalberto Santos and a walk to 3B Chase Lyles loaded the bases. �1B Gerlis Rodriguez drove in Ngoepe with a sacrifice fly.

Williamsport took the lead yet again in the top of the 7th with an unearned run. �A throwing error by Stevenson put the lead-off runner on base, and he scored on a triple. �Rodriguez tied it up again in the bottom of the 8th with a solo home run.

Justin Ennis took the mound for the Spikes for the 9th, and he mantained the tie with a scoreless inning, allowing only a walk while striking out two batters. �That gave the Spikes the chance in the bottom of the inning. �The first two Spikes' batters struck out. �CF�Kyle Saukko kept the inning going with a line drive into left field for a single. �A passed ball put Saukko on second base. �Ngoepe worked a walk, and a wild pitch put both runners into scoring position. �2B Walker Gourley grounded towards first base, and when he was safe on a fielding error, Saukko scored to win the game.

Roster moves: �Relief pitcher Duke Welker has been promoted from West Virginia to the Bradenton Marauders. �Welker had made 20 relief appearances for the Power, earning a 1-1 record and 5 saves, with a 3.63 ERA. �In 22.1 in innings, Welker gave up 16 hits, 14 runs (9 earned), with 24 walks and 25 strikeouts. �Opponents hit .198 against him.

The Pirates have signed INF�Yung Chi Chen to a minor league contract and assigned him to Altoona. �Chen had been playing for the AA Midland RockHounds (A's), but was released in early June. �He had been hitting .168 for Midland, with 5 doubles and 9 RBI in 28 games. �The Taiwan native has been a member of the Taiwan National Team, and was signed by the Mariners in 2004. �He played for AAA Tacoma in 2007 for just a few games before being sidelined with a shoulder injury, and in 69 games in 2008, when he hit .249. �Chen was claimed off waivers by the A's in late 2008. �He split the 2009 season between AAA Sacramento (where he hit .283 with one homer and 8 RBI in 27 games), AA Midland (.324 and 10 RBI in 17 games) and the Arizona League A's (.346 with one homer and 8 RBI in 8 games). �Chen appeared in his first game for the Curve on June 30th, when he went 0-for3 with 2 strikeouts.

Thursday's action:

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Altoona Curve �7, �Reading Phillies �1 (box)

Tim Alderson earned his 7th win for the Curve, and he contributed to the offense too, with a 2-run homer. �It was not the first homer of Alderson's career, though. �He hit one last year for the Curve and another, also last season, while pitching for Connecticut, while he was still in the Giants' organization.

Alderson got into some trouble right away in the 1st inning, when he gave up what would turn out to be the R-Phils' only run on a 2-out double and a single. �Then Alderson settled down, scattering a two more hits and two walks over the next 5 innings. �He retired the last 7 batters he faced in order.

After allowing that run in the bottom of the 1st, Alderson took care of the problem himself in the top of the 2nd. �LF Brandon Jones singled, and Alderson gave the Curve a 2-1 lead with his 2-run homer over the left field wall. �The Curve added 4 more runs in the 5th inning. �With one out, 2B Josh Harrison and 1B Matt Hague hit back-to-back singles. �3B Jordy Mercer's grounder to first forced out Hague at second, but the R-Phils could not turn it into a double play to end the inning. �Instead, they gave C Hector Gimenez a chance, and he took it -- a double into center field, scoring both Harrison from third and Mercer all the way from first. �Jones singled, bringing in Gimenez, and a fielding error in center field allowed Jones to advance to second base. �That gave him the opportunity to score on RF Miles Durham's RBI single.

The next 11 Curve batters went down in order, until CF Gorkys Hernandez singled with one out in the 9th. �A passed ball let Hernandez move up to second base, and he scored on Hague's RBI single. �Mercer also singled and Gimenez walked to load the bases, but a ground out ended the inning before the Curve could add to their run tally.

Derek Hankins earned his 3rd save for the Curve with 3 scoreless innings of work. �He gave up a walk and a single over those 3 innings, while striking out 2 batters.

Sunday action in the Pirates' minor league organization.... the GCL Pirates had the day off, and all of the rest of the affiliates won their games.

Bradenton Marauders �7, �Fort Myers Miracle �6 (box)

Chris Jakubauskas (photo) made the start for the Marauders, going into the 5th inning and allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks, with 3 strikeouts. �Jakubauskas worked his way out of trouble in each of the first three innings. �He gave up back-to-back hits to begin the game, but got out of the 1st inning with a line out and a double play. �Two more runners got on in the 2nd, on a single and a fielding error, but Jakubauskas worked around them to keep the Miracle from scoring. �Two more singles and another error in the 3rd again had Jakubauskas in a jam, but a runner caught stealing and a fielder's choice out got him out of it again. �Finally, in the 4th, Jakubauskas could not escape -- a double and a single drove in Fort Myers' first run. �Jakubauskas began the 5th with an out, then two walks, and that was the end of his afternoon. �Tom Boleska relieved him, but threw a wild pitch, then gave up a single and a sacrifice fly to bring in those two runners, both runs charged to Jakubauskas.

Nate Adcock pitched the next 3 innings for the Marauders. �Adcock surrendered another 2 runs, on a walk, a double, an RBI single, and an RBI ground out in the 6th inning. �Adcock kept the Miracle from scoring in the 7th and the 8th, but the Marauders entered the bottom of the 8th behind by a score of 5-0.

The Marauders had gone down in order in the first three innings of the game. �They had one runner on base in each of the next two innings -- a single by 2B Jose De Los Santos in the 4th, a single by 3B Adam Davis in the 5th. �Two batters reached base in the 6th, when De Los Santos got to first on an error and C Eric Fryer walked. �None of them could come around to score.

Then, in the bottom of the 8th, it was the Marauders who found the miracle. �With one out, De Los Santos doiubled, RF Robbie Grossman singled, and Fryer also doubled, and the score was 5-2. �After a pitching change, LF Quincy Latimore walked, and DH Calvin Anderson singled, to load the bases. �CF Austin McClune doubled, driving in both Grossman and Latimore, and a passed ball allowed Anderson to score, tying the game at 5-5.

Noah Krol took the mound in relief of Adcock to begin the 9th inning. �He was greeted by a solo home run, which gave Fort Myers a 6-5 lead. �Krol gave up a triple also, but left that runner stranded.

SS Adenson Chourio led off the bottom of the 9th with a single to second base. �De Los Santos sacrifice bunted him to second base, and Grossman walked. �Fryer tied the game again with a single into right field, as Chourio raced around from second base. �Then Calvin Anderson won the game with a walk-off single, scoring Grossman for a 7-6 win.

Sunday's action in the Pirates' minor league organization. �The Gulf Coast League season begins on Monday. �The GCL Pirates open against the GCL Yankees at noon.

The Bradenton Marauders have a scheduled day off today.

Altoona Curve �6, �Richmond Flying Squirrels �2 (box)

A 4-run 6th inning boosted the Curve to a sweep of their 3-game series with the Flying Squirrels. �Starter Tim Alderson pitched 7 innings and allowed 2 runs on 9 hits and a walk, with 4 strikeouts for his 6th win of the season. �Alderson gave up a run in the 5th, on a single, a sacrifice bunt, and another single. �A single, a double, and a ground out brought in another run for the Squirrels in the 6th. �Alderson worked around runners on base in each of the rest of his innings, and took advantage of two double plays turned behind him.

The Curve also put runners on base in each of the first 5 innings but were unable to bring any of them around to score. �They loaded the bases in the 5th, on a double by C Hector Gimenez and walks to LF�Alex Presley and RF Miles Durham, but a double play ended their inning.

Presley sparked the rally in the 6th. �With one out, CF Gorkys Hernandez and 3B Josh Harrison hit back-to-back singles, and a fielding error put 1B Matt Hague on base to load the bases. �2B Jordy Mercer's sacrifice fly brought in Hernandez, to tie the score. �Gimenez was intentionally walked, again loading the bases. �Then Presley cleared the bases with a triple into center field, and the Curve had a 4-1 lead.

Richmond got one of those runs back in the bottom of the inning, but the Curve added two more in the 7th. �SS Chase d'Arnaud walked, and after a pitching change, Hernandez also walked. �Harrison's double drove in both of them, to bring the lead to 6-2.

Derek Hankins took over for Alderson in the 8th. �He retired the side in that inning. �The bottom of the 9th began with Hankins hitting a batter. �He got two outs, then gave up another single. �Danny Moskos came on to relieve Hankins, and he got the only batter he faced to ground out, earning the save. �Moskos now leads the Eastern League with 16 saves.

The Indianapolis Indians had a scheduled day off today.

Reports are that 1B/OF Steve Pearce, who is working his way back from a sprained ankle, played in an extended Spring Training game today in Bradenton. �He went 1-for-5 at the plate.

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West Virginia Power �5, �Hickory Crawdads �3 (box)

The Power snapped their losing streak with a win in Hickory tonight, led by DH Kyle Morgan and his two home runs. �After two quiet innings, Morgan got things started in the top of the 3rd with a solo home run over the right-center field wall. �SS Benji Gonzalez followed the homer with a single, then stole second base (his 9th steal of the season). �A double by CF David Rubinstein plated Gonzalez, and a single by 2B Jarek Cunningham brought in Rubinstein. �Cunningham also stole second base (his 3rd of the year).

The Crawdads tied it up with 3 runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. �Kyle McPherson had the first batter reach on an error by 3B Jesus Brito, then gave up back-to-back singles to load the bases. �A double cleared the bases, and those 3 runs tied it up.

But the Power were not done. �Both RF Jose Hernandez and Morgan blasted solo homers (not back-to-back) in the 4th inning, and the Power had the lead again.

That was all the scoring in the game. �Brito and Cunningham were the only Power batters to reach base over the remaining 5 innings, both on walks. �The Crawdads did not fare any better --�McPherson retired the next 11 batters he faced over the 4th through the 7th innings. �He gave up a 2-out triple in the 7th, but got the next batter to strike out. �Ryan Kelly pitched a perfect 8th inning, and Duke Welker pitched a perfect 9th, including two strikeouts. �McPherson was credited with his 5th win, and Welker with his 4th save.

Game 1: �Altoona Curve �3, �Harrisburg Senators �2 (box)

The Curve got the evening off to a good start in the first of two 7-inning games, as they made up for the rain-out on Wednesday. �C Kris Watts led the offense with 2 hits and SS Chase d'Arnaud drove in 2 of the Curve runs.

Harrisburg scored first, with a run in the 2nd inning on two singles, a wild pitch by Altoona starter Tim Alderson, and a sacrifice fly. �The Curve tried to respond in the bottom of the inning, when Watts and LF Anthony Norman both singled, and Alderson walked to load the bases. �All three were left on base when a line out ended the inning. �But the Curve got the job done in the 4th inning. �RF Alex Presley led off by beating out a bunt for a single. �Watts lined another single into left field. �3B Shelby Ford dropped down a sacrifice bunt, and when the Harrisburg third baseman threw wide of first base for an error, Presley raced around to score, leaving Watts on third and Ford on second. �An intentional walk to Norman brought up Alderson, who flied out for the first out of the inning. �Then d'Arnaud ripped a line drive into left field, scoring both Watts and Ford. �The Curve came close to getting another run, when CF Gorkys Hernandez flied out to right field, but instead of that being a sacrifice fly, Norman was thrown out at the plate after tagging up.

Alderson gave up another run in the top of the 5th, on a single, a stolen base, and another single. �He pitched a total of 6 innings and allowed those 2 runs on 7 hits and a walk, with 3 strikeouts. �Alderson earned his 5th win of the season, giving him a 5-2 record. �Danny Moskos earned his 14th save of the season by pitching a perfect 7th inning.

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Game 2: �Senators �1, �Curve 0 (box)

The second game was another story. �SS Chase d'Arnaud led off the bottom of the 1st with a walk. �He was immediately erased when CF Gorkys Hernandez bounced into a double play. �And that was it. �No more Curve base runners, no hits, no more walks, no one reaching on an error or being hit by a pitch. �Just another 19 outs, 21 all together (it was a 7-inning game, as part of the double-header). �Harrisburg starter Chuck James pitched 5 innings and struck out 7, including striking out 6 Curve batters in a row in the 3rd and 4th innings. �Reliever Cole Kimball pitched a perfect 6th including 2 more strikeouts. �Reliever Zech Zinicola pitched the 7th, another perfect inning with two strikeouts.

And, as if that weren't bad enough -- it was even worse for Curve starter Rudy Owens. He pitched 7 innings and allowed only one run on 7 hits, no walks, with one strikeout, and still suffered the loss (his 3rd of the season). �Owens worked around a single in the 2nd and a double in the 3rd to keep the game scoreless. �He gave up a double and hit a batter in the 4th, but still did not allow a run. �Harrisburg's only run came in the 5th, with 2 outs, on 3 consecutive singles. �Owens allowed one more single in the 6th, then removed that base runner with a double play. �Jimmy Barthmaier pitched a scoreless 7th inning, also allowing just one single and also eliminating that threat with a double play.

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The Indy Indians lost today, as did all of the other affiliates who were playing -- the Power also won, splitting a double header.

Tomorrow MLB will hold the 2010 Draft... stay tuned!

New Hampshire Fisher Cats �5, �Altoona Curve �3 (box)

Like yesterday, the Curve had an early 3-run inning to take the lead, but also like yesterday, they gave up runs in the late innings and lost to the Fisher Cats. �And like the Indy Indians today, the Curve faced a former teammate -- Ronald Uviedo, who was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays last week, made the start for the Fisher Cats. �Uviedo was a reliever while pitching for the Curve, so he will need to get stretched out -- he was limited to just 3 innings today. �Uviedo retired his old mates in order in the 1st inning, but gave up two walks, to LF Alex Presley and DH Jim Negrych in the 2nd. �The walks were followed by a booming home run by RF Miles Durham, to give the Curve 3 runs. �Uviedo also walked 3B Josh Harrison in the 3rd inning, but left him on base.

Jared Hughes had the start for the Curve. �He begin the bottom of the 1st inning with three straight singled, loading the bases with no outs. �A grounder to short for a force out at second brought in one run, but they did not get a double play. �Instead, Hughes struck out the next batter and ended the inning with an easy grounder to first.

That 3-1 score held for the next 5 innings. �Counting those three outs after the three singles in the 1st, Hughes retired 17 Fisher Cats batters in order, taking him to the 6th inning with two outs. �That's when he loaded the bases again, on a single, a walk, and a single, before bearing down to get out of the jam with a fly out.

After Uviedo finished the 3rd inning, the Curve got a walk by C Hector Gimenez in the 4th, and SS Chase d'Arnaud was hit by a pitch in the 5th, but neither scored. �They came close in the 6th, when Josh Harrison led off with a double. �A passed ball had Harrison moving, but he was caught in a run-down on the third base line, and eventually tagged out.

New Hampshire added a run in the bottom of the 7th off reliever Tony Watson. A double and two ground outs did the trick, and the Curve lead was cut to 3-2. �The Curve got the run back right away, when d'Arnaud led off the top of the 8th with a triple, then scored on a wild pitch. �Two more Curve batters got on base in the inning, with a walk to CF Gorkys Hernandez and 1B Matt Hague being hit by a pitch, but a double play ended the inning without further runs scoring.

The Fisher Cats did their damage in the bottom of the 8th. �With Watson still on the mound, a double and a ground out put a base runner on third. �Jimmy Barthmaier relieved Watson, but he walked the only batter he faced. �Danny Moskos came on next, and he gave up an RBI single to tie the game. �A throwing error on the play moved the runners to second and third base. �Another single drove in both runners to give the Fisher Cats the winning run plus an insurance run. �The Curve tried to rally in the 9th, when Gimenez walked and Negrych singled, but two strikeouts ended the game.

Friday night business.... the State College Spikes (Short-season A level) begin their season two weeks from today. �The Gulf Coast League Pirates, who will share McKechnie Field with the Marauders, begin their season on June 21st.

While the team rosters have not been formally announced yet, there have been some player moves: �C/INF Andrew Walker and INF Anthony Norman have been moved from the Marauders to the State College roster. � LHP Eliecer Navarro has been moved onto the Marauders' roster from the GCL Pirates' roster. �Also, Marauders' INF Greg Picart has been reactivated from the disabled list (hand injury).

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Altoona Curve �6, �New Hampshire Fisher Cats �1 (box)

The Curve began their series in New Hampshire with a win, boosting their lead in the Eastern League Western Division to 9 games over Bowie, Harrisburg, and Richmond, who are all tied for second place.

SS Chase d'Arnaud and CF Gorkys Hernandez got the Curve off to a good start with back-to-back singles in the top of the 1st. �3B Josh Harrison grounded into a double play which erased Hernandez but moved d'Arnaud to third base, and 1B Matt Hague's single through the hole into left field scored d'Arnaud with the first run of the game. �They added another run in the 2nd on a one-out triple by LF Alex Presley and a double by DH Shelby Ford.

The game picked up some controversy in the 4th inning, when Fisher Cats' 3B Shawn Bowman led off with a long fly ball that seemed to fly over the left field wall... but then bounced back onto the field of play. �Home run or a bounce off the top of the fence? �The umpires ruled it a homer, and Curve manager Matt Walbeck was ejected when he argued a little too vociferously. �Walbeck got his revenge in the 5th, when CF Danny Perales hit another long fly, this one to right field, for what he thought was a game-tying home run. �But while Perales had slowed to a home-run trot, the umpires ruled that this ball had hit the wall and so was still in play. �Curve RF Miles Durham threw the ball in to the infield, catching Perales by surprise between second and third bases, where he was tagged out after a brief run-down.

After that, it was all Altoona. �The Curve loaded the bases in the 6th on walks to Hague and 2B Jordy Mercer, and a single by C Hector Gimenez. Presley's RBI ground out brought in Hague, and Durham walked to load the bases again. �Ford greeted the New Hampshire reliever with a line drive into center field, driving in both Mercer and Gimenez to give the Curve a 5-1 lead. �After another grounder force out, Hernandez walked, loading the bases for the third time in the inning. �The third time was not a charm, though, as a fly out ended the inning.

Hernandez added an insurance run in the top of the 9th when he led off with his first home run of the season. �The Curve recorded 12 hits, including 2 each from d'Arnaud (single and double), Hernandez (single and homer), Gimenez, Presley (single and triple), and Ford (single and double).

Rudy Owens earned his 6th win for the Curve, going 6.1 innings and allowing only that solo home run plus 4 other hits and 3 walks. �He did not have more than one Fisher Cats' base runner on base at one time until the 7th inning, when he struck out the first batter, then gave up a walk and a single. �That was the point at which he was relieved by Derek Hankins. Hankins threw a wild pitch to move the runners to second and third bases, then walked a batter to load the bases with two outs. �But he got a ground out to first to end the inning without letting any of those three runners to score. �Hankins allowed just one single over the next two innings, as he earned his first save of the season.

Altoona Curve �7, �Reading Phillies �1 (box)

Justin Wilson pitched 5 scoreless innings to earn his third win, and CF Gorkys Hernandez had 3 hits to lead the Curve over the R-Phils on Friday evening.

The Curve jumped out to an early lead with 4 runs in the bottom of the 1st inning. �SS Chase d'Arnaud led off with his second triple of the season. �He scored on Hernandez's double. �2B Josh Harrison was hit by a pitch and 1B Matt Hague walked to load the bases. �3B Jordy Mercer was also hit by a pitch, forcing in another run. �LF Alex Presley bounced into a double play, erasing Mercer, but Harrison scored (no RBI). �A passed ball allowed Hague to score, and the Curve were ahead 4-0. �The Curve added another run in the 2nd inning, when d'Arnaud beat out an infield single to third base, stole second, then came around to score on Hernandez's second double of the game.

Hernandez did not get a hit in the 5th, but instead he led off the inning with a walk. �Back-to-back singles by Harrison and Hague loaded the bases with no outs. �Mercer grounded to third, where former Indy Indian Tagg Bozied made the play to force out Hernandez at the plate, leaving the bases still loaded. �Another pair of back-to-back singles, by Presley and RF Miles Durham brought in a run each.

Hernandez picked up his third hit, a single, in the 8th inning, but was out in a force play. �Presley also doubled in the 7th inning.

Justin Wilson gave up just 2 hits and a walk in his 5 innings. �Tagg Bozied singled to open the 2nd inning, but was erased in a double play. �Wilson gave up the other single and the walk in the 3rd inning, but two strikeouts left those runners stranded. �Wilson retired the last 8 batters he faced.

Dustin Molleken relieved Wilson to begin the 6th inning. �He allowed a double in the 6th but did not let the runner score. �He loaded the bases with three singles (another to Bozied) in the 7th, but two strikeouts and a fly out got Molleken out of the inning without a run scoring. �Ronald Uviedo pitched 2 innings, and allowed the R-Phils' only run in the 8th, on a walk and two singles.

Reliever Diego Moreno, who was recently promoted to Altoona from Bradenton, has been placed on the DL with right rotator cuff strain. � The Pirates are sending reliever Jack Taschner, who has been on the DL with left hamstring issues, is going to be joining the Curve for a rehab assignment.

Akron Aeros �5, �Altoona Curve �2 (box)

The Curve turned the second double play in their history today, in an early game in Akron. �In the 6th inning, with reliever Derek Hankins on the mound,�Akron's LF Cristo Arnal led off with a single, and former Curve and Indy Indian C Miguel Perez was hit by a pitch. �CF John Drennen lined right to SS Chase d'Arnaud, who made the catch, quickly stepped on second base, and fired to Matt Hague at�first base for the third out. �(The first triple play by the Curve came on May 3, 2001 at home in Altoona, against the Harrisburg Senators. �It was a 2-6-3 play: �C JR House to SS Shaun Skrehot to 1B Chris Peterson.)

Unfortunately, the triple play could not make up for a lack of offense, as the Curve batters managed only 4 hits and 2 runs in the game, ending their 8-game winning streak. �After going down in order over the first two innings, the Curve scored both of their runs in the 3rd inning, with the help of three Akron errors. �C Kris Watts led off with a double. �DH Miles Durham singled into center field, moving Watts to third, and Durham moved up to second base when the Aeros' first baseman missed the catch on the throw in from the outfield for an error. �The second error occurred on d'Arnaud's ball to second base, and it let both Watts and Durham score, as d'Arnaud was safe on first. �2B Josh Harrison also reached base on an error, advancing d'Arnaud to third base, but they did not advance further before the inning ended.

After two more 1-2-3 innings, the Curve put two runners on base in the 6th, on CF Gorkys Hernandez's single, and Hague being hit by a pitch. �They were also both left on base. �Altoona loaded the bases in the 7th on walks to Watts and Durham, and d'Arnaud being hit by a pitch, but two strikeouts ended that threat. �The last Curve hit was by LF�Jose De Los Santos in the 9th, who was also left stranded.

Jared Hughes made the start for the Curve. �He gave up one run in the bottom of the 1st inning, on a lead-off double, a ground out, and a sacrifice fly. �He gave up singles in both the 2nd and 3rd innings, but erased both runners with a double plays, one started by d'Arnaud (6-4-3) and one started by Hague at first base (3-6-1).

Hughes could not get out of a jam in the 4th inning, though. �A walk, a wild pitch, and two singles led off the inning and brought in one run. �Hughes got two outs, but then gave up back-to-back doubles, bringing in three more runs. �Hughes exited having allowed 5 runs on 8 hits and a walk over 3.2 innings. �Derek Hankins finished the 4th inning, then pitched 4 more scoreless innings, scattering 3 hits, 2 walks, and the hit batter.

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Altoona Curve �11, �Akron Aeros �1 (box)

LF Alex Presley missed hitting for the cycle on Monday night in Akron, because he lacked a single. �He probably doesn't mind, though, because what he substituted for the missing single was his second home run of the night, as he went 4-for-5 and set a new Curve record with 8 RBI in the game. �Presley, who is having a break-out year for the Curve, is now leading the Eastern League with a .379 average (number two is hitting "only" .341) and 58 hits. �He's second in the league in total bases with 89, and in OPS with .996.

The Curve jumped out to a big start with 4 runs in the top of the 1st. �CF Gorkys Hernandez singled, moved to second base on a balk, then scored on DH Josh Harrison's single. �A walk to 1B Matt Hague and a single by RF Miles Durham loaded the bases. �Presley cleared the load with a triple, and the Curve were up 4-0. �Hague doubled and 3B Jordy Mercer was hit by a pitch in the 3rd inning, setting up Presley for his first homer of the game, a 3-run blast over the center field wall.

The Curve scored without Presley's help in the 4th inning. on a single by SS Chase d'Arnaud, a double by Hernandez, and an RBI grounder by Harrison, to give the Curve an 8-0 lead. �All 8 runs were charged to Akron starter Scott Barnes -- nice revenge after Barnes pitched 5.1 no-hit innings against the Curve last week, on his way to being named the Eastern League's pitcher of the week.

Presley homered again in the 5th inning, driving in Durham, who had singled again. �After the homer, C Kris Watts singled, d'Arnaud walked, and a fielding error on a ball off the bat of Hernandez let Watts score the Curve's 11th run.

Not to be lost in the offensive outpouring was some excellent pitching by Curve starter Tim Alderson. Alderson won his 3rd game of the season with 7 shut-out innings. �He scattered 4 hits, no walks, and one hit batter over those 7 innings. �There was only one inning, the 5th, when Alderson had to deal with 2 runners on base at once (after 2 singles), and he got out of that inning with a double play.

Diego Moreno made his AA debut with the Curve in the 8th. �He gave up a lead-off single, then got a fly out, and struck out the next two batters to end the inning. �Corey Hamman pitched the 9th for the Curve. �He gave up a double, a single, and an RBI ground out for the only Akron run of the game.