Tag: Jim Negrych

Erie SeaWolves 10, �Altoona Curve 7 (box)

A 4-run rally in the 8th and a franchise-record 16 opposing batters struck out could not push the Curve past the SeaWolves on Sunday in Altoona. �Curve batters C Kris Watts doubled twice and 1B Matt Hague singled twice in the losing effort.

The Curve scored first, when CF Gorkys Hernandez singled, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a throwing error in the bottom of the 1st. �After a couple of quiet innings, Erie took the lead in the top of the 4th, on a 2-run homer by 1B Michael Bertram. �Matt Hague tied the game in the bottom of the frame, when he led off with a single, went to second on DH Jim Negrych's bunt, to third on a wild pitch, and scored on LF Alex Presley's RBI single.

Curve starter Rudy Owens had allowed only a single and a walk over the first three innings, then a walk and the homer in the 4th. �Another homer, by C Max St. Pierre, led off the 5th, and Owens then gave up three singles and a walk for two more runs, and Erie was ahead, 5-2. �The SeaWolves just kept coming, scoring 3 runs (2 earned) in the 7th off reliever Mike Dubee. Dubee gave up a single and a walk, then a fielding error loaded the bases with SeaWolves. �CF Wilkin Ramirez cleared the bases with a double, and Erie was ahead 8-2. �They added another run in the 8th on a triple by St. Pierre and an RBI ground out, then a homer by RF Josh Burres lifted the Erie total to 10 runs.

The Curve rallied in the bottom of the 8th, as they batted around. �Watts opened the inning with a double, Hernandez walked, and pinch-hitter Jose De Los Santos singled to load the bases. �A single by Hague scored Watts, and the bases were still loaded. �A walk to Negrych forced in Hernandez, and a fielding error let De Los Santos score. �Presley's grounder force out plated Hague, and left runners on the corners, but a fly out ended the inning, with the Curve closer at 10-6.

Watts also doubled to begin the 9th inning, and the Curve had hopes that another rally might get them a win. �The third Erie error of the game, on a ball hit by Shelby Ford, put runners on the corners. �Hernandez grounded back to the mound for a fielders' choice, scoring Watts, and that was all the Curve could get.

Owens pitched 5 innings, and allowed 5 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks, with 9 strikeouts. �Dubee struck out 4 in his 2 innings of work, allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 2 hits and 2 walks. �Ronald Uviedo pitched the final two innings and allowed 2 runs on 2 hits, no walks, with 3 strikeouts.

The Indianapolis Indians lost, but the rest of the Pirates' affiliates won on Saturday.

Altoona Curve �9, �Erie SeaWolves �7 (box)

A 6-run 2nd inning boosted the Curve to an early lead, and a late-inning rally kept them on top for a win at home on Saturday. �The Curve sent 11 batters to the plate in the 2nd, collecting 8 hits for their 6 runs. �DH Jim Negrych got the fun started with a single through the hole into right field. �2B Josh Harrison and LF Alex Presley both doubled, and RF Miles Durham added another single, and two runs were in before an out had been recorded. �After a fly out, SS Chase d'Arnaud singled, bringing in both Presley and Durham, and a fielding error accounted for the second run (so only one RBI for d'Arnaud) and moved d'Arnaud to third. �Three more consecutive singles, by CF Gorkys Hernandez, 3B Jordy Mercer, and 1B Matt Hague, and another run came in. �That brought it back to Negrych, who this time brought the 6th run in with a sacrifice fly, before a ground out by Harrison ended the inning.

Starter Tim Alderson elected to work entirely out of the stretch as he worked on mechanics. �He�kept the SeaWolves from scoring over the first three innings, but gave up one run in the 4th on a single and an RBI double. �He ran into more trouble in the 5th, giving up a single, a double, a sacrifice fly, and another double, and then another single, for 3 runs. �Alderson was relieved at that point, just one out away from qualifying for the win, having surrendered 4 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks over his 4.2 innings, with 6 strikeouts. �He was replaced by Dustin Molleken, who gave up another single, but the throw in from Durham in right field put the runner from first out at third base to end the inning. �Curve 6, SeaWolves 4.

Erie moved within one run of the Curve in the 7th, when Molleken gave up a double, a wild pitch to move the batter to third base, then a sacrifice fly. �The Curve responded in the bottom of the inning with 3 more runs to maintain a bigger lead. �Hernandez led off with a double, and Hague walked. �A grounder by Negrych forced Hague out at second, but left runners on the corners with two outs. �Harrison brought both Negrych and Hernandez in with a line drive double into left field, and he moved to third on the throw in to the plate. �That meant that he was able to score on a wild pitch, and the Curve had a 9-5 lead.

Jeff Sues came in fro Molleken to begin the 8th inning, and he was greeted by a solo home run by Erie 1B Michael Bertram. �Sues got two outs, then gave up a single, a wild pitch, and another single. �Danny Moskos finished the inning for Sues with a fly out. �Moskos had to work around a fielding error by SS d'Arnaud and 2B Harrison in the 9th, but still kept Erie from scoring, to earn his 7th save of the season. �Molleken was credited with the win, his first of the season.

Gorkys Hernandez had a 3-hit night for the Curve, with a double and one RBI. �Jim Negrych, Josh Harrison, and Alex Presley each had 2 hits for the Curve.

West Virginia Power �2, �Kannapolis Intimidators �0 (box)

Kyle McPherson and Maurice Bankston combined for 9 shutout innings against Kannapolis on Friday. �McPherson scattered 4 hits, no walks over 7 innings, while striking out 9 Kannapolis batters. �He had to work around 3 errors by his teammates to keep the Intimidators from scoring. �The first error came in the top of the 1st -- a throwing error by 3B Jesus Brito. McPherson worked around that runner, then around back-to-back singles in the 3rd. �A throwing error by 2B Jarek Cunningham stopped what should have been a double play in the 5th, allowing the batter to reach second base, but McPherson got a strikeout and a ground out to end that inning. �A throwing error by Brito in the 7th after a single put runners on second and third bases, but again McPherson worked around them, leaving both of them right there.

Bankston pitched the last two innings. �He gave up three singles in the 8th, but the first was doubled off first base after a fly out, and the other two were left stranded. �He gave up a walk in the 9th, but struck out two, earning his first save of the season. �The win was McPherson's second of the year.

The Power batters were having to work hard to get their runs. �Kannapolis starter Terry Doyle struck out 14 Power batters in his 7 innings of work, including 3 strikeouts each by LF Rogelios Noris and DH Kyle Morgan. Each member of the Power line up struck out at least once.

The Power put a runner on base in each of the first three innings, but couldn't score. �CF Evan�Chambers singled and stole second base in the 1st inning, and C Ramon Cabrera singled and went to second on a wild pitch in the 2nd, but neither could come around to score. �Cunningham singled in the 3rd, but was also left stranded. �Noris finally got the scoring started in the 4th, when he led off with a solo home run, his second homer in two days.

After the homer, the next 12 Power batters went down in order. �In the bottom of the 8th, when Doyle had been relieved by Garrett Johnson, the Power were able to get things going again. �RF Wes Freeman greeted Johnson with a double, SS Benji Gonalez walked, and Chambers loaded the bases with his second hit of the game. �Cunningham was hit by a pitch, forcing in Freeman with the Power's insurance run. �A grounder to first forced Gonzalez out at the plate, and Chambers was caught out between third and the plate, and no further runs scored.

Altoona Curve 5, �Richmond Flying Squirrels 2 (box)

Ross Ohlendorf made the most of his rehab start with the Curve on Wednesday. �He set down the first 7 batters he faced, then gave up a walk. �Ohlendorf tried to pick off that runner and made a throwing error, which allowed the runner to move to second base, but he left the runner stranded on second. �In the 4th, Ohlendorf gave up back-to-back singles with one out, but he kept them from scoring too. �He started the 5th inning by giving up a hit on a ball that barely got away from the plate, and C Hector Gimenez made a throwing error on the play, allowing the runner to reach second base. �That was all for Ohlendorf for the night, and Jared Hughes came on to finish the inning, still not letting the runner score.

Richmond's only runs came in the 6th inning, when Hughes gave up a single, an RBI double, and an RBI single. �Hughes also made a throwing error on a pick-off attempt in the 7th, but didn't let that runner score. �He gave up a walk and a single in the top of the 9th, and was relieved by Danny Moskos. Moskos ended the game with two strikeouts, earning his 6th save. �The win was credited to Hughes -- his 5th of the season, in his first non-start appearance of the season.

Hector Gimenez was the offensive star of the game, going 4-for-4 with a double, two homers, and 3 RBI. �CF Gorkys Hernandez and 1B Matt Hague had two hits each. �The Curve scored 2 runs in the top of the 1st (without Gimenez's help). �SS Chase d'Arnaud opened the game with a double lined into left field. �Hernandez's single put runners on the corners. �3B Jordy Mercer brought in d'Arnaud with a sacrifice fly, and 2B Jim Negrych brought in Hernandez with a single.

Gimenez's first hit was a double in the 2nd inning, when he was left stranded. �He singled in the 4th and was again stranded. �In the 7th, Gimenez blasted a solo homer over the left field wall. �In the top of the 9th, LF Alex Presley singled, and Gimenez followed with his second homer, this one sailing over the right field wall for 2 runs.

Alex Presley's single extended his hitting streak to 19 games (the team record is 21). �(He waited until the 9th inning to do it -- just for the suspense.) �RF Miles Durham did not have a hit, stopping his hitting streak at 8 games. �Gorkys Hernandez was back in the line-up after having been involved in a collision with Jose De Los Santos on Monday. �De Los Santos has not played again since the collision.

Presley is now hitting .369, second-best in the Eastern League. �2B Josh Harrison is third with a .359 average.

LHP Corey Hamman has been reassigned to the Curve from the Indianapolis Indians.

Altoona Curve 9, �Richmond Flying Squirrels 1 (box)

Rudy Owens shot down the Flying Squirrels on Tuesday night with 6 no-hit innings and 11 strikeouts. �He was one walk away from a perfect game -- after mowing down 17 straight Squirrels, Owens walked Richmond relief pitcher Craig Whitaker. �Owens was clearly not pleased with himself with that walk, but he held on to strike out the next batter. �He was relieved after the 6 innings due to the pitch count. �He had thrown 97 pitches at that point, and his limit was 100. �Owens struck out the side in the 1st inning, one in the 2nd and 5th, and two in the 3rd, 4th, and 6th. �He got a little help from his friends, of course, with SS Chase d'Arnaud and 1B Matt Hague making two critical fielding plays in the 5th and 6th respectively.

Reliever Jeff Sues earned his 4th save of the season with three strong innings of work. �He gave up an unearned run in the 7th, when the lead-off batter reached on a fielding error by 3B Jordy Mercer, and two singles followed. �Mercer made another error in the 8th, but Sues worked around it, and kept that runner from scoring.

The Curve posted 13 hits on their way to 9 runs. �LF Shelby Ford, who has been struggling over the past month, led the way by going 3-for-3 at the plate. �That doubled his hit total for the season, and lifted his average to .188. �D'Arnaud and Ford started the scoring in the 1st inning, when d'Arnaud singled and Ford doubled, moving d'Arnaud to third. �Mercer's RBI ground out brought in the run.

D'Arnaud and Ford got another rally started in the 3rd inning, this time reversing the hits -- d'Arnaud doubled and Ford singled. �Mercer again brought a run in, this time with a sacrifice fly to score d'Arnaud. �Ford stole second, and he scored on 2B Jim Negrych's single up the middle.

The Curve sent 10 batters to the plate in the 4th inning, as they added on 5 runs. �CF Alex Presley led off with a walk, and stole second base. �C Hector Gimenez doubled Presley in, then moved to third base on Owens' sacrifice bunt. �D'Arnaud brought in Gimenez with a sacrifice fly. �That cleared the bases with two outs, but the Curve got going again. �Ford singled and Mercer reached base on a fielding error by the Richmond third baseman. �Hague doubled, scoring both Ford and Mercer. �Negrych walked, and then RF Miles Durham singled to bring in Hague. �Matt Hague doubled again in the 9th inning, and added one more run to the Curve total when Durham singled again.

Chase d'Arnaud, Matt Hague, Miles Durham, and Alex Presley each had two hits in the game. �Presley's hitting streak is now at 18 games. �The Altoona team record in 21. �Durham's hitting streak is now at 8 games.

Ross Ohlendorf will be making a rehab start with the Curve on Wednesday night.

Three hits were the common theme in these minor league games on Monday:

Palm Beach Cardinals �1, �Bradenton Marauders �0 (box)

The Marauders were held to just 3 hits in this shut-out on Monday night in Palm Beach. �CF Robbie Grossman, DH Starling Marte, and C Tony Sanchez were the only batters to get a hit, and all three hits were singles. �Grossman and Sanchez also walked in the game, and Marte was hit by a pitch.

Two of those base runners came in the top of the first. �With two outs, Marte was hit by a pitch, and stole second base, then Sanchez walked. �A wild pitch put the runners on second and third bases, but they were left there when LF Quincy Latimore struck out to end the inning. �The next 14 Bradenton batters were retired in order, until Grossman singled in the 6th. �Grossman was thrown out trying to steal second base.

Marte and Sanchez led off the 7th inning with back-to-back singles, but Marte was picked off and caught stealing, and Sanchez was left on base after two ground outs. �Grossman also walked in the 9th inning, and went to second base on a balk, but was again left stranded.

In a sad twist, Bradenton starter Nate Adcock also gave up only 3 hits in his 7 innings of work. �It was his longest start of the season -- his first four starts were all 5 innings in length. �Adcock struck out a season-high 8 batters (he's struck out 7 batters twice) and did not allow any walks. �Unfortunately, one of the hits was a solo home run by Palm Beach's RF Alex Castellanos to lead off the 3rd inning. �That was the only run of the game, making Adcock the hard-luck loser. �Adcock gave up a single to begin the 2nd inning, but got a pop-out double play to erase the runner. �Castellanos also singled with two outs in the 5th, and he was Palm Beach's only runner left on base.

Casey Erickson relieved Adcock to pitch the 8th. �He also gave up a two-out single, but that runner was caught stealing second base to end the inning.

�

Altoona Curve �6, � �Harrisburg Senators �1 (box)

Washington Nationals' #1 Prospect Stephen Strasburg was scheduled to make one last AA start on Sunday afternoon, before heading over to AAA Syracuse. �The Curve wanted to make sure Strasburg learned one more lesson at the AA level before being promoted. �That lesson: �sometimes you have to take a loss. �The Curve were not all that cowed by Strasburg the first time they faced him, back on April 11th, and they were not any more impressed today. �After going down in order in the top of the 1st, the Curve began the top of the 2nd with a walk by 1B Matt Hague, followed by three consecutive singles by 2B Jim Negrych, RF Miles Durham, and LF Alex Presley. Negrych just beat out the throw from the shortstop for an infield single. �Durham floated a little single over the head of the Senators' center fielder. �Presley's single through the right side of the infield�brought Hague and Negrych in to score with the throw in from the outfield not even close, and the Curve had a 2-1 lead. �C Kris Watts walked, again loading the bases. �Strasburg got his mound opponent Justin Wilson to strike out. �SS Chase d'Arnaud grounded to short, and it looked like Strasburg was going to get out of the inning with a double play. �Watts was forced out at second, but Senators' 2B Michael Martinez threw wildly to first base, and the ball skittered away, as two runs came across the plate, and d'Arnaud was safe at first. �The Curve took a 4-1 lead.

The Curve kept poking at Strasburg, and made him work for his outs. �In the 3rd inning, 3B Jordy Mercer led off with a walk, and Hague singled. �After a fly out, a double play got Strasburg out of the inning. �Strasburg retired the side in the 4th, but began the 5th by hitting d'Arnaud with a pitch. �Singles by CF Gorkys Hernandez and Mercer loaded the bases, but again Strasburg got a timely double play. �Hague grounded to third, and the Senators started a 5-2-3 double play, forcing d'Arnaud out at the plate. �That was the end of Strasburg's afternoon. �He finished with 4.2 innings, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits and 3 walks with 4 strikeouts, and was charged with the loss. �Strasburg has allowed 9 runs (4 earned) in his 5 starts -- 8 of those, including all of the earned runs, have been by the Curve.

Starter Justin Wilson gave up a run to the Senators in the bottom of the 1st, on a single, a walk, and an RBI single that slipped just past d'Arnaud. �Wilson worked around runners on base in each of the next three innings, but allowed only that one run over 4 innings, on 4 hits and 3 walks, with 2 strikeouts. �Mike Dubee, just returned to the Curve from Indianapolis, pitched the next three innings for the Curve. �Dubee retired 9 batters in order, with one strikeout. �That earned him his first win. �Ronald Uviedo followed Dubee by retiring all 6 batters he faced, also with one strikeout.

Some nice shutout pitching (at least for a few innings) on Saturday evening:

Altoona Curve �9, � Harrisburg Senators �2 (box)

Starter Derek Hankins pitched 5 shutout innings in his start in Harrisburg. �He scattered two doubles and two walks over those 5 innings, and struck out 2 batters. �Tony Watson relieved Hankins to begin the 6th inning, and he also kept the Senators scoreless for the next two innings. �Watson got into some trouble in the 8th, though, giving up a double, a walk, and a single to the first three batters of the inning, loading the bases. �Watson got the next batter to strike out, but then was replaced by Jeff Sues. Sues gave up a sacrifice fly, and then a single, both scoring one run. �Those runs were charged to Watson. �Sues finished the 8th inning with a ground out. �He got two ground outs in the 9th, allowed a walk, then struck out the last batter of the game.

Meanwhile, the Curve batters were busy piling up 15 hits and 9 runs. �LF Alex Presley, who is hitting .471 over his last 10 games and is 8-for-15 in his last 3 games, led the charge by going 4-for-5 tonight, all singles, for 3 RBI. �C Hector Gimenez had 2 doubles and a single, and both 1B Matt Hague and 2B Josh Harrison had two singles each. �Each position player in the starting lineup had at least one hit. �The scoring started slowly, with one run in the 2nd inning. �RF Miles Durham tripled with two outs, then scored on Presley's first single. �They added two more runs in the 4th, when singles by Hague and Harrison, along with a missed catch error on a pick-off attempt, put runners on the corners. �A balk scored Hague, and Presley's second single scored Harrison. �Presley was out at second as he tried to stretch it into a double.

The Senators tried changing pitchers to begin the 6th inning, but it didn't help them. �3B Jordy Mercer led off with a single and moved to second base on a wild pitch. �Matt Hague's single scored Mercer. �A walk to Durham and Presley's third single scored Hague with another run. �Gimenez's double brought in Durham and Presley, and gave the Curve a 7-0 lead. �Walks to pinch-hitter Jim Negrych and CF Gorkys Hernandez loaded the bases, but a fly out ended the inning and left the three runners stranded.

A double by SS Chase d'Arnaud and an RBI single by Hernandez made it 8-0 in the top of the 8th. �The Senators scored twice in the bottom of the frame, but by then it was too little too late. �The Curve added one more for good measure in the top of the 9th. �With two outs, Durham walked, and Presley beat out a grounder to short for his fourth hit. �Gimenez's second double brought in Durham with the Curve's 9th run.

Three weeks into the minor league season... knowing that it's a small sample, who's hot -- or not-- at the plate:

INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS

Team batting average: .274 (4th in International League) , �20 Home runs (3rd in IL), 166 strikeouts (2nd in IL), 30 stolen bases (2nd in IL)

Who's HOT: � (* is the team high)

Steve Pearce - .371 average*, 9 doubles*, 2 homers, 7 RBI, 16 walks ; .488 OBP*, .643 SLG*, and 1.131 OPS*; �Pearce has been spending most of his time at first base, with just 3 games in right field. �This is the Pearce we saw in 2007, when he rocketed through the Pirates' minor league system. �His average has been above .400 this week, and even when he's not hitting, he's still walking and scoring runs. �He and Neil Walker should be the next position players called up.

Neil Walker - .333 average, 8 doubles, 3 homers, 15 RBI*, 10 walks, 7 stolen bases, .407 OBP, .560 SLG, .967 OPS; Walker is right behind his buddy Pearce in most of those numbers. �Pearce is doing it while back at his comfortable position, and Walker is doing it in all his uncomfortable positions. �He's learning to play outfield and second base on the fly, and is looking good. �If you didn't know this was his first month at second base, you probably couldn't tell just by watching. �He made a jump-turn-throw this week that looked like he's been there all his life. �He's also taking more walks than he has before, and has fewer strikeouts. �And, he's stealing bases -- second most steals on the team. �He's had at least one hit in 10 of his past 12 games, and went 4-for-4 last night. �Not so great splits: �he's hitting .434 against right-handed pitching, but only .091 against lefties. �Also in line to go home to Pittsburgh.

Luke Carlin - .342 average, 3 doubles, 4 RBI in 11 games. �Carlin has had more playing time than originally expected, due to some minor injuries to Erik Kratz.

Jose Tabata - .296 average, 2 doubles, 2 homers, 8 RBI, 8 stolen bases*; �Tabata started the season with an 11-game hitting streak, then went 0-for-4 in one game, and has hit in each if his next 6 games -- he's had at least one hit in 17 of the 18 game's he's played. �Looking good in the outfield, mostly center plus a few games in left.

Argenis Diaz - .296 average, 8 RBI; �That taste of The Show last week was good for Diaz. �He's been 7-for-15 since his return, and boosted his batting average 60 points.

Not So Hot:

Brandon Moss - .233 average, 2 doubles, 2 homers, 7 RBI; Doing better in the past week, going 6-for-22 in his last 5 games.

Erik Kratz - .200 average, 2 doubles, 2 homers, 7 RBI; �Invaluable behind the plate, though, and also on the mound.

Brian Myrow - .200 average, 2 doubles, 2 homers, 7 RBI; (yes, that's right, these three all have the same numbers of doubles, homers, and RBI); Got off to a slow start, but he's starting to pick it up.

In the Middle:

Pedro Alvarez - .237 average, 2 doubles, 4 homers*, 12 RBI, 22 strikeouts*, 8 walks; �Those homers all came in the first 8 games of the season -- in fact, three came in the first two games. �But, this is also how Alvarez started off last season with A+ Lynchburg, and he got better. �He had a modest 7-game hitting streak in the past 10 days. �Also worrisome is that he leads the team in errors (4). �Three of those were fielding errors, and the one yesterday was throwing, but he also probably leads the team in the number of times Steve Pearce has saved him at first base. �By my observations, about half of Alvarez's throws to first base make Pearce stretch out as far as he can go to make the catch -- to his left, to his right, in the dirt. �Pearce is a very good first baseman... what's going to happen if Alvarez is throwing to a less experienced first baseman, like Jeff Clement?

Continuing on with the rest of the affiliates... (click on "read more")

A late morning game, and an evening game on Wednesday.... the West Virginia Power have a scheduled day off

Altoona Curve 10, �Akron Aeros 2 (box)

The Curve tied their season-high with 15 hits on the way to 10 runs, to sweep a shortened 2-game series with the Aeros, and finish this homestand with a 3-3 record.

The two teams exchanged a run in the 1st inning. �Curve starter Rudy Owens opened the game by giving up a single, then hitting the next batter with a pitch. �A grounder to short moved the lead runner to third, but the Curve couldn't get ball to first fast enough for the double play. �A single into left field scored the runner from third, and Akron had the first run of the game. �In the bottom of the inning, DH Jim Negrych singled into left, then 3B Jordy Mercer grounded into a force out at second, but he also beat out the relay to first to avoid the double play. �A wild pitch put Mercer into scoring position on second base, and from there he scored easily on RF Miles Durham's line drive into right field, tying the score at 1-1.

Owens held the Aeros scoreless over the next two innings, while his teammates got him some run support. �SS Chase d'Arnaud led off the 3rd with a single blooped into center field. �Negrych followed with a smash past the diving Akron center fielder, which brought in d'Arnaud and put Negrych on third with a triple. �Mercer brought in Negrych with an oops swing that dribbled the ball into the middle of the infield and out of everyone's reach. �Two more singles, by Durham and CF Alex Presley loaded the bases, but all were left on base when the inning ended. �Curve up, 3-1.

Akron got a little closer in the top of the 4th. �Owens gave up a double and a single to the first two batters of the inning, and a grounder to third allowed the lead runner to score. �A double play ended that frame, with the Aeros within one run of the Curve. �That was all the scoring the Aeros would do, though. �Owens retired the side in order in both the 5th and 6th innings, and finished his day with 2 runs on 5 hits and a walk, plus 2 strikeouts over 6 innings.

Two more games in the lower minors on Tuesday... The Power played this afternoon.

Altoona Curve 5, �Akron Aeros 4 (box)

The hot-hitting infielders Jordy Mercer and Josh Harrison contributed two hits each, as the Curve held on to defeat the Aeros in Altoona. �The two got going in the bottom of the 1st inning. �With two teammates, SS Chase d'Arnaud and DH Jim Negrych both on base with walks, Mercer drove a single into center field, scoring d'Arnaud. �Moments later, Harrison's liner into left field brought Negrych home, and the Curve had a 2-0 lead.

With starter Tim Alderson on the bump, the Aeros had not done much in the first two innings. �They had a runner reach base on 2B Harrison's fielding error, but Harrison was able to start the double play that erased that runner. �In the top of the 3rd, Akron led off with back-to-back home runs off Alderson. �A single and another fielding error by Harrison put runners on first and second bases following the homers. �Another walk loaded the bases, and a sacrifice fly, the first out of the inning, plated the third run of the inning. �A double play ended the inning, but Akron had taken a 3-2 lead.

The Curve chugged right back in the bottom of the inning. �Negrych again walked, and Mercer singled again. �A wild pitch moved both runners up one base, and a walk to Harrison loaded the bases. �A second wild pitch gave Negrych the chance to come home, tying the score. �LF Alex Presley brought Mercer in from third with a sacrifice fly to take the 4-3 lead, and RF Miles Durham added an insurance run with another RBI single, plating Harrison.

Alderson had no problems with the Aeros in the 4th inning, but he let them creep a run closer in the 5th, when three singles loaded the bases with one out. �A grounder to 3B Mercer might have been an inning-ending double play --- the force out was made at second base, but they did not get the batter at first, so the runner from third scored. � Curve 5, Aeros 4.