Tag: Matt Curry

Pirates' lower minor leaguers on Saturday...

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Altoona Curve� 10,� Binghamton Mets� 4 (box)

The Curve posted 14 hits, with two big innings, as all but one member of the starting line-up had at least one hit in the game, as starter Rudy Owens earned his 10th win of the season.� SS Jordy Mercer doubled three times and 1B Matt Hague doubled twice, with 4 RBI.� Even Owens doubled, walked, and scored twice.

Owens got off to a little bit of a shaky start on the mound.� He gave up a double, a single, and a sacrifice fly to begin the bottom of the 1st.� A single and a double gave the Mets a second run in the 3rd.� Owens settled in after that, and allowed just one hit in each of the 4th and 5th.

The Curve got one run back in the top of the 4th, after putting runners on base in each of the first three innings but failing to score.� In the 4th,� Mercer hit his first double, and he scored on RF Miles Durham's RBI single.� Then they broke through in the 5th.� Owens led off the inning with a walk.� LF Jose De Los Santos singled, then 3B Josh Harrison bunted both runners into scoring position.� 2B Jim Negrych was intentionally walked to load the bases.� Hague cleared the bases with a double into left field, then Mercer hit his second double (this one was a ground-rule double), plating Hague.� The Curve had a 5-2 lead.

The next inning began with a solo home run by Miles Durham.� One out later, Owens doubled, and De Los Santos singled.� A fielding error on a ball hit to third by Harrison let Owens score.� Negrych brought in both Owens and De Los Santos with another double, and Hague made it three doubles in the inning with his 26th of the season, bringing in Negrych with the fifth run of the inning.� The Curve were up, 10-2.

Mike Colla relieved Owens to begin the 6th.� He gave up a solo homer in that inning, and another solo homer in the 8th, but retired the other 12 batters he faced in 4 innings.� Owens earned his 10th win of the season, and Colla earned his first save.

Tuesday:� The Indianapolis Indians have a scheduled day off.� The State College Spikes are on their All-Star break, with three of their players, Jhonathan Ramos, Matt Curry, and Adalberto Santos chosen to participate in the game.

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NY-P All-Star Game:

AL Affiliate All-Stars 4,� NL Affiliate All-Stars� 3 (box)

A 3-run rally in the bottom of the 8th gave the host AL All-Stars the win in Staten Island tonight.� The NL Stars threatened in the top of the 1st, when 2B Cesar Hernandez (Williamsport/Phillies) tripled, but he was thrown out at home on a fielder's choice.� Spikes' 1B Matt Curry grounded out in that inning.� The NL Stars did get onto the scoreboard in the 2nd inning, with a solo home run by LF Miguel Alvarez (Williamsport/Phillies).

After having gone down in order in the first two innings, the AL side tied it up in the 3rd inning on three singles, by 3B Adam Gaylord (Aberdeen/Orioles),� SS Jose Mojica (Staten Island/Yankees), and CF Felix Sanchez (Lowell/Red Sox).� The NL Stars came right back in the next inning with two runs.� RF Cory Vaughn (Brooklyn/Mets) led off with a single.� After a pop out by Matt Curry, Alvarez lined a single into center, pushing Vaughn to third base, then Alvarez moved up to second base on the throw in from center.� 3B Joe Bonfe (Brooklyn/Mets) grounded to short, where AL SS Jose Garcia (Lowell/Red Sox) made a throwing error, allowing both Vaughn and Alvarez to score to give the NL a 3-1 lead.

That score held for the next four innings.� Matt Curry left the game after 4.5 innings, and LF Adalberto Santos came into the game at the same time.� Santos walked in the 6th -- one of only a few batters to reach base in the middle innings.� Santos stole second base, then advanced to third when the throw from AL C Julio Rodriguez (Connecticut/Tigers) went wild.� Jhonathan Ramos came on to pitch the bottom of the 6th for the NL team.� He quickly got the first two outs, then gave up two ground ball singles, but struck out PH/RF Trent Mummey (Aberdeen/Orioles) to end the inning.

Chase Johnson (Williamsport/Phillies) was on the mound for the NL Stars in the bottom of the 8th.� The AL Stars rallied with a double by 1B James Robbins (Connecticut/Tigers) and a single by Julio Rodriguez to open the inning.� Robbins scored on a ground out, then Rodriguez stole third base.� After a walk to Mummey, Chase Johnson was relieved by Ryan Fraser (Brooklyn/Mets).� But Fraser walked the first batter he faced, 3B Matt Perry (Connecticut/Tigers) to load the bases.� That set up for a sacrifice fly by DH Ryan Enos (Connecticut/Tigers), which brought in Rodriguez with the tying run.� SS Jose Garcia (Lowell/Red Sox) lined a single into left field, scoring Mummey with the go-ahead run, before a strikeout ended the inning.

Santos led off the top of the 9th with a ground out, and despite a walk, two more strikeouts ended the game.

Saturday's action with the Pirates' lower minor league affiliates...� The West Virginia Power and Lexington Legends were rained out tonight.� They will go for two tomorrow.

State College� 1,� Aberdeen IronBirds� 0 (box)

Pitchers Tyler Waldron, Ryan Beckman, and Brooks Pounders combined to one-hit the IronBirds tonight.� Waldron made the start with 5 nearly-perfect innings.� The first IronBirds batter of the game was the only one to reach base against Waldron, and he got on when C Matthew Skirving dropped strike three, then made a throwing error when he fired the ball down to first base.� Waldron immediately erased that base runner in a double play, then retired all the rest of the batters he faced, including one more strikeout.

Beckman took the 6th inning, and he also retired the side in order.� Pounders pitched the final three innings.� He gave up back to back walks with one out in the 7th, but left both runners stranded.� Pounders also retired the side in order in the 8th.� The no-hitter was lost in the 9th, when the first batter of the inning doubled into right field.� Pounders retired the next three batters in order, leaving the runner on second base.� Waldron earned his 3rd win of the season, and Pounders earned his first save.

The Spikes batters collected 6 hits and 4 walks, but fell victim to double plays and outfield assists, so they scored only one run.� In the 2nd inning, 1B Matt Curry walked, but was erased in a double play, and LF Pat Irvine singled, but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.� Curry walked again in the 4th, but was caught stealing.� SS Gift Ngoepe singled in the 9th, but was thrown out trying for two bases. The lone Spikes' run came in the 6th inning.� With one out, CF Mel Rojas worked a walk, then DH Gerlis Rodriguez drove a triple into center field, scoring Rojas.� Curry walked for the third time in the game in the 9th, and RF Cole White singled, but both were left on base.� White was the only Spikes' batter to have two hits.� 2B Kelson Brown also singled.

Friday's action with the Pirates' lower minor leaguers... The GCL Pirates and the GCL Tigers barely got started this afternoon before their game had to be suspended.� Starter Bryton Trepagnier pitched 2 innings and allowed a run on one hit in the 1st.� The Pirates had had 6 batters go down in order when play was halted.

Only a few more days left until the deadline for signing draftees... take a look HERE to see which draft picks the Pirates have signed.� The newest signee is OF Dan Grovatt, the 11th round pick, from University of Virginia.

Reliever Daniel Moskos has been returned to Altoona from the Indy Indians.� He'd been struggling with the Indians, with a 0-5 record, one save, and a 10.38 ERA in 19 appearances.� In his last appearance, on Monday, Moskos walked the bases loaded in his one inning of work, though a line drive out got him out of trouble.

Pitcher Travis Chick, who had been assigned to Altoona last week, was traded to the Texas Rangers;� they assigned him to AA Frisco.

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Altoona Curve� 4,� New Hampshire Fisher Cats� 3�� (19 innings -- yes, 19) (box)

The Curve and the Fisher Cats played for 19 innings, and 5 hours and 49 minutes, finally finishing up at 12:50 am, when RF Miles Durham blasted a home run to break a 13.5 inning tie.

It all started innocently.� New Hampshire scored first on a single, an RBI double, and a controversial 2-run homer in the 3rd.� The ball sailed over the left field wall... or did it?� It was ruled a homer, and the Curve protested, but the ruling stood.� Much later in the game, the word came in from some fans who were out there -- the ball had indeed cleared the left field wall by about 8 inches, then hit a secondary wall behind the first one.

The Curve got two runs back in the 4th.� 2B Jordy Mercer led off with a single, moved to second on a wild pitch, then on to third when� Miles Durham singled.� A fielder's choice by SS Yung Chi Chen brought in Mercer, and a single by DH Jim Negrych brought in Durham.� Mercer picked up the RBI in the 5th to tie the score.� LF Andrew Lambo walked, 1B Matt Hague singled, and they advanced to second and third bases on a missed catch error.� Mercer's ground out brought Lambo in from third.

That 3-3 tie lasted.... until Saturday.� Bryan Morris pitched the first 4 innings and allowed the 3 runs in the 3rd, on a total of 4 hits, no walks, with 3 strikeouts.� Mike Colla pitched 2 scoreless innings, with 3 hits.� Derek Hankins threw 3 innings, allowing only a walk.� Mike Dubee contributed 3 more scoreless innings, with one hit.� Anthony Claggett also took 3 innings, and gave up 2 walks.� Tom Boleska pitched 4 innings, because by then, only Daniel Moskos was left, and someone had to be saved for Saturday's (evening) game.� Boleska managed to keep going, even when he was smacked with a come-backer.� He gave up 2 hits, but struck out 3 batters, and still didn't allow a run.� Boleska got the win, since he was the pitcher of record when Durham homered.

The Curve batters had more hits in all those innings, but they still were putting up donuts.� The Curve had two runners on base in the 14th -- single by 3B Josh Harrison and an intentional walk to Hague.� They loaded the bases in the 16th, when Harrison walked, Lambo singled, and Hague was intentionally walked again, but Mercer struck out, and it kept going.� Harrison singled in the 18th, and stole second base, then Lambo walked again, but they still couldn't get a run across.� Finally in the top of the 19th, after C Hector Gimenez flied out, Durham sent everyone home with his homer over the left-center field wall.� The Curve had to cancel the schedule fireworks show, because county regulations forbid fireworks after midnight.� They did not cancel the opportunity for the kids to run the bases ... at 1 am, there were kids, up way beyond their bedtime, running the bases at Blair County Ballpark.

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Minor League action with the Pirates' affiliates on Thursday... lots of good pitching

Altoona Curve� 5,� Trenton Thunder� 3 (box)

The Curve came from behind to take this game from Trenton, despite being out-hit 8-7.� Starter Jeff Locke had trouble in the 1st inning, when 3 runs scored on a double, three singles, a wild pitch, and a throwing error by C Hector Gimenez on a stolen base play.� After that inning, Locke settled in, scattering four hits over the next 5 innings, while striking out 6 batters.

The Curve batters had only 2 hits over the first 3 innings, but they got going in the 4th to put one run on the board.� LF Andrew Lambo walked, and 1B Matt Hague singled.� A ground out to second by Gimenez moved both runners into scoring position, and 2B Jim Negrych picked up an RBI when his groundout scored Lambo.� DH Yung Chi Chen got the 5th inning off to a good start with a triple into left field.� He scored on CF Anthony Norman's sacrifice fly.� A fielding error in left field put Norman on first base, but he was caught stealing moments later.� SS Chase d'Arnaud kept the rally going with a walk, and he was successful in stealing second.� 3B Josh Harrison was hit by a pitch, and a wild pitch moved d'Arnaud to third and Harrison to second.� Lambo's grounder to second brought in d'Arnaud from third, and the score was tied at 3-3.

Jared Hughes took over for Locke for the final three innings.� He held the Thunder to just a walk in the 7th, retiring the other 9 batters he faced, with the help of some outstanding outfield work, particularly by Norman, and an infield gem by Negrych.� The Curve threatened in the 6th, when RF Miles Durham singled and Chen walked with 2 outs, but both were left on base.� Harrison began the 7th inning with a walk, and with two outs, he stole second base.� That put him into scoring position, so that when Hague took a 3-0 pitch into left field for a double, Harrison was able to score the go-ahead run.� Gimenez was intentionally walked to get to Negrych, who obligingly grounded to second base for what should have been the final out of the inning.� But the Trenton second baseman made a fielding error -- Negrych was safe at first, and Hague scored an insurance run.

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Wednesday evening in the Pirates' lower minor league organization.... The GCL Pirates were rained out this afternoon, and the West Virginia Power have a scheduled day off.

Trenton Thunder� 3,� Altoona Curve� 2 (box)

The Curve came within one out of being shut out in this evening's game.� After 8 scoreless innings, DH Jim Negrych worked a one-out walk in the bottom of the 9th.� After a pop out, C Hector Gimenez blasted a 2-run homer over the center field wall, finally putting the Curve on the scoreboard.

Negrych was the only Curve batter to have 2 hits in the game.� He and 1B Matt Hague both singled in the 2nd inning, though Hague was erased in a double play.� Negrych also singled in the 7th, and was left on base.� The Curve had base runners in all but two innings, and had 7 batters left on base.� LF Andrew Lambo, RF Miles Durham, and CF Anthony Norman also had singles in the game.

Starter Tony Watson pitched 6 innings, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits, no walks, with 4 strikeouts, suffering only his second loss of the season.� The second Trenton batter of the game homered, then three consecutive singles following the home run added another run in the 1st inning.� A single and a triple in the 3rd inning brought in Trenton's only other run.� Watson retired the last 10 batters he faced in order.� Anthony Claggett pitched 2 scoreless innings for the Curve, allowing a single but immediately erasing the runner with a double play.� Mike Dubee retired the side in order in his one inning of work.

Monday's action in the Pirates' lower minor leagues...�� The Altoona Curve had a scheduled day off.

Palm Beach Cardinals� 6,� Bradenton Marauders� 5 (box)

The Marauders wanted to celebrate the return of 3B Jeremy Farrell with a big win, but a 3-run 7th inning by the Cardinals spoiled their plans.� Farrell finished his rehab stint with the GCL Pirates and returned to the Marauders' line-up for the first time since he injured his knee on a foul ball in mid-June.� Farrell got right back at it, doubling in a run in the 5th, and scoring in the Marauders' 4th inning rally.

Bradenton was the first to have the lead in the game, when they scored a run in the 2nd.� LF Quincy Latimore was hit by a pitch, moved to second base on Farrell's groundout, and scored on C Eric Fryer's RBI single.� The Cardinals tied the game in the bottom of the 3rd with a solo home run, then followed the homer with back-to-back doubles to take a 2-1 lead.

The Marauders responded with 2 runs in the top of the 4th.� Latimore again got the rally started, this time with a walk.� Farrell grounded to short, but was safe when the Cardinals' second baseman missed the catch on the flip from his shortstop.� Instead of what might have been a double play, the Marauders had runners on first and second bases with no outs.� A fly out let Latimore tag up and move to third base.� Fryer knocked another RBI single, scoring Latimore, and DH Jordan Newton RBI single brought in Farrell.

RF Robbie Grossman teamed up with Farrell to make it 4-2 in the 5th, when Grossman singled, and scored on Farrell's double.� The Marauders picked up another run in the 6th, when 2B Adam Davis singled, then advanced to third base on a throwing error.� He scored on another RBI single by Newton.� Palm Beach got one of the runs back in the bottom of the 6th, on two walks and a single.

Nate Baker made the start for the Marauders, going 5 innings and allowing the 2 runs in the 3rd, on a total of 6 hits, no walks, and 3 RBI.� Yerfi Taveras, in his debut with the Marauders, gave up the run on two walks and a single in the 6th, but also struck out a batter and induced an inning-ending double play.

Tyler Cox took over for Taveras to begin the 7th, and he was charged with both the Blown Save and the loss.� He gave up a walk and a single, then a sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third.� A fielding error by SS Shelby Ford allowed 2 runs to score (one earned, one not) and a throwing error by Farrell allowed the third run to come in (also unearned).� Duke Welker retired the side in order in the 8th, and the Marauders went down in order in both the 8th and 9th.

News and action for the Pirates' lower minor league affiliates on Sunday.� The GCL Pirates and the Bradenton Marauders had scheduled days off today.

Three members of the State College Spikes have been named to the National League squad for the New York-Penn League All-Star Game, which will be played on August 17th at the home of the Staten Island Yankees.� IF Matt Curry, the Pirates' 16th round pick in the 2010 draft, has a .331 batting average, with 3 homers and 19 RBI.�� OF Adalberto Santos was the Pirates' 22nd round pick in this year's draft.� He is hitting .313 with 2 homers and 29 RBI, and is tied for second in the league with 37 runs scored.� Reliever Jhonathan Ramos has a 3-1 record and one save, with a 1.54 ERA.� He leads the league in lowest number of baserunners allowed at 6.56/9 innings.� Opposing batters are hitting just .169 against him.

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Tri-City Valley Cats� 4,� State College Spikes� 1 (box)

Tri-City took the early lead and never gave it up in this evening's game.� CF Mel Rojas and 2B Gift Ngoepe led the Spikes with 2 hits each, but the team managed only one run.� Starter Zach Fuesser got into trouble right away in his 5th start for the Spikes.� Two singles, a stolen base, and a 2-RBI single gave Tri-City 2 runs in the top of the 1st.� They added another run in the 2nd on a double, a wild pitch, and a sacrifice fly.� After a single, a wild pitch, a balk, and a walk in the 4th, Fuesser was relieved by Ryan Beckman, who finished the inning.� Beckman also gave up a walk and a wild pitch in the 5th, but kept Tri-City from scoring in that inning, but he surrendered a run on a single and a double in the 6th.

The Spikes had only one base runner over the first 3 innings, when Rojas walked to lead off the bottom of the 1st.� RF Adalberto Santos singled and stole second base in the 4th, and both C Miguel Mendez and DH Cole White singled with two outs in the 5th, but they were all left on base.� Ngoepe bounced a ground-rule double over the center field wall to begin the 6th, and Santos walked, but three strikeouts left both of them stranded also.� The Spikes scored their only run in the 7th.� 3B Kelson Brown led off with a double, and he scored on Rojas' single.� Ngoepe also singled, and Santos walked, loading the bases with two outs.� A grounder ended the inning, though, and the Spikes were held to just that one run.� They threatened again in the 9th, when White walked and Rojas singled, but could not push the runner across the plate.

Mitch Fienemann pitched the last 3 innings for the Spikes, and allowed only one hit, while striking out 3 batters.

Thursday's action with the Pirates' minor league affiliates....

Altoona Curve� 6,� Akron Aeros� 1 (box)

Starter Tony Watson dominated the Aeros with 6 shutout innings, allowing just 2 hits, no walks, while striking out 3 batters.� Watson retired the first 13 batters he faced, before allowing a single with one out in the 5th.� The second hit, also a single, also came in the 5th, but both runners were left on base.� After retiring the side in order, with 2 strikeouts, in the 6th, Watson was relieved by Ramon Aguero.

The Curve also went down in order in the first three innings.� With one out in the 4th, 3B Josh Harrison was hit by a pitch, then stole second and third bases.� He scored on 1B Matt Hague's single.� SS Jordy Mercer reached on a throwing error by the Aeros pitcher.� C Hector Gimenez singled, driving in Hague.� A balk moved Mercer up to third base and Gimenez to second, then RF Miles Durham walked to load the bases.� DH Yung Chi Chen's line drive into left field plated both Mercer and Gimenez to give the Curve a 4-0 lead.

Aguero gave up 2 singles in the 7th but kept the Aeros from scoring.� Then in the 8th, two singles were combined with a walk, to bring in a run.� Anthony Claggett pitched the 9th inning, and gave up a walk and a single, but left the runners stranded.

2B Chase d'Arnaud singled and stole second base (his 23rd of the season) in the 5th, then he doubled in the 7th.� The Curve added two runs in the 8th.� LF Andrew Lambo led off with a single and Hague walked.� Mercer dropped down a sacrifice bunt toward third base, and a throwing error by the Aeros' third baseman allowed Lambo to score, and put Curve runners on first and third.� After two outs, Chen again brought in a run when Hague scored on his RBI single.

Not a lot of action for the lower minor league affiliates today.� The West Virginia Power and the GCL Pirates had a scheduled day off, and the Bradenton Marauders were rained out -- they will play two games on Monday.

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State College Spikes� 7,� Auburn Doubledays� 6 (box)

SS Walker Gourley and LF Pat Irvine led the Spikes with 3 hits each as they came from behind to erase a 6-run lead.� It was the largest deficit overcome for a win in the team's history.

Zack Dodson pitched 4 innings and gave up 6 runs (5 earned) to give Auburn the early lead.� A triple, a single, and a 3-run homer gave Auburn a 3-0 lead in the 1st inning.� Dodson retired the side in order in both the 2nd and 3rd innings, but got into trouble again in the 4th.� A double, a throwing error by 3B Andy Vasquez, a single, and a wild pitch brought in one run.� A passed ball and another single added two more runs, and Auburn had a 6-0 lead.

The Spikes had runners on base in 5 of the first 7 innings, but were not able to push any of their base runners around to score.� They had the bases loaded with one out in the 5th, on a single by Vasquez, a walk to CF Mel Rojas, and a single through the hole into right field by Gourley.� A strikeout and a grounder force out ended the inning without a run scoring.

Then the Spikes got going in the 8th.� RF Adalberto Santos led off with a triple, and 1B Matt Curry walked.� Pat Irvine singled, scoring Santos.� Curry had moved to second base on a wild pitch, then on to third on Irvine's single, and he and Irvine both scored when DH Chase Lyles smashed the second triple of the inning.� C Matt Skirving doubled, bringing in Lyles, and Andy Vasquez brought in Skirving with a sacrifice fly.� The Spikes had moved to within one run of Auburn, 6-5.

Walker Gourley started the 9th inning rally with a bunt single.� In a strange play, Santos grounded up the middle and was safe at first base, but Gourley, who tried to reach third base on the play, was ruled out because he'd missed touching second base as he was running.� Spikes' manager Gary Robinson argued, but to no avail, and he was ejected for his efforts.� Santos advanced to second base on a balk, and he scored the tying run when Irvine doubled into center field.

Sandobal Septimo had pitched one scoreless inning, and Trent Stevenson gave the Spikes 3 more scoreless frames.� Jhonatan Ramos came on to pitch a 1-2-3 bottom of the 9th, sending the game into extra innings.� With one out in the top of the 10th, Vasquez dropped down a bunt and beat it out to first base.� A wild pitch moved him to second base, and both Rojas and Gourley walked, loading the bases.� Santos popped up, and was called out on the infield fly rule, but Matt Curry was the hero, with a single to short that allowed Vasquez to score the go-ahead run.� Ramos kept the Doubledays from scoring in the bottom of the inning, and the Spikes had their come-from-behind win.

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Two early games on Wednesday, plus a few more in the evening:

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Altoona Curve� 6,� Erie SeaWolves� 3 (box)

The Curve and the SeaWolves played early and scored early this afternoon.� All the scoring was done by the middle of the 3rd inning.� The Curve began the game with 4 runs in the top of the 1st.� SS Chase d'Arnaud went 3-for-4 in the game, and he opened the game by beating out an infield single to short.� He then stole his 19th and 20th bases of the season, then scored from third on 2B Jordy Mercer's sacrifice fly.�� 1B Matt Hague followed with a solo home run over the left-center field wall.� C Hector Gimenez, who had missed a few games due to illness, walked after the homer, and he scored when RF Miles Durham hit the second home run of the inning over the left field wall.

Erie came right back in the bottom of the inning, scoring 2 runs after 2 outs had been recorded.� After a hit batter and a walk, a grounder to third should have been the end of the inning, but a throwing error by 3B Jose De Los Santos resulted in two runs scoring.

Erie did more 2-out scoring in the 2nd inning, and it was even more costly for the Curve.� OF Gorkys Hernandez is already out for the rest of the season with a broken right ring finger, and now another key player, 2B Jordy Mercer, had to be removed from the game after being injured on a play.� With two outs in the 2nd, a pop up into short left field was "deflected" by Mercer, and fell in for a double as Mercer had to leave the game.� Much defensive shuffling ensued -- De Los Santos moved to second base, Josh Harrison came in to play third base, Brandon Jones moved from DH to right field, Miles Durham moved to center field, Anthony Norman came out of the game, and pitcher Justin Wilson had to move into the batting order with no more DH.� After all the rearranging, Erie got two back-to-back singles, scoring a run.

The Curve were still up by one run, but they added some insurance in the top of the 3rd.� Matt Hague doubled and Hector Gimenez singled then stole second base, giving the Curve two runners in scoring position.� Miles Durham's sacrifice fly plated Hague, then Brandon Jones doubled, bringing in Durham.

That was all the scoring.� The Curve collected only two more hits in the rest of the game -- Chase d'Arnaud singled to begin the 4th and moved to second base on a wild pitch, but was left there; LF Yung Chi Chen singled in the 8th, but was forced out at second.� The 8th inning was the closest the Curve came to scoring again.� After Chen was forced out on Jose De Los Santos' grounder, walks to d'Arnaud and Josh Harrison loaded the bases, but relief pitcher Tom Boleska, in what was probably his first pro at-bat, struck out to end the inning.

Starter Justin Wilson pitched 6 innings and allowed the 3 runs, only one of which was earned.� He allowed 6 hits and 2 walks, with 4 strikeouts.� After the 2nd inning, he gave up only a walk and two hits in the rest of his outing.� Tom Boleska had much better luck on the mound than he did at the plate.� He pitched 3 scoreless and hitless innings, striking out 3 batters.� He allowed only a walk, and immediately erased that runner with a double play to end the game.

Altoona's RHP Derek Hankins has been promoted to AAA Indianapolis today.� He will join the Indians in Syracuse.� Hankins has made 6 starts and 20 relief appearances for the Curve this season and has earned a 5-3 record with 5 saves, and a 1.82 ERA.� Opposing batters have been hitting .215 against Hankins, who has allowed 58 hits in 79 innings of work, with 27 walks and 48 strikeouts.� To make room for Hankins, reliever Brian Bass will be assigned to Altoona, though this might be on paper only.

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Monday's action in the Pirates' lower minor leagues... the Bradenton Marauders have a scheduled day off today.

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Altoona Curve� 11,� Erie SeaWolves� 2 (box)

RF Miles Durham's grand slam ignited a 9-run 8th inning to lift the Curve over the SeaWolves in the series opener.� Both teams put runners on base in the first four innings, but none of those runners scored.� The Curve got the scoring started in the 5th, when LF Brandon Jones led off with a single and DH Yung Chi Chen brought him across the plate with a double into center field.� CF Anthony Norman singled to score Chen from second base, and the Curve were ahead, 2-0.� The SeaWolves tied the game in the bottom of the 9th.� Curve starter Jeff Locke had allowed two doubles over the first 5 innings and had struck out 9 batters.� With two outs in the 6th, Locke gave up three singles and hit a batter, which gave Erie two runs.

Then came the 8th.� Norman led off with a double, and he scored the go-ahead run on singles by SS Chase d'Arnaud and 1B Matt Hague. A new pitcher, Luis Marte, came in from the bullpen for Erie.� 2B Jordy Mercer was the first batter Marte faced, and Mercer bunted the runners up one base.� C Kris Watts was intentionally walked, then Durham rocketed a grand slam over the left field wall, to give the Curve a 7-2 lead.� Jones followed the home run with a single, and Chen followed that with a 2-run homer, bumping the Curve to 9-2.� The next batter, 3B Josh Harrison, was hit by a pitch, which caused the ejection of Luis Marte and his manager.� The next pitcher got a ground out, then walked d'Arnaud.� A wild pitch put both Harrison and d'Arnaud into scoring position.� Hague grounded to the mound, but a throwing error by the pitcher brought in both Harrison and d'Arnaud, to make it 11-2.� A ground out ended the inning.

Ramon Aguero pitched two scoreless innings of relief for the Curve, with a walk and a double.� Mike Colla pitched the 9th, and gave up only a single.