Swinging back

Jonel Pacheco has been one of the most consistent hitters in the Curve lineup, and he showed why again on Sunday.

Batting sixth in the lineup, Pacheco belted two homers and drove in four runs in the Curve's 8-4 win over Bowie before 4,003 fans at Blair County Ballpark.

"Just a great game," Curve manager Matt Walbeck said. "Couple big homers, four RBIs. He carried us tonight."

Pacheco broke a 3-3 tie with one out in the third when he took Tim Bascom (2-1) deep to the left-field stands for a three-run dinger to put his team ahead.

It was his 17th game batting in the six hole, but Pacheco hasn't felt any more comfortable there than he has in the three, four or five positions.

Or, in his case, even the seventh, eighth or ninth spot at times.

Regardless of where he hits, regardless of all the recent roster moves, Pacheco has been immune to the changes, bringing the same mentality each time he steps to the plate.

"It doesn't affect [me] at all because I'm just trying to have the same approach every time," Pacheco said through translator Milver Reyes. "Whenever I go to home plate, I'm trying just to have the same approach. It don't matter who's behind me or not."

Alleviated of the pressure with the bases empty and his team up two in his next at-bat, Pacheco ripped another homer off Bascom that just squeaked its way over the the left-center field wall to put the Curve up 7-4 in the fifth inning.

Different situation, same result.

"It don't matter when I've got men on base or not," Pacheco said. "I'm always trying to have the same approach - trying to look for something where I can really hit the ball hard and just let it go.

"Wherever a bad pitch is coming, I'm just trying to concentrate around something I can hit."

The outfielder, who served as a designated hitter on Sunday, now has a team-leading nine home runs and 37 RBIs.

The homers were the difference in the four-run game, one that saw three other Curve players record two hits each.

Gorkys Hernandez, Jim Negrych and Miles Durham all saw their batting averages improve Sunday, and in the case of Durham, the night marked his first hits at the Double-A level.

He also scored the Curve's final run on Hernandez's sacrifice fly in the sixth.

"[He] had a couple nice seeing-eye hits," Walbeck said of Durham. "Good things happen to guys who play the game hard. Overall it was a team effort and everybody contributed."

Key player: Jonel Pacheco went 2-for-4 with a pair of homers and four RBIs.

Key play: Pacheco's three-run blast in the third broke a 3-3 tie for the Curve.

Key stat: Curve RHP Michael Dubee (1-0) pitched three scoreless innings of relief.