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Curve settle for sweep

Next stop

Tonight: Altoona at Trenton, 7 p.m.

Pitchers: Curve RHP Nick Economos (0-1, 4.76) vs. Thunder RHP Nick Green (1-3, 8.78)

Record: 18-20 (second half); 54-52 (overall)

From Mirror reports

TRENTON, N.J. — The Curve easily won the conclusion of a suspended game Tuesday night, then had what looked like it would be a doubleheader sweep taken away in rough fashion in game two.

Altoona led by a run entering the seventh and last inning of the nightcap, only to have Trenton rally and win on a walk-off double. Kyle Holder’s hit drove in a pair and gave the Thunder a 4-3 victory at Arm & Hammer Park.

The Curve captured the opener, 6-0, a game that began May 30 before getting suspended by rain. Altoona scored three runs in the second inning and three more in the third before the rains came in that contest two months ago, and neither team scored as the game was completed to seven innings Tuesday.

The Curve also had a slew of roster moves Tuesday, including the Pirates releasing shortstop Gift Ngoepe. (See below for more on that.)

Altoona fell behind, 2-0, in the second inning of game two before coming back with three runs in the third. Jared Oliva singled home a pair and scored on an error on the play.

The 3-2 held up until the seventh, when Trenton wound up stealing the game.

Domingo Robles (2-5) struck out the first batter in the seventh, then gave up back-to-back singles. Holder followed that up with a walk-off double.

Daniel Alvarez (6-2) won in relief for the Thunder. Yeudy Garcia (1-1) got the win for the Curve in game one, while Deivi Garcia (2-3) took the loss.

Cruz debuts

Prized shortstop prospect Oneil Cruz made his Curve debut in game one, going 0-for-2. He batted cleanup in game two and went 2-for-3 with two doubles.

Cruz is the Pirates’ No. 3 prospect, according to MLB.com.

Transactions

Ngoepe was signed by the Pirates to a minor league deal a month ago, but he struggled in this stint with the Curve. He hit just .100 in 14 games, with no homers or RBIs. He struck out 14 times in 30 at-bats.

The 29-year-old Ngoepe played for the Curve from 2013-15, on his way to reaching the major leagues.

In other transactions:

First baseman Jerrick Suiter was reinstated to the active roster from the injured list on Tuesday. Outfielder Bralin Jackson was placed on the IL with a left ankle sprain.

Infielder Darnell Sweeney was assigned to the Curve from Triple-A Indianapolis, where he hit .274 with two homers and 12 RBIs in 23 games. Sweeney played in the big leagues with the Phillies in 2015 and with the Blue Jays in 2018, batting .172 with three homers and 11 RBIs in 39 total games.

Infielder Alfredo Reyes has been converted to a pitcher and was placed on the roster of low-A Greensboro.

How they scored

First game

Top 2nd: Suiter hit by pitch, scored on Tolman double (1-0); Pabst double scored Tolman (2-0); Madris groundout scored Tolman (3-0).

Top 3rd: Suiter walked, scored on Jackson single (4-0); Tolman singled, scored along with Jackson on Pope double (6-0).

Second game

Bottom 2nd: Gittens singled, scored on Navaretto single (0-1); Alvarez singled, scored on Lipka groundout (0-2).

Top 3rd: Suiter singled, Sharpe hit by pitch, both scored on Oliva single (2-2), and Oliva also scored on Gilliam error (3-2).

Bottom 7th: Navarreto singled, Lipka singled, both scored on Holder double (3-4).

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