Early double leads to Curve setback
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Games aren't typically won and lost on a play in the second inning, but a three-run New Hampshire double helped pave the way to a 8-2 Fisher Cats win Thursday night.
New Hampshire plated four more runs in the sixth inning and another in the ninth, but it was that double that had the biggest impact albeit with a major dose of controversy.
The ball off Luis De Los Santos' bat looked to most fans, the Curve players and coaches and many others to be foul, having hit in foul territory before crossing the third base bag. Home plate umpire Jude Koury disagreed and it was deemed a fair ball and thus the double.
"He said he had it going over the top of the bag, which obviously, from my view it looked like it was foul before it even got to the bag," Curve manger Callix Crabbe said after the game.
It was Crabbe's Double A managerial debut and although he strongly disagreed, there was still plenty of baseball left and he wanted to see it.
"It's early in the game. I wanted to make sure I stayed around for my first game," Crabbe joked.
The double was the lone blemish on the night for starting pitcher Kyle Nicolas who went 4ª innings allowing one hit, three earned runs while striking out five.
"We play a challenging game and there's going to be some moments wheree something happens we don't necessarily want to have happen and have the ability to bounce back and respond," Crabbe said.
Nicolas' response didn't go unnoticed by Crabbe who was pleased with how he handled that early adversity.
"He ended his outing with the velocity jumping up a bit and he was attacking the strike zone a little bit more," Crabbe said. "I think the play probably locked him in a little bit more."
SUBHED: Henry HBP
Baseball season has officially begun as top prospect Henry Davis was hit by a pitch Thursday night. It marks his 21st HBP in the last two seasons.
"Henry is going to get pitched in a lot, he has massive power," Crabbe said. "I think that's the area most guys are going to try and exploit as early as possible."
Upon arriving in Altoona last season, Davis got hit on the wrist which ultimately landed him on the Injured List for an extended period of time.
SUBHED: Gorski goes gonezo
Right fielder Matt Gorski got the Curve on the board with a 398-foot home run in the bottom of the second inning. The opposite field shot was Gorski's first of the season.
SUBHED: Meis on the mound
RHP Justin Meis takes the mound for the Curve Friday night. Meis, a 10th round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, hails from Bethel Park, just more than a two hour drive from PNG Field.
He is the second Altoona player from the Pittsburgh area to suit up for the team, joining Neil Walker who played for the Curve in 2006 and 2007.