Curve score late runs but not enough for victory
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By Jarrod Prugar
For the Mirror
A late ninth-inning rally came up short as the Altoona Curve fell to the Bowie Baysox 9-8 in front of 5,040 fans at PNG Field Thursday night.
Trailing 9-7, shortstop Liover Peguero led off the ninth inning reaching on a fielding error by Bowie shortstop Anthony Servideo. Peguero moved to third on a single by first baseman Jacob Gonzalez.
Right fielder Matt Gorski went down on strikes for the first out of the inning before catcher Abrahan Gutierrez ground into a fielder's choice for the second out, but scored Peguero to cut the deficit to one.
Center fielder Matt Fraizer flew out to end the threat and the game.
The Curve had clawed back from a 7-1 deficit before ultimately coming up short.
"It was cool to watch them come back from 7-1. It's tough," Altoona manager Callix Crabbe said. "They definitely didn't give up and it's a shame that we came up one run short, but I think that puts us in a good position for momentum for the next couple days."
Sullivan struggles
It was an uncharacteristic night from Curve starter Sean Sullivan who gave up four earned runs and seven over all.
He managed to go 4ª innings and notched three strikeouts, but allowed three home runs which ultimately resulted in his demise Thursday night.
"Typically he attacks a little bit more. He seemed like he was nibbling a little bit more than usual," Crabbe said. Usually, Sullivan gets ahead and he does a good job getting the guys to put the ball in play with limited damage, just today he didn't have his best feel.
New guy in town
Shortstop Tsung-Che Cheng has been promoted from High-A Greensboro and will be activated prior to Friday night's game against the Baysox.
Cheng hit .308 with nine home runs. 30 of Cheng's 66 hits have gone for extra bases with 12 doubles and nine triples.
With Cheng a shortstop, this will move Peguero to an every-day role at second base which will put Peguero in line for a promotion in the near future.
He's on the ball
Peguero got the Curve scoring started once again in the home half of the first inning.
Peguero notched a lead-off double and followed it up by stealing third on the first pitch to Ji-Man Choi before scoring on a Peter Van Loon wild pitch.
"He's done a great job of setting the tone for us. He's a dynamic player that hits the ball really hard," Crabbe said. "He has some speed, runs the bases pretty well so it's nice to see I'm having such success."
Next up
RHP Anthony Solometo gets the ball for tonight's matchup. It will be Solometo's second start in Double-A after being promoted while Altoona was in Somerset last week.
Solometo went five innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits in his debut. He's 2-4 with a 2.40 ERA between High-A Greensboro and Altoona this season.