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By Jarrod Prugar
For the Mirror
The Altoona Curve withstood four lead changes to come out on top in a 9-8 victory over the Harrisburg Senators Wednesday night at PNG Field in front of 2,598 fans.
It was a different type of slugfest than Tuesday night's thrilling walk-off win, but a tough battle nonetheless. Every time each team would go ahead, the other would match it.
"This group here is close knit. They have a tight bond and they believe in each other, they cheer for each other," Curve manager Robbie Hammock said. "They're always in it themselves without us having to even do anything. They know their job and they work to execute. It's fun to watch."
Seven players recorded hits for Altoona while six of those seven found themselves scoring as well. First baseman Seth Beer was one of the four Curve players who recorded multiple hits and they came at the most opportune times.
He hit an RBI single in the fifth inning to get Altoona within one before scoring the go-ahead run on a passed ball to give the Curve a 6-5 lead.
Enter Beer again in the home half of the sixth as he hit into a fielder's choice which saw Harrisburg first baseman Dermis Garcia's throw home go way wide of the catcher to score two runs and put Altoona up 9-6.
Though, as good as his performance at the plate was, it was a diving stop he made in the eighth inning for a double play that got the Curve out of the inning holding on to a one-run lead.
"Anytime you get the opportunity to be helpful on both sides of the ball. I always leave the ballpark feeling a lot happier that day," Beer said.
His ability to work through struggles is not lost on Hammock, who made sure to mention the defensive play that saved the game for his squad.
"He had a couple plays tonight where we missed a couple balls and then he just refocused and locked it back in," Hammock said. "He got a couple big knocks and then that big double play turn there in the eight was the game saving play. Kudos to him for being able to keep the concentration level high and his focus and get us a big play like that."
Bullish pen
Eddy Yean took over in the fourth inning from Po-Yu Chen, who gave up five runs in 3• innings of work.
Yean promptly slammed the door on the Senators in the fourth, and helped keep Harrisburg at bay as the Curve clawed back into the game.
He yielded two hits and a run while striking out one and allowing only one run. Valentin Linarez took over in the seventh and allowed two runs, one earned in his two innings of work to hold the lead before Cameron Junker closed it out in the ninth to preserve the win.
"We had some guys step up out of the pen," Hammock said. "We had a couple of tough plays that happened or else we could have kept on scoreless."
Shack attack
Shackleford continues to take advantage of Harrisburg pitchers with another multi-hit night, his second of the homestand.
Tuesday night, it was Shackleford and the longball. He connected for two home runs on five RBIs while it was the double that did the damage for him on Wednesday.
Shackleford roped two doubles, which plated three, and scored a run while also getting a walk in the seventh inning.
On base machine
Curve shortstop Tsung-Che Cheng reached base all five times he stepped to the plate on Tuesday night.
He picked up right where he left off on Wednesday night reaching in his first four plate appearances including stealing a base before popping out during his fifth. Over that period of time, Cheng scored four runs to help the Curve's cause.
His ability to get on base is not lost on his manager.
"His maturity level is one of those where he knows that if he's not making an impact with hits he can get on base and potentially turn that into a double by stealing a bag," Hammock said. "That just goes to show what type of player he is and his mentality."
Next up
Altoona's Bubba Chandler gets the nod tonight. Chandler, the Pirates No. 5 prospect, got the start on opening day in Akron where he went 3-plus innings with four strikeouts and two walks.