Trending
Next stop
Tonight: Akron at Altoona, 6 p.m.
Pitchers: Ducks RHP Aaron Davenport vs. Curve RHP Sean Sullivan
Radio: WRTA-FM 98.5
By Jarrod Prugar
For the Mirror
The Altoona Curve began the second half of the Eastern League season on Tuesday night by falling 4-3 to the Akron RubberDucks in front of 5,772 fans at PNG Field.
The Curve offense got on the board early with two runs in the third inning, but the RubberDucks answered with two runs off Altoona starter Drake Fellows in the top of the fourth.
Left fielder Yoyner Fajardo's RBI single in the fourth inning put the Curve back on top, but again Akron answered in the top of the fifth.
"In this park we have trouble at times as well," Curve manager Robby Hammock said. "We just have to fight through that, but they did a good job."
After a hit by center fielder Jase Bowen in the fifth inning, the Altoona offense fell silent save for the RubberDucks walking the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning.
"They've got a good pen, and they showed it tonight," Hammock said. "They have a couple of tough guys on the back end that are familiar with us and we have to figure out a way to overcome it."
Bowen had three of the Curve's eight hits while Fajardo chipped in two hits and an RBI as well.
With Tuesday night's loss, the Curve extended their streak of losses to Akron at PNG Field to seven games. It also marked the 13th loss of the season to the RubberDucks just 70 games into the season.
"They're a tough team, man. They got timely hits and made big pitches when they needed to," Hammock said. "We played them when they were really good and they played us 12 times when we were playing really poorly. And so, a lot of things lined up."
Roster moves
The Pirates made a bevy of roster moves ahead of Tuesday's contest as the organization sent catcher Wyatt Hendrie and RHP Valentin Linarez to High A Greensboro and promoted LHP Luis Peralta to Altoona from Greensboro.
Catcher Eli Wilson was activated from the 7-day Injured List.
Following the game, outfielder Connor Scott was released according to Hammock. Scott was a first round pick of the Miami Marlins in 2018 and was part of a trade that sent Jacob Stallings to the Marlins in 2021.
The new guy
Peralta was thrust into action in the bottom of the sixth inning to relieve Fellows. He picked up right where he left off in Greensboro where he boasted a 4-0 record with a 0.60 ERA in 30 innings.
Peralta threw 2.1 shutout-innings and allowed two hits while striking out four RubberDucks.
"He was fearless. He went right out, attacked guys and wasn't afraid to throw his fastball," Hammock said. "He's got a good fastball, tough to square up. He's got a nice breaking ball, too."
Davis on his way
Former Curve catcher Henry Davis is set to begin a rehab stint in Altoona tonight sources have confirmed to the Mirror.
Davis, the first overall pick by the Pirates in the 2022 MLB Draft, is currently on the 7-day Injured List with a concussion.
The plan according to Hammock is for Davis to join the team Wednesday pending clearance of concussion protocol.
Next up
The Curve will send righty Sean Sullivan to the mound tonight. Sullivan is 2-5 with a 3.65 ERA in 14 games for Altoona this season.
Last week against Bowie, Sullivan tossed six innings, allowed five runs on seven hits and four strikeouts.