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By Jarrod Prugar
For the Mirror
A three-run second inning helped propel the Bowie Baysox to a 6-2 win over Altoona Curve in front of 6,738 fans at PNG Field Sunday night.
Bowie's Alex Pham proved to be too much in the defeat as he held the Curve hitless through five innings.
He allowed three hits in the sixth inning that allowed two runs to score for Altoona, but that was the only damage he allowed.
'We've had trouble with him all year," Curve manager Robby Hammock said. "He's got a good fastball up in the zone, and then he's able to work his off speed off of that, but everything plays off that fastball up in the zone."
Altoona hitters were aggressive through the first six innings, putting many balls in play early in counts and it resulted in only one strikeout early. But, it also led to Pham's outing being extended and reaching a season-high seven innings.
Pham also benefited from a strike zone that had both teams questioning balls and strikes multiple times.
"He was getting some calls up there early, too," Hammock said. "That just makes it super tough. You get some calls up there, and that's where he works and it's a really tough pitch to square up. He's tough."
The sixth inning provided the Curve with a chance to get on the scoreboard and work their way back into the game.
Catcher Abrahan Gutierrez singled to break up the no-hitter to start the inning. The ball was fielded by right fielder Tavian Josenberger, who tried to flip it with his glove to center fielder Enrique Bradfield Jr., but the ball went past Bradfield and scooted into left field, which allowed Gutierrez to wind up at third.
Right fielder Tres Gonzalez then hit a sacrifice fly to score Gutierrez and kill the Baysox hopes of a shutout. Third baseman Brenden Dixon popped out to set the stage for left fielder Matt Fraizer's at bat.
Fraizer hit a fly ball down the left field line that saw both Jud Fabian, the left fielder for Bowie, and third baseman Anthony Servideo give chase to the ball. Neither came up with the ball and with the two colliding, the ball trickled down to the warning track.
It was recorded as a triple for Fraizer, and he later scored on Kervin Pichardo's double the next at bat.
Altoona then shut down the side in order in each of the final three innings to set the final score.
Flowers blooming
Curve reliever J.C. Flowers shut Bowie down in his two innings of work. He struck out four of the six batters he faced and did not allow a run in two innings of work.
"He had good command, commanding his pitches and had a nice mix going," Flowers said. "He kept him off balance and guessing and got a couple of strikeouts."
Saturday night
Outfielder Sammy Siani was the knight in shining armor for the Curve Saturday night in a 7-6 victory in extra innings.
Siani scored four runs and recorded three hits and a walk in the victory. His winning run came in the bottom of the 11th inning on a bunt single by Tres Gonzales.
An errant throw allowed Siani to score and end the game after he began the inning at second base.
Next up
The Curve head to Richmond to start a six-game series Tuesday. Southpaw Anthony Solometo is projected to get the nod in the first game of the series.