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The Altoona Curve fell 7-1 to the Reading Fightin' Phils Wednesday night in front of 3,133 fans at PNG Field.
It was a night where the Curve couldn't get their offense going against a solid Fightin' Phils pitching staff, and especially against starter Estibenzo Jimenez who went six innings, struck out eight and allowed one run on four hits.
"We ran into a pitcher who was spotting it up and pounding the zone, and we couldn't really get anything going," Altoona manager Andy Fox said.
That , coupled with Reading getting to Curve starter Wilber Dotel, created a recipe for a hole the team couldn't climb out of in theend.
The Fightin' Phils scored three runs off Dotel in the fourth inning, including a two-run home run by second baseman Nick Dunn. Dunn scored Felix Reyes, who doubled home a run in the fourth to give Reading a 3-0 lead.
"They got up early and just kept adding on and that made it harder," Fox said.
Altoona's Nick Cimillo singled and scored Mitch Jebb in the bottom of the fourth, but that was the lone run of the night for the home team.
Dunn and the Fightin' Phils added two more runs in the sixth off Dotel with his second home run of the game, which marked the first time in his career with a multi-home run game.
It marked the end of a start Fox and his team aren't used to seeing from Dotel, who has been solid throughout the season.
"It's just part of the learning curve, trying to limit damage in those innings," Fox said. "Tonight, he wasn't able to, but a couple of starts ago, he was able to. It's just part of this level and learning how to pitch and people forget, he still is 22."
Reading scored one run a piece in each of the seventh and eighth innings to put the score at 7-1 while they held the Curve offense to three hits through the final three innings of the game.
Still going
With his ninth inning single, Termarr Johnson extended his hit streak to six games. He's doing so despite being pitched inside frequently and often getting hit by pitches.
"You always want to finish the season strong, and regardless of what your year has been, I mean, he's hitting around .260 which is not a bad year, but I think you always want to finish strong," Fox said. "He had a really good series in Richmond, unfortunately, got dinged in the hand there and it put him out for a couple days. But as I like to say he's, he's sprinting to the finish."
Johnson is hitting .268 this season for the Curve and his sprint to the finish included that single in the ninth, which shows that he's not willing to throw away at bats late in the game when it's out of reach.
"These guys understand every at bat counts," Fox said. "We talk about how they all count, and you're one at bat closer to figuring it out, or getting going or getting to the big leagues."
Coming to an end
As a result of a hitless night, Konnor Griffin saw his five-game hit streak come to an end against Reading.
Griffin had logged a hit in his last four games at Greensboro before earning his first Double A hit in his debut on Tuesday.
Up next
Righty Alessandro Ercolani toes the rubber for the Curve tonight against Reading. Ercolani is 1-7 with a 3.73 ERA this season.