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HARRISBURG -- The Altoona Curve offense banged out 12 hits and scored eight runs, along with five walks, while cruising to an 8-0 win over the Harrisburg Senators on Tuesday night at FNB Field.
With the victory, Altoona holds a two-game lead in the Southwest Division with 17 games remaining in the second half.
Altoona's offense wasted no time, scoring four times in the top of the first. Konnor Griffin and Termarr Johnson each drew a four-pitch walk to begin the game against starter Jackson Kent.
Esmerlyn Valdez singled home a run with a ground ball to the third baseman. Duce Gourson followed with a solid RBI single through the right side of the infield, and with two outs, Omar Alfonzo and P.J. Hilson singled home runs to make it 4-0.
Starter Wilber Dotel tossed five innings and allowed one hit to begin his outing against the red-hot Senators. Dotel walked two batters and set down seven straight hitters to end his outing. He holds a 2-2 record with a 3.10 ERA in five starts this month.
Teammates Mike Walsh and Valentin Linarez each tossed two scoreless innings to close out the two-hit shutout for Altoona. Walsh struck out three batters in relief before Linarez allowed one hit with one strikeout.
Javier Rivas helped put the game away with a solo homer in the sixth inning. Nick Cimillo added an RBI single in the seventh and Griffin added an RBI double in the eighth inning to put the finishing touches on the victory. Altoona had five players pick up two hits in the victory.
Johnson's walk in the first inning extended his on-base streak to 11 consecutive games, during which he's batting .419 with four doubles and five runs batted in since August 12.
The Curve are 30-22 while the Senators are back in second place at 28-24.
Altoona continues its six-game series with the Senators tonight at 6:30 p.m. Southpaw Blake Townsend starts for the Curve while fellow lefty Jake Bennett is slated to start for the Washington Nationals farm club.