It became just a little more likely that will not be the case after the Curve offense exploded late with seven runs in the sixth inning and three in the seventh to hand the Erie SeaWolves an 11-5 loss as the series shifts to Erie on Thursday and an ‘if necessary’ game on Friday.

If the Curve can get one of those games in Erie, they will be back one more time for the Eastern League Championship series next week for another best-of-3 series. Game 1 will be at the Northeast Division series winner. Game 2 and 3 will be in either Altoona or Erie.

Binghamton defeated Somerset, 3-1, in Game 1 in the other series.

Don’t think for a second that the 4,890 fans on hand don’t realize how special it is to have such a tandem playing here. The applause for Griffin was very noticeable for each plate appearance, and he got the crowd on their feet when he legged out a base hit with the bases loaded. The ball got away from Erie first baseman Jake Holton, which cleared the bases to cap the sixth inning touchdown.

“We needed those runs pretty bad, and to hear the crowd go crazy, it’s giving me chills just thinking about it,” Griffin said.

All Griffin has done is hit since he got to Altoona as he finished the season at .337 in 83 at-bats in less than a month. Johnson struggled in the early part of the season, but has been on a tear through the second half of the season with a .331 average since late July as a big catalyst for the second-half win.

Johnson probably knows better than anyone that development is more important than winning in the minors, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to bring a championship to Altoona in what could be his final handful of games in the city.

“You play this game to win,” Johnson said. “Winning big games like this is important to me and to this whole team.”

Johnson was called up from High-A Greensboro late last season and has been here all of 2025, so fans have had ample opportunities to see him. But Griffin has only had a cup of coffee in Altoona, and both are likely to start 2026 in Triple-A Indianapolis. Griffin may even have an outside shot to break spring training with the Pirates.

“It’s pretty cool to come in here and win games and compete,” Griffin said.

Johnson seems to like it a lot here too as he played in his 134th game in a Curve uniform on Tuesday.

“These fans are amazing. The same people show up every day and really put in time to watch us play. It’s been great to give them good games every single night. I’m grateful for the experience I’ve had here.”

When was the last time that we’ve seen a potential superstar in the making from a position player like Griffin? Pedro Alvarez? Maybe even further back to Andrew McCutchen? It’s been a long time.

If the Curve can finish off the SeaWolves later this week, make sure to go see this fantastic duo next week. It won’t be long until you have to drive a couple hours west to Pittsburgh to see them play again.

Andy Stine can be reached at astine@altoonamirror.com.