The Altoona Curve offense mustered one hit against the Somerset pitching staff en route to a 6-1 loss at PNG Field in front of 2,436 fans Tuesday night.

Somerset starter Brendan Beck hurled six no-hit innings to thwart the Altoona offense. He was an error — by third baseman Dylan Jasso — away from a perfect outing.

“The biggest thing was he does have a good fastball off the top of the zone,” Curve manager Andy Fox said. “He mixed in his secondary pitches and was able to throw them for strikes.”

Beck struck out five Curve hitters on the night and has now allowed only one hit on the season for the Patriots.

He was able to pitch with a lead for the entirety of the outing as Somerset’s Dylan Jasso deposited Alessandro Ercolani’s first pitch of the game over the left field fence.

“It’s one run. You got to score anyway,” Fox said. “I mean, the more impressive thing was Ercolani being able to bounce back and put together a solid outing.”

Ercolani went three innings and allowed only two other hits on the night while striking out two.

The Patriots got another run in the top of the sixth on a home run by Tyler Hardman.

Altoona was able to score in the seventh inning, capitalizing on an erratic Cole Percival who walked two and allowed an RBI single to Nick Cimillo, the lone Curve hit of the evening.

“We were able to get a little something going there in the eighth, but we just couldn’t get the big hit when we needed to,” Fox said.

The offense will have a quick turnaround to get back into a groove with an early start on Wednesday afternoon.

“We’ve just got to control the strike zone and take advantage of mistakes in the middle to plate,” Fox said.

Bullpen battles

Despite a four-run ninth inning, it wasn’t all bad for the Curve bullpen. Nick Dombkowski threw three strong innings, his lone run coming off the home run.

“He’s been pounding the zone, mixing and matching with his pitches,” Fox said. “He’s been able to give us a little bit of length behind the starters.

Wilkin Ramos worked two innings and struck out three in his appearance, his third straight quality outing.

Up next

Altoona sends southpaw Hunter Barco to the mound for today’s matinee match-up against Somerset. Barco has yet to allow a run in two starts for the Curve, including a five-strikeout performance last week against Akron.