Late inning rallies by Akron sinks Altoona
Thursday night the Double-A Altoona Curve held a 2-1 lead over the Akron RubberDucks entering the 7th inning. However, late inning rallies by the RubberDucks prove costly for the Pittsburgh Pirates Double-A affiliate leading to a 4-2 loss, dropping them to 47-51 on the season.
Luis Ortiz started for the Curve and early on was cruising. Through the first 6 innings he had allowed just 1 run. Ortiz allowed a run in the 7th, and went back out to start the 8th inning. This would prove to be a costly decision as Ortiz allowed a single and a home run before being pulled.
Ortiz pitched 7+ innings, allowing 4 runs on four hits, no walks, two home runs and five strikeouts. Lefty Tyler Samaniego followed Ortiz and continued his strong work, striking a batter out and allowing just one hit in 2 scoreless innings pitched.
Offensively, there were few highlights for the Curve. Jared Triolo started at third base and continued to bat leadoff, going 2-for-4 with a run scored, a RBI and his 2nd triple of the season. Catcher Blake Sabol was 1-for-3 with a RBI. Fabricio Macias, Matt Fraizer, Liover Peguero, and Connor Scott were all 1-for-4.