CURVE, Pa. – The Altoona Curve recorded a season-high 19 hits and beat the Trenton Thunder, 14-4, on Tuesday at Peoples Natural Gas Field.
(Photo: Elvis Escobar. Photo courtesy of Altoona Curve)
The Curve (38-30) defeated the Thunder (46-24) behind a career day from Elvis Escobar, who finished 5-for-5 with two triples, a double and two RBI.
Escobar fell a home run shy of the cycle. He became the 14th player in Curve history to record five hits in a game, matching the franchise record. His two triples also evened the Curve’s all-time single-game mark.
Altoona struck first and never looked back, scoring three runs in the first inning. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Kevin Newman scored on an error after a dropped pickoff throw at second base by Abiatal Avelino to give Altoona a 1-0 lead. The Curve extended their lead to 3-0 after back-to-back RBI singles by Jin-De Jhang and Jordan Luplow.
In the second, Escobar tripled and came in to score on a wild pitch to give the Curve a 4-0 advantage.
Leading off the third inning, Luplow blasted his team-leading 16th home run of the season, giving Altoona a 5-0 lead. Later in the inning, Escobar hit his second triple of the game, this time driving in a run and Anderson Feliz drove in a run with an RBI double. Altoona led Trenton 7-0 after three innings.
In a 7-2 game in the fifth, the Curve scored four more runs. Jerrick Suiter and Connor Joe hit sacrifice flies. After a run scored on a wild pitch, Edwin Espinal hit an RBI single, picking up his team-leading 43rd RBI of the year.
Altoona capped the scoring with a three-run eighth inning. Wyatt Mathisen and Escobar hit RBI singles and Newman produced a run on an RBI groundout.
Altoona scored a season-high 14 runs, surpassing their previous high of 12 runs on April 29 against Harrisburg. The ten-run victory was the most lop-sided win this year for the Curve. It also marked the biggest loss of the season for the Thunder, who had not lost by more than four runs in a game this season prior to Tuesday.
Curve starter Alex McRae (Win, 6-2), pitched 5.2 innings and allowed four runs (three earned) on nine hits. Luis Heredia and Buddy Borden combined for 3.1 innings of scoreless relief with four strikeouts.
Trenton starter Yefry Ramirez (Loss, 6-3) allowed seven earned runs on eight hits in 2.1 innings. Will Carter allowed four runs in 2.1 innings of relief and Cale Coshow surrendered three runs on five hits in two innings out of the bullpen.
The Curve will continue their homestand on Wednesday with game two against Trenton. Altoona will send recently-promoted right-hander Dario Agrazal to the hill to make his Double-A debut, and Trenton will counter with righty Ronald Herrera (7-0, 1.07). First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m at Peoples Natural Gas Field.
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