CURVE, Pa. – For the second consecutive night, Stetson Allie hit a home run as the Altoona Curve defeated the Binghamton Mets, 7-0, on Thursday night in the final regular-season home game at PNG Field.
The victory reduced the Curve’s Magic number for clinching a playoff spot to two after third-place Harrisburg beat Bowie 8-6.
Altoona is currently in first place in the Eastern League’s Western Division with the top two teams from the division making the postseason. The Curve hold a 3 game lead over second-place Akron, who lost 8-7 at Erie, and a 3 1/2 game lead over Harrisburg. Altoona has four games left while Akron and Harrisburg each have five games remaining.
Allie had a lot of do with Thursday’s win leading off the bottom of the sixth inning with a solo home run into left field to give the Curve a 4-0 lead. The homer was the 15th of the season for Allie and his was the 53rd of his career with the Curve.
Allie is now two home runs shy of tying Josh Bonifay and Adam Hyzdu for the most home runs hit in franchise history.
Altoona (75-61) finished the regular-season with a home record of 43-25 while Binghamton (62-74) has dropped seven of its last ten contests.
The Curve added a pair of runs on a two-run double from Edwin Espinal and scored on a Dominic Smith throwing error in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Curve a 7-0 lead.
Junior Lopez worked the final two innings for Altoona, allowing two hits but keeping Binghamton off the scoreboard in preserving the sixth shutout victory of the season for the Curve.
Elvis Escobar led off the game for the Curve with a solo home run to right field to give Altoona a 1-0 lead. It was the second home run of the year for Escobar.
Altoona added a run in the third on an Espinal sacrifice fly and in the fifth on a Jin-De Jhang sacrifice fly to take a 3-0 lead.
Curve starter Alex McRae (Win, 8-6) allowed eight hits in his six innings of work but did not allow a B-Mets run in earning his eighth win of the season. McRae also punched out three Binghamton hitters.
Henry Hirsch worked a scoreless inning in relief of McRae, as he and Lopez each made their Double-A debuts.
Seven Curve starters recorded at least one hit, and Curve pitching left 13 B-Mets runners on the bases.
The Curve open their final regular-season series on Friday at 7:05 p.m. from The Diamond in Richmond, Virginia. Altoona right-hander Clay Holmes (10-9, 4.27) will get the start, opposing Flying Squirrels righty Nestor Molina (2-0, 3.18).
With the Curve are leading the Western Division with less than a week remaining in the 2016 regular season, playoff tickets are currently on sale of the Eastern League Western Division Series, and they can be picked up online at AltoonaCurve.com, by calling 877.99.CURVE or stopping by the PNG Field box office.
Copyright © 2024 EYT Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Any copying, redistribution or retransmission of the contents of this service without the express written consent of EYT Media Group, Inc. is expressly prohibited.
