Rubber Ducks Walk Off Curve Snapping Altoona’s Four-Game Win Streak

AKRON, Ohio – The Altoona Curve had their four-game winning streak snapped in a 3-2 loss to the Akron RubberDucks on Thursday night at Canal Park. After tying the score in the top of the ninth, Akron walked off with an RBI double by Joe Sever in the bottom of the inning.

(Photo: Jordan Luplow. Photo courtesy of Altoona Curve)

The Curve (15-10) have dropped all four games this season in Canal Park against the RubberDucks (11-14) and nine of their last ten games in Akron dating back to last season, including the playoffs.

With the score tied, 2-2, Curve reliever Miguel Rosario (Loss, 0-1) walked Mike Papi to open the bottom of the ninth. Mark Mathias was hit with a pitch to put runners on first and second with no outs, and Rosario followed with a strikeout of Eric Haase for the first out. On a 1-2 pitch, Sever clubbed his game-winning double over the head of Curve center Pablo Reyes to score Papi and end the game.

It was the second walk-off hit of the season for Sever against the Curve. He also hit an 11th-inning walk-off single to beat Altoona on April 22.

Trailing 2-1 entering the ninth, Kevin Kramer singled to start the inning against Akron reliever Neil Holland (Blown Save, 1)(Win, 1-0). Connor Joe singled to put runners on first and third, and Jordan Luplow followed with a game-tying sacrifice fly.

Holland struck out Elvis Escobar to end the inning and stranded Joe at second base.

The Curve opened the scoring in the third inning after Wyatt Mathisen doubled and eventually came across the plate on a sacrifice fly by Reyes.

Reliever Austin Coley pitched two scoreless frames with one hit allowed, working through the fourth and fifth. Jared Lakind (Blown Save, 2) allowed two walks with two outs in the sixth inning, but stranded both runners on base.

Akron struck against Lakind to take the lead in the bottom of the seventh. Dorssys Paulino and Papi opened the inning with back-to-back singles and Haase brought them in to score with a two-run triple, putting the RubberDucks ahead, 2-1.

Kramer went 1-for-3 with a walk in the game and extended his on-base streak to a team-leading 21 games. Joe finished the night 2-for-3 with a walk, extending his hitting streak to 11 games, which is the longest by a Curve player this season.

Making his first start since coming off the disabled list, Altoona lefty Brandon Waddell worked his scheduled three innings without allowing a hit or a run, sitting down the first eight batters he saw before issuing a walk to Sever in the third, the only baserunner he allowed. He recorded six strikeouts pitching in his first outing since April 8 at Harrisburg.

The Curve and RubberDucks play the second of the four-game series on Friday night at Canal Park. Right-hander Yeudy Garcia (0-2, 6.43) will be on the mound for the Curve, opposed by Akron right-hander D.J. Brown (0-1, 9.00). First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.