CURVE, Pa. – The Altoona Curve picked up their third consecutive win with a 7-4 victory over the Binghamton Mets in the series opener at Peoples Natural Gas Field on Friday night.
Altoona (31-22) has won 20-of-the-last-26 games. Binghamton (21-32) was held without an extra-base hit, but went 5-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
The Curve took opened the scoring in the first inning with an RBI triple by Austin Meadows, and Jose Osuna brought him across to plate.
The B-Mets took a 3-2 lead in top top of the second, but the Curve jumped back in front in the third. Meadows tripled in another run, and Osuna brought him across with a sacrifice fly to take a 4-3 against Binghamton starting pitcher Tyler Pill (Loss, 3-6).
Altoona starter Brandon Waddell (Win, 4-1) settled in after the second and finished his night with five innings pitched, allowing three runs on seven hits with no walks and six strikeouts.
Barrett Barnes hit the Curve’s third triple of the night in the fourth, matching a franchise team record, and brought Stetson Allie in to score.
Binghamton closed within a run in the seventh with an RBI single by Phillip Evans, cutting the Altoona lead to 5-4. But the Curve answered with a run in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single by Erich Weiss. Allie extended the lead to 7-4 with a sacrifice fly in the eighth.
Montana DuRapau (Save, 11) remained perfect in save tries with five strikeouts in two innings, including striking out the side in order in the ninth to finish the game. His eleven saves are the second most in the Eastern League.
Meadows went 2-for-4 in the game with two triples, two RBIs and two runs scored, extending his hitting streak to 12 games, which matches Weiss for the longest by a Curve hitter this year. During the streak, Meadows is hitting .467 (21-for-45) with eight multi-hit games. He has five triples, four doubles, a home run, five stolen bases, four walks and 13 runs scored with just five strikeouts in his last 12 games. The streak has raised his average from .192 to .297.
Anderson Feliz finished the game 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored. Eric Wood also had two hits on the night.
The Curve and B-Mets continue the series on Saturday night. Right-hander Tyler Eppler (3-3, 4.40) will get the start for Altoona, with right Rainy Lara (2-6, 5.52) on the mound for Binghamton. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. at PNG Field.
Saturday night is Star Wars Night, featuring appearances by the Rebel Legion Base and the Garrison Carida of the 501st Legion. The team will don special Jar Jar Binks jerseys, which will be auctioned off with proceeds benefitting the Altoona Area High School Neil Armstrong Planetarium. The night will also include a spectacular fireworks show.
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