CURVE, PA. – The Curve fell 5-3 to Richmond in the series and pre-break finale Sunday afternoon at Peoples Natural Gas Field.
Richmond scored three times off starter Connor Oliver, who made his second start of the series, and spun two innings. He allowed three earned runs on four hits including a two-run homer from Richmond’s Jean Carlos Sio.
Altoona stole four bases in the game, two after a first inning single from Keiner Delgado; who scored on a sacrifice fly from Derek Berg. The Curve offense was held quiet by starter Trystan Vrieling who allowed just one hit over six innings. Lonnie White Jr. blasted a solo homer in the seventh inning to make it a 5-2 game and the Curve inched a run closer with an RBI single from Duce Gourson in the eighth. However, Richmond’s bullpen stranded two on base in the eighth and didn’t allow a baserunner in the ninth to secure the win.
On the mound, Brandon Neeck fired 2.1 scoreless frames of relief after the two-inning start from Oliver. Neeck struck out the side in the sixth on ten pitches. Jaycob Deese, Josh Loeschorn and Jake Shirk combined to cover the final seven innings on the mound.
Callan Moss and Titus Dumitru each lost their lengthy on-base streaks in the loss. Moss’ 15-game stretch and Dumitru’s 14-game streak both came to an end via 0-for-4 days.
Richmond and Altoona have split two of their three series this season. The Flying Squirrels swept out the Curve at CarMax Park in April, and Altoona has forced a split in the following two against the first-half champions.
Altoona will be off until Friday for the All-Star break before traveling to Reading for a three-game series with the Fightin Phils. Altoona will send LHP Dominic Perachi to the mound in the series opener, first pitch is set for 7:00 p.m.
For tickets and more information on the Altoona Curve, visit AltoonaCurve.com, call 877.99.CURVE or stop by the PNG Field box office. Additionally, the Stockyard Team Store is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., during every home game and online 24/7/365.