Gray, Taylor Lead 12-3 Win

Will Taylor reached five times and launched a three-run homer on Saturday night.

1:41 AM UTC

CURVE, Pa. – Will Taylor and Murf Gray each recorded four hit games in Altoona’s 12-3 win over the Akron RubberDucks in front of 7,319 fans on Saturday night at Peoples Natural Gas Field.

Pirates outfielder Oneil Cruz went 1-for-5 with an RBI in his fourth game on major league rehab with the Curve.

Altoona tagged Akron starter Sean Matson for six runs across the first three innings of the game.  Taylor notched his eighth home run of the season in the third inning with a three-run blast to put the Curve up 6-0.

Matt King, Jesus Castillo, and Robert Hassell III each added two hits and drove in a run. Lonnie White Jr. reached three times with a trio of walks. Keiner Delgado drove in a pair for his 12th multi-RBI game with the Curve this year.

The Curve took advantage of three RubberDucks errors in the seventh inning to put the game away, using a double steal and run-scoring singles from Hasell and Cruz to put the game away. Hassell III has reached base safely in all five games he’s played since joining Altoona, he holds a .417 on-base percentage.

On the mound, Dominic Pipkin started a bullpen day and tossed a season-long 4.0 scoreless frames with four strikeouts. Since July 1, Pipkin holds a 1.99 ERA (5 ER / 22.2 IP) over his last nine outings with 21 strikeouts. Aaron Shortridge earned the win for the Curve with two scoreless frames of relief and Justin Meis tossed a scoreless ninth inning combining with Shortridge for four strikeouts over the final three innings of the game.

The Curve broke a 0-for-39 stretch with runners in scoring position by slashing 7-for-17 with runners in scoring position today.

Altoona wraps up their series against the Akron RubberDucks on Sunday night at 6:00 p.m. Altoona will send RHP Peyton Stumbo to the hill while the RubberDucks will start LHP Rafe Schlesinger.

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.