From the Altoona Curve:
Kaiser Blasts Curve To Series Opening Victory
Steven Jennings picked up the victory in his Double-A debut
CURVE, PA – Connor Kaiser smashed a first inning grand slam to give the Curve a 6-0 lead and they cruised to a 6-3 victory over the Binghamton Rumble Ponies on Tuesday night at Peoples Natural Gas Field.
Ji-Hwan Bae started the first inning rally with a base hit and stood on third after a walk from Josh Bissonette. Canaan Smith-Njigba singled home Bae with a line shot to right to take a 1-0 lead. After a strikeout and a hit basman, Cal Mitchell came to the plate with the bases loaded and reached on an infield single to take a 2-0 lead before Kaiser stepped to the plate and hammered a 2-1 offering from Binghamton starter Luc Rennie into the left field bleachers to take a commanding advantage.
Kaiser’s grand slam home run was the 47th in franchise history and his first home run since joining the Curve.
Cam Vieaux allowed one run over four innings, a solo homer to Luis Carpio in the fourth, in his third start of the campaign for Altoona. Vieaux allowed two hits, one walk and struck four on 72 pitches before giving way to Steven Jennings. Jennings earned the victory with three innings of relief in his Double-A debut, allowing two runs on three hits, three walks and two strikeouts.
Oddy Nunez and Hunter Stratton each threw scoreless innings of relief to finish off the victory. Stratton picked up his sixth save of the season working around a two-out walk in the ninth inning.
Bae and Mitchell each had two hits in the game to lead the Curve offensive attack.
The game featured a brief 7-minute lightning delay in the top of the first inning. With a 3-2 count, two outs and men at first and second for Binghamton, Hayden Senger stood at the plate for the Rumble Ponies when the weather chased the teams from the field. On the first pitch after the delay, Canaan Smith-Njigba reached into the front row of the left field bleachers to rob a three-run home run and keep the Rumble Ponies off the board.
The Curve and Rumble Ponies continue their series on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday is Wine & WINGSday at the ballpark with $6 glasses of wine and 50-cent boneless wings available. RHP Travis MacGregor (2-2, 4.54) will start for Altoona, he’ll be opposed by RHP Dustin Beggs (0-1, 3.00).
For tickets or more information about Curve Baseball, 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 5 p.m., during every home game and online 24/7/365.
Comments