After two seven inning games on Saturday, it took 10 innings on Sunday for the Altoona Curve to walk out of Manchester with a 6-5 victory over the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
Neither team got onto the board until the fourth, when Elvis Escobar’s double brought home Anderson Feliz and Michael Suchy for Altoona. New Hampshire responded with two runs of their own: a Lourdes Gurriel Jr. single that brought home Anthony Alford and a Gunnar Heidt single bringing home Reese McGuire.
McGuire would bring Harold Ramirez home on a single in the sixth, but Shane Dawson’s bases loaded walk in the seventh allowed Altoona to give the game its second tie.
A Emilio Guerrero double in the eighth would bring McGuire across the plate again, along with Gurriel Jr., but that still wasn’t enough to give the Fisher Cats a permanent lead.
Another double, this one by Jerrick Suiter allowed Justin Maffei to come home with the tying run in the ninth and Cole Tucker’s single in the tenth put Jin-De Jhang across the plate for the contest’s final run in the tenth.
Although neither pitcher could earn a decision, both turned in quality starts. Altoona’s J.T. Brubaker went seven innings, scattering eight hits and a walk while striking out five. Ryan Borucki went six innings for New Hampshire allowing five hits and two walks, striking out five.
Jose Fernandez got the loss, giving up a pair of hits in the tenth, while Tanner Anderson stranded two runners in the ninth and retired the side in order in the tenth to get the win.
In addition to the RBI single, McGuire added two other hits, with Guerrero and Alford also providing two hits in the loss.
Pablo Reyes reached base in three of his four at-bats for Altoona, going to first during the bases loaded walk, with Jhang, Tucker and Escobar each giving the Curve a pair of hits.
The summer is beginning to wane and so is the Fisher Cats’ season. They now head to Binghamton for a three-game set, which will be followed by their final homestand of the year.
Monday’s contest, a 6:35 p.m. affair, pits New Hampshire’s Jon Harris (6-10, 5.41 ERA) against Binghamton’s Corey Oswalt (10-5, 2.41 ERA). Harris is 0-2 with a 10.61 ERA against Binghamton this year. Oswalt has only one appearance against the Fisher Cats in 2017, a loss on April 9.
