ALTOONA, PA – The New Hampshire Fisher Cats (7-6) fell, 8-7, to the Altoona Curve (Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-7) on Friday night in their third straight defeat of the series.
New Hampshire scored five runs in the top of the ninth despite tallying just one hit in the inning. Altoona walked five batters, hit Zac Cook with a pitch and committed two errors during the comeback. The game ended when Sebastian Espino was tagged out at third base.
Altoona threatened early, loading the bases in the bottom of the first. Fisher Cats starter Paxton Schultz responded with a strikeout to end the inning.
The Curve added six hits across the second and third innings, including two home runs. Altoona led, 4-0, after three. Schultz finished with 4.1 innings of work and allowed four earned runs while walking two and striking out four.
Curve starter Luis Ortiz breezed through the New Hampshire order in the first three innings, allowing just one base hit to Will Robertson.
The Fisher Cats tagged Ortiz for three base hits in his second trip through the order. Rafael Lantigua doubled, and Luis De Los Santos drove in two runs with a two-out base hit to right field in the fourth inning. De Los Santos finished with three hits and three RBIs in the game, and he has six hits and five RBIs in the series. Altoona led, 4-2, after four.
