Altoona's comeback falls short again against Akron

CURVE, Pa. - The Altoona Curve dropped their third straight game, losing to the Akron RubberDucks, 4-2, on Tuesday night at Peoples Natural Gas Field.

Altoona (24-18) got to within two runs in the eighth inning on an RBI single by Edwin Espinal , but fell in game two to Akron (19-21), and have lost three straight games at home for the first time this season. The Curve have scored a combined five runs in their last three games and are now 5-6 against Akron in 2017.
The RubberDucks broke a scoreless tie in the third inning when Francisco Mejía hit an RBI groundout to make it a 1-0 game.
Akron added to their lead in the fifth inning. Mike Papi ripped an RBI double to give the RubberDucks a 2-0 cushion, and Papi later came in to score on a throwing error by Curve starter Yeudy Garcia (Loss, 2-3) to make it a 3-0 lead.
The Curve got on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning when Pablo Reyes singled with two outs to bring home a run and cut the deficit to 3-1. The hit extended his hitting streak to 11 games, the second-longest by a Curve player this season.
The RubberDucks added another run in the sixth when Garcia was removed from the game after putting two runners on. New pitcher Sean Keselica gave up a two-out RBI single to Luigi Rodriguez, giving Akron a 4-1 cushion.
Garcia pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits and walked three. Keselica and Buddy Borden combined for 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.
Akron starter Matt Whitehouse pitched four scoreless innings in a spot start, allowing just one baserunner on a walk. Cameron Hill (Win, 2-1) allowed a run on three hits in two innings in relief. Leandro Linares (Save, 1) closed out the game and struck out two in 1 2/3 innings.
Altoona will continue the homestand on Wednesday against Akron with game three in the four-game set. The Curve will send right-hander Alex McRae  (3-0, 3.48) to the mound, opposite of right-hander Julian Merryweather (3-2, 3.59) for the RubberDucks. First pitch is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. at Peoples Natural Gas Field.
It will be Winning Wednesday, presented by Pennsylvania Lottery. Fans have the chance to win big prizes from the Pennsylvania Lottery, including free lottery tickets for a month. Plus, if the Curve win, fans can redeem their ticket at the Curve box office to receive a ticket of equal or lesser value to another Wednesday home game in 2017. It will also be Wing Wednesday, featuring 50-cent boneless wings at concessions. Wednesday will also be a special 10:30 a.m. start time for School Kids' Education Day, presented by Subway.
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