Aeros Get Behind Eight-Ball Early, Lose to Curve

Altoona, PA - Before all the fans had settled in to their seats at People's Natural Gas Field in Altoona Sunday night, the Curve had forged an eight-run lead over the visiting Akron Aeros.

The Curve sent 13 batters to the plate and scored eight runs in the first inning against Aeros starter Toru Murata, and then made it stand up in an 8-3 victory in the third game of a season-ending four-game series.

Akron won the first two games of the series, and still has a chance to win the series when the season concludes on Monday at noon.

Eastern League Rookie of the Year Alex Dickerson and left fielder Andy Vasquez each slugged three-run home runs in the first inning against Murata (6-6), who suffered his first loss since July 14th, also against Altoona.

The first five hitters all reached safely before an out was recorded. Alen Hanson and Adalberto Santos both singled to start the game, and Dickerson followed with a homer to right. It was his 17th home run of the year, and seventh against Aeros pitching. Two hits and one out later, Vasquez crushed a homer just inside the foul pole in right to make it 6-0. Turning the lineup over, Hanson chipped in a sacrifice fly, and Santos added an RBI single to extend the lead to an insurmountable, 8-0.

To his credit, Murata persevered and stayed in the game through five innings. He didn't allow another run, but saw his ERA skyrocket from 3.79, to 4.19 to end his season. In an otherwise solid season, Murata surrendered a team-high 18 homers.

Curve starter Nate Baker (4-4) retired the first nine batters he faced, and held the Aeros scoreless through five innings. Akron finally wrecked the shutout bid in the sixth. Tyler Holt had an RBI double to score Ronny Rodriguez, and Adam Abraham singled to score Holt. In the seventh, against reliever Ryan Beckman, Rodriguez laced an RBI single for his fifth RBI of the series to make it 8-3.

Baker, a lefty, went six innings and allowed seven hits and two runs. He walked none and struck out seven, and snapped his own three-game losing streak. Continuing a season-long struggle against southpaws, Akron dropped to 14-23 against left-handed starters this season.

The Aeros (67-73) had 12 hits on the night. By contrast, they only recorded eight hits on Saturday, but won, 9-0. Tyler Naquin enjoyed a three-hit night, going 3-5, with three singles.

Bullpen help for Murata came in the form of Enosil Tejeda, Shawn Armstrong, and Jose Flores. All pitched a scoreless inning. The Aeros bullpen has combined to throw 11 scoreless innings in the series. Flores leads the EL in appearances with 58.

The Aeros and Curve will play the final game of the season on Monday at 12:00 p.m. RHP Brett Brach (9-9, 4.88) will make take the mound for the Aeros, while LHP Eliecer Navarro (4-7, 4.34) will start for the Curve. The game will be broadcast live on 1350 AM and online at www.sportsradio1350.com. For more information, please call the Aeros at 330-253-5151. Follow the team on Twitter @akronaeros or on Facebook at facebook.com/theakronaeros.