Amazing Alvarez Walks-Off the Curve in Sunday Win

CURVE, PA – With the winning run standing on third base with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Andres Alvarez delivered a walk-off single to lift Altoona over New Hampshire, 5-4, on Sunday afternoon at Peoples Natural Gas Field.

The ninth frame began with a Connor Scott single to left field off reliever Parker Caracci. Scott advanced to second on a Lolo Sanchez groundout and stole third base on what was the third strike to Will Matthiessen. Alvarez then brought home Scott for his third run batted in on the season to win the game for Altoona.

The win marked the first walk-off for the Curve since August 18, 2021 when Daniel Amaral hit a two-run home run in the ninth. It is the first series win for the Curve this season, who took four of six games from New Hampshire.

The Fisher Cats scored four times on two hits off Curve starter Travis MacGregor to take an early 4-0 lead. After walking the bases loaded in the first inning, MacGregor gave up one run on an RBI-groundout by Luis De Los Santos.

Following a scoreless second inning, MacGregor gave up a solo home run to Orelvis Martinez with one out in the third. Later in the frame, New Hampshire would score on a bases loaded fielder’s choice from Sebastian Espino. De Los Santos would then score on a wild pitch from reliever Omar Cruz to take the 4-0 lead.

Altoona’s bullpen stepped up from there, allowing just one hit over the final six innings and not allowing a run despite a season-high 12 walks from Curve pitching overall. Cruz struck out six over three innings without yielding a hit, while Enmanuel Mejia tossed two scoreless with three strikeouts. Tahnaj Thomas earned the win after a scoreless 1.1 innings to close out the game.

The Curve scored twice in the fifth inning. After a lead-off double from Liover Peguero off reliever Geison Urbaez, Blake Sabol knocked an RBI-single into right field and would later score on a Mathiessen groundout to make it 4-2.

Sabol stayed active offensively with a second RBI-single in the sixth inning, this time scoring Jared Triolo. Altoona would tie the game in the seventh after a balk was assessed to reliever Trey Cumbie with runners on first and third, scoring Scott to even the game.

New Hampshire starter Hayded Juenger allowed just one hit over four scoreless innings to open the game. Caracci took the loss, falling to 0-2 on the season.

Suwinski extended his hitting streak to nine games with his sixth extra-base hit of the series, a double, in the eighth inning. Peguero, Sabol, and Scott each finished with two hits for the Curve, with Scott extending an on-base streak to 11 games. Altoona had a nine-game home run streak snapped with the win, one game shy of matching a franchise record.

After the off-day on Monday, the Curve will travel to Akron to begin a six-game series with the RubberDucks, Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians, on Tuesday night. Altoona will start RHP Carmen Mlodzinski, while the RubberDucks have yet to announce a starter.

For tickets or more information, 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.