Curve clinch playoff berth with shutout win over Richmond
CURVE, Pa. - Fueled by a dominant start by Eduardo Vera and an early homer by Christian Kelley , the Altoona Curve punched their ticket to the 2018 Eastern League postseason with a 3-0 victory over the Richmond Flying Squirrels on Sunday at Peoples Natural Gas Field.Tweet from @AltoonaCurve: Step
CURVE, Pa. - Fueled by a dominant start by
For the second time in franchise history, the Curve (74-56) locked up their fourth straight berth to the playoffs and the franchise's ninth overall. With a third straight win over the Flying Squirrels (61-67) and a loss by the Akron RubberDucks (73-67) earlier in the day, Altoona has moved into sole possession of first place in the Eastern League Western Division.
The first and final hitters to face Vera (Win, 8-3) were the only two hits allowed by the Curve right-hander. Vera set a new career-high in strikeouts with nine and struck out the side two times during the second and fifth innings.
Richmond's first two batters reached against Vera as
The Curve scored all three of their runs quickly. With two-outs in the second,
With the shutout, Altoona pitchers have recorded 11 this season to match Portland for the second-most in the league behind Akron's 12.
The Curve start the final regular-season home series against the Trenton Thunder, the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, on Monday night. Right-hander
The ballpark gates open at 5 p.m. for Margaritaville Night. Fans can visit Five Star Mitsubishi of Altoona for free grandstand tickets to the final Mitsubishi Monday of the regular season. For tickets or more information, visit AltoonaCurve.com, call 877.99.CURVE or stop by the PNG Field box office.
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