CURVE, Pa. - Oneil Cruz was one of the heroes in his first game at Peoples Natural Gas Field on Monday when he drove a two-strike, two-out single into left field to score two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and lifted the Altoona Curve over the Richmond Flying
CURVE, Pa. - Oneil Cruz was one of the heroes in his first game at Peoples Natural Gas Field on Monday when he drove a two-strike, two-out single into left field to score two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and lifted the Altoona Curve over the Richmond Flying Squirrels, 6-5.
The Curve (56-57, 20-25) and Flying Squirrels (41-70, 18-26) traded the lead twice leading up to the seventh inning.
With the score tied, 4-4, Gio Brusa led off the seventh for Richmond with a single off of reliever Clay Holmes (Win, 1-0), who worked two innings for the Curve in a Major League rehab appearance. Brusa scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly by Zach Houchins after advancing to second on a hit-by-pitch and third on a wild pitch. Richmond trailed, 4-2, when Holmes entered the game in the sixth and connected on three straight hits to even the score.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, a pair of walks from Richmond reliever Caleb Simpson put Brett Pope and Darnell Sweeney on first and second with one out. Chris Sharpe faced new reliever Tyler Cyr (Loss, 0-1) and singled to load the bases. After pitch-hitter Bligh Madris hit into a fielder's choice that resulted in a force-out at the plate for the second out of the inning, Cruz flipped Altoona's fortunes from down a run to a 6-5 lead.
Cody Ponce (Save, 1) shut down Richmond with two perfect innings with three strikeouts to pick up his first save as a member of the Pirates organization.
In the first, Richmond plated two runs against Curve starter Nicholas Economos allowed two of the first three batters to reach base on a double and a walk before Houchins delivered a two-out single, scoring both runners. Economos settled in, holding the Flying Squirrels scoreless over his next four innings, including a bases-loaded jam with no outs in the third, while picking up six strikeouts. He departed in line for his first Double-A win.
Altoona responded with one run in the bottom of the first when Chris Sharpe doubled against Richmond starter Caleb Baragar and later scored on a Jared Oliva sacrifice fly. Robbie Glendinning tied the game in the bottom of the fourth on a two-out single, scoring Oliva, who singled and stole second.
Sharpe resurfaced in the fifth to break the tie game with a two-run homer, his seventh since joining Altoona. Sharpe led the offense with a 3-for-4 performance, missing the cycle by a triple, and scored three times.
Cruz finished 2-for-4 while Logan Hill and Glendinning each walked and singled in the win.
