Five Curve homers kindle comeback win

HARRISBURG, Pa. - The Altoona Curve trailed 6-1 after four innings but stormed back with a season-high five home runs to knock off the Harrisburg Senators, 10-6, at FNB Field on Saturday.
Nearly a month after erasing an 8-1 hole in Harrisburg on April 29, the Curve (22-22) snapped their four-game losing streak for their first win of the road trip.  
Altoona cut the Senators (22-24) lead to one run in the seventh on a three-run homer by Ke'Bryan Hayes , his third of the season and second of the trip. The three-run shot gave Hayes four RBIs for the game that included his first-inning sacrifice fly scored Cole Tucker following a lead-off triple.
Jordan George led off the eighth and tied the game 6-6 with a solo homer over the right field wall. Later in the same frame, Stephen Alemais reached third base after a two-out single, a stolen base and a throwing error by Senators catcher Taylor Gushue.
With Alemais on third and hitting with an 0-2 count, Elvis Escobar blooped a single to left field to plate the go-ahead run.
In the ninth, the Curve crushed two more homers to provide a four-run cushion. Jason Martin launched a two-run shot, his sixth of the year, and Bralin Jackson smashed his first Double-A home run to right field two hitters after Martin.
Harrisburg built their 6-1 lead with a pair of homers and five consecutive hits off Mitch Keller during the fourth inning. Kelvin Gutierrez crushed a three-run homer to left-center to shatter a 1-1 tie, and Adam Brett Walker belted a two-run shot to right-center.
Keller survived six innings despite the six runs by Harrisburg as the Pirates' top prospect struck out five batters and allowed nine hits. Over two starts on City Island this season, Keller has allowed nine runs over 10 innings.
Bret Helton (Win, 2-2) threw two hitless frames in relief behind Keller, and Geoff Hartlieb held Harrisburg off the board with two strikeouts in the ninth.
Cole Tucker and Hayes each recorded three hits for the Curve and scored twice at the top of the lineup while Christian Kelley and Alemais each had two-hit games at the bottom of the Altoona order. Kelley also homered during the comeback, a solo shot to left in the fifth and his fifth of the season.
The Curve play Harrisburg on Sunday in the third of a four-game series and first pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. Left-hander Taylor Hearn (1-3, 4.32) will start for Altoona against Senators right-hander Kyle McGowan (1-0, 2.84).
After spending Memorial Day weekend in Pennsylvania's state capital, the Curve return home for a brief, three-game homestand against the Akron RubberDucks starting on Tuesday. For tickets or more information, visit AltoonaCurve.com, call 877.99.CURVE or stop by the PNG Field box office.
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