Marvel pitches Curve to third straight series win

CURVE, Pa. -- The Altoona Curve rallied for a four-run fifth inning and rode another James Marvel gem to a 5-2 win over the Portland Sea Dogs on Thursday at Peoples Natural Gas Field. The Curve have won three straight series and are 9-3 in June.
Marvel started for the Curve (32-31) and gave up two runs in the fourth but held the Sea Dogs (22-40) in check through the rest of his outing. The right-hander gave up just two runs on three hits with six strikeouts and three walks. He retired 10 batters in a row from the final out of the fourth through the second out of the seventh and struck out four of the final five hitters he faced. It was Marvel's eighth quality start and third time this season working seven innings.

Sea Dogs starter Matthew Kent (Loss, 1-2) held the Curve to one hit through four innings and entered the fifth working with a 2-0 lead, but the Curve put together a four-run rally with two outs. Jared Oliva brought home the first run with a bases-loaded walk, the third straight issued by Kent. Mitchell Tolman followed with an RBI, infield single to tie the game and the go-ahead run scored on shortstop Ricardo Cubillan's throwing error on the play. Bralin Jackson added an RBI single, which pushed the Curve lead to 4-2 and chased Kent from the game. Kent allowed four runs on four hits with two strikeouts and three walks in 4.2 innings.
The Curve added another run in the eighth when Bligh Madris and Arden Pabst hit back-to-back doubles off Portland reliever Matthew Gorst. The Curve hit five doubles in the game. Tolman, who went 3-for-4, and Madris, who scored two runs, each hit two. With his RBI double, Pabst has five RBIs in his last six games.
Blake Weiman worked a scoreless eighth inning and Matt Eckelman (Save, 8) followed with a scoreless ninth as the two relievers combined to retire all six batters they faced in relief of Marvel.
Tweet from @AltoonaCurve: Strong as steel tonight #YinzylvaniaFINAL: Yinzers 5, Portland 2 pic.twitter.com/QF2678OWXD
The Curve travel to Binghamton on Friday to open a three-game road series with the Rumble Ponies starting at 7:05 p.m. The Curve will go with left-hander Domingo Robles (1-1, 2.50) against Rumble Ponies right-hander Harol Gonzalez (3-1, 3.27).
The Curve return home on Monday, June 17 for a three-game series with the Harrisburg Senators through Wednesday, June 19. First pitch on Monday is at 6:30 p.m. and gates will open to fans at 5:30 p.m. It's Mitsubishi Monday, so fans can pick up FREE grandstand tickets at Five Star Mitsubishi for Monday's game at PNG Field, presented by Five Star Mitsubishi of Altoona.
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