Vieaux hushes Hartford in debut, Curve hold on to win

CURVE, Pa. - Cam Vieaux  dominated his first Double-A appearance and received early run support from Jason Martin  and Will Craig  as the Altoona Curve withstood a late charge by the Hartford Yard Goats, 4-3, on Friday at Peoples Natural Gas Field.
The win for the Curve (29-27) is their third in a row and seventh over their last nine home games whereas the Yard Goats (28-33) have lost 13 of their last 16 games.
Vieaux (Win, 1-0) retired the last 15 batters he faced between the third and seventh inning that included all seven of his strikeouts. The last hit he allowed was the final batter of the second inning when Mylz Jones' connected on an RBI single with two outs. The Curve defense turned that run-scoring hit into an out on the bases when a Hartford runner got hung up between second and third. Vieaux allowed a total of three hits, all in the second inning, did not walk a batter and needed just 75 pitches to navigate through seven frames.
 
The team-best 16th double of the season by Ke'Bryan Hayes  and Martin's eighth homer quickly put the Curve ahead 2-0 in the first inning. The tandem kick-started another two-run inning in the fourth. Hayes worked a one-out walk and Martin singled to set the table for Craig, who yanked a two-run double inside the bag at third that traveled to the left field corner to make it 4-1 Altoona.
Tate Scioneaux  (Save, 3) locked down the final six outs in relief of Vieux but not without some fight from the Yard Goats. After a scoreless eighth, Wes Rogers tripled and Brendan Rodgers homered to bring Hartford within one run without using an out in the ninth. Scioneaux bounced back after the home run to preserve the one-run victory for Altoona.
Martin singled during his second at bat in the third for his 19th multi-hit game of the season and Craig's two RBIs ran his total up to a Pirates' system-best 37.
Hartford's second inning score snapped a string of 19.2 scoreless innings by Curve pitching and 13.2 frames by starting pitchers. Through four games on the current homestand, Curve pitchers hold a 1.75 ERA.
The Curve and Yard Goats continue their three-game series on Saturday at 6 p.m. with right-hander Pedro Vasquez (0-3, 5.46) starting for Altoona and righty Peter Lambert (4-2, 2.71) going for Hartford.
 
The first 1,000 fans at PNG Field on Saturday will receive the Tony Watson bobblehead, the relief pitcher of the 2018 Fans' Choice All-Time Curve Team Bobblehead Series, courtesy of Sheetz. The ballpark gates open at 5 p.m. prior to Saturday's game. For tickets or more information, visit AltoonaCurve.com, call 877.99.CURVE or stop by the PNG Field box office. 
 
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