Moya Delivers Grand Slam in Western Division's Victory

Curve, Pa. - Erie's Steven Moya provided the big hit for the Western Division when he pulled a two-out grand slam in the fifth inning to lead the Western Division All-Stars to a 5-2 victory in the Eastern League All-Star Clash on Wednesday night at Peoples Natural Gas Field. The win by the Western Division All-Stars was their second in as many years after the West shutout the East 5-0 last year.

Portland's Derrik Gibson provided the first run of the game for the East. The outfielder hit just two home runs in all of the season but delivered a one-out shot off Akron's Shawn Armstrong to give the East a 1-0 lead.

However, Altoona's own Alen Hanson led off the third and later tied the game. The 21-year-old shortstop reached on a two-base error by Kennys Vargas and later scored on an RBI single by Harrisburg's Michael Taylor to tie the game at one.

Hanson, along with the Curve's Willy Garcia, started the rally in the fifth inning. After Hanson led off with a walk, he reached second when Garcia lined a one-out single up the middle. After Akron's Francisco Lindor drew a two-out walk with the count full against him, Moya blasted the grand slam to put the West up 5-1.

The East got one back in the eighth after a leadoff triple by Gibson who scored on a groundout from New Hampshire's Jon Berti.

Altoona's Ryan Beckman (1-0) earned the win after he worked a scoreless fifth. The Texas native allowed the first two batters in the inning to reach but settled down to retire the next three which included two strikeouts. New Hampshire's Dustin Antolin (1-0) suffered the loss while Curve, Pa's own Kenn Kasparek notched the save by working a perfect ninth with two strikeouts.

Hanson finished the game 0-for-2 but scored two runs while Garcia went 1-for-2 with a run scored. Elias Diaz went 0-for-2 in the win while Drew Maggi went 0-for-1.

With the curtains closed on the Eastern League All-Star Stop presented by UPMC Health Plan, Altoona will get its focus back to the regular season when they welcome in the Bowie Baysox to Peoples Natural Gas Field for a four-game series beginning Thursday night. The first 1,000 fans to the ballpark on Thursday will get the Gregory Polanco "El Coffee" Mug Giveaway presented by Keller Engineers. Gates open at 5 p.m. with live music on the Rocky Gap Casino Resort Entertainment Deck from Ty Ayers while pregame on ESPN Radio 1430, WVAM, and the Curve Radio Network is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

Orlando Castro (0-0, 21.00) will make his debut at home for the Curve in Thursday's 7 p.m. game versus Bowie and he will be opposed by the Baysox' southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez (3-6, 4.81). For tickets and information, call 877.99.CURVE, visit AltoonaCurve.com, or stop by the box office at Peoples Natural Gas Field.