Curve come back late to beat Yard Goats on Friday

HARTFORD, Conn. - In a back-and-forth battle, the Altoona Curve held off the Hartford Yard Goats for a 4-3 win on Friday night at Dunkin' Donuts Park.

The Curve (26-24) picked up their third consecutive win while handing the Yard Goats (26-29) their seventh straight loss.
With the game tied, 3-3, in the eighth inning, Stephen Alemais hit an RBI double off the top of the left-field wall off of Mitch Horacek (Loss, 0-3) to bring in Jordan George and give the Curve a 4-3 lead.
Hartford put runners at second and third with one out in the bottom of the eighth against Montana DuRapau (Save, 1), who was making his first appearance of 2018, but the Altoona closer struck out back-to-back batters to work out of the jam. He followed with a 1-2-3 ninth inning to close out the game and extend his franchise record with his 37^th career save.
The Curve broke a scoreless tie in the sixth inning with an RBI infield single by Bralin Jackson to plate Ke'Bryan Hayes from third.
Hartford quickly answered, scoring three runs in the bottom of the inning on a double by Chris Robago to take a 3-1 lead against Altoona starter Taylor Hearn.
Hearn pitched 5.2 innings on the night and allowed three earned runs with six strikeouts.
Down by two in the top of the seventh, Logan Hill tied the score with a two-run homer on the first pitch he saw in the game to even the score at 3-3. It was his team-leading ninth homer of the year.
Tate Scioneaux (Win, 1-1) stranded a runner on second in the sixth and worked a quiet seventh inning.
Hayes went 4-for-5 with three doubles and scored a run, setting new team highs for 2018 in hits and two-baggers.
Alemais and Jackson each finished the night with two hits.
The Curve and Yard Goats continue the series with the second of three games on Saturday night. Right-hander Austin Coley (1-0, 3.00) will start for Altoona, opposed by Hartford right-hander Peter Lambert (3-2, 3.00). First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. at Dunkin' Donuts Park.
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