Hayes homers, Vera deals strong start as Curve beat 'Ducks

AKRON, Ohio - The Altoona Curve opened an important series against the Akron RubberDucks with a 7-1 win on Monday night at Canal Park.

The Curve (52-45) pulled away with two five runs over the fifth and sixth innings, separated by a long rain delay, to take the series opener against the RubberDucks (60-41), in a game that ended in the early-morning hours of Tuesday.
Bryan Reynolds and Jordan George put the Curve ahead with a pair of RBI singles in the top of the first inning.
In the fifth, Ke'Bryan Hayes hit a two-run, opposite-field homer to extend the Curve lead to 4-0. It was the fifth homer this season for Hayes.
Akron scored its lone run with a solo homer by Ka'ai Tom in the bottom of the fifth, the lone mark over five innings of work for Altoona starter Eduardo Vera (Win, 3-3).
Before the sixth inning, the game was delayed for an hour and 10 minutes for rain. The start of the game was also delayed for an hour and 42 minutes.
When play resumed in the top of the sixth inning, Akron reliever Kieran Lovegrove loaded the bases with two hit batters and a walk before a wild pitch brought George in to score. Cole Tucker brought in a run with a single, one of his three hits in the game, and Hayes added a sacrifice fly to stretch the Curve lead to 7-1.
Yeudy Garcia pitched two scoreless innings and struck out three. Nick Burdi, working on a rehab assignment, tossed a scoreless eighth inning with two strikeouts in his Curve debut. Sean Keselica worked around a single to post a scoreless ninth.
Tucker went 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored. Hayes scored and picked up three RBIs.
The win closed the second-place Curve within six games of the first-place RubberDucks in the Western Division standings and extended the lead over third-place Harrisburg to 2.5 games.
The Curve and RubberDucks play the second of the three-game series on Tuesday night. Right-hander Luis Escobar (1-0, 4.50) will make his second Double-A start for Altoona, opposed by Akron lefty Sean Brady (5-5, 4.47). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Canal Park in Akron.
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