Fisher Cats complete sweep

MANCHESTER – With just three runs allowed in the three-game series, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Blue Jays Double-A affiliate) swept the Altoona Curve (Pittsburgh Pirates) with a 7-2 win on Thursday afternoon at Delta Dental Stadium.

BOX SCORE

With thousands of New Hampshire’s outstanding high school students in attendance for NH Scholars Day, the Fisher Cats (22-22) held Altoona’s offense at bay for the third-straight game, while producing seven runs on 11 hits.

Patrick Murphy  (W, 3-4) struck out seven batters in six innings with no walks, five hits and one run surrendered. In his last five starts, the reigning Florida State League Pitcher of the Year is 3-1 with a 1.59 ERA, and has a 38-4 K-BB ratio in 34 innings.

Kevin Smith  started the scoring in the bottom of the third. The Fisher Cats loaded the bases with two walks and a single, and Smith drove everybody in with a triple off the wall in right center.

After Altoona got on the board with a Jerrick Suiter RBI single in the fourth inning, Alberto Mineo re-extended the lead to 5-1 with a two-run blast in the fifth. It was Mineo’s fourth homer of the season, and his third in the last 10 games.

Vinny Capra  added a pair of runs in the sixth. After a walk, a single and a wild pitch put two men in scoring position, he lined a double into left field to make it 7-1 Fisher Cats.

Tayler Saucedo  followed Murphy’s start with two shutout innings out of the bullpen, allowing one hit with one strikeout.

Jake Fishman  finished off the game with three strikeouts in the ninth, while Altoona scratched across a run to cap the scoring at 7-2.

In 27 innings during the three-game series sweep, Fisher Cats pitching allowed just runs on 16 hits with 27 strikeouts and six walks.