Fisher Cats 4, Curve 2
- Updated: April 9, 2023
ALTOONA, Pa. — The New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, defeated the Altoona Curve 4-2 at Peoples Natural Gas Field Saturday afternoon, completing a three-game sweep to open the 2023 season.
Jimmy Robbins (1-0) threw five shutout innings in the start for the Fisher Cats (3-0). He allowed two hits, two walks, and struck out four batters. Robbins extended his scoreless inning streak to 17 consecutive innings, dating back to last year.
The Fisher Cats pitching staff allowed just three earned runs in 27 innings over the three games. Luis Quinones and Sean Mellen combined to retire six straight batters. Troy Watson worked the eighth in his Double-A debut, and Jimmy Burnette earned his first save of the season with a scoreless 9th. The lefty recorded four saves last season, good for second on the pitching staff.
Luis De Los Santos delivered New Hampshire’s first home run of the season over the center-field wall, a two-run blast to open the scoring in the 5th. De Los Santos finished the series with three extra-base hits and six RBIs.
Leo Jimenez extended his hit streak to three games with a base hit in the 6th. He scored on a throwing error after Damiano Palmegiani’s ground ball back to the pitcher, increasing the lead to 3-0.
Steward Berroa doubled in the 8th, stole the first Fisher Cats base of the season, and scored on a throw to first following a strikeout on a pitch in the dirt.
Jared Jones (0-1) took the loss for the Curve (0-3), despite striking out six over 4.2 innings. It was the third consecutive game where Altoona’s starter was the losing pitcher.
It was the first three-game road sweep for the Fisher Cats since June 14-16, 2019 against Richmond. The Fisher Cats never trailed in the series at Altoona, outscoring the Curve 19-6.
The Fisher Cats open the home schedule with a six-game series against the Future Red Sox (Portland Sea Dogs) beginning Tuesday at 6:35 p.m.
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