Curve 5, Fisher Cats 2
- Updated: September 1, 2024
ALTOONA, Pa — The Altoona Curve (25-31, 54-71) completed a sweep of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (18-37, 48-75) at Peoples Natural Gas Field by winning 5-2 Sunday.
The wheels fell off for the Cats in the bottom of the eighth, as Altoona mounted a five-run comeback to take the lead.
New Hampshire starter Michael Dominguez held his own against the Curve bats. The righty tossed five scoreless innings and sat down five. Dominguez has only allowed one earned run over 17 innings since returning from the Development List on August 15.
Right-hander C.J. Van Eyk was solid out of the bullpen; the Florida State product tossed two scoreless innings. New Hampshire lost its grip in the eighth, as Trent Palmer (L, 1-4) walked three straight batters, then Johnathan Lavallee allowed all three inherited runners to score, along with two more earned runs.
Altoona starter Nick Dombkowski went four scoreless innings, but the Cats capitalized after the southpaw left the game. Lefty Blake Townsend came out of the bullpen and allowed two runs in the fifth. The Curve would call upon Jaycob Deese and Cy Nielson (W, 2-1) to handle the final four innings.
New Hampshire attacked Townsend in the top of the fifth; designated hitter Rainer Nuñez led off with a single, then first baseman Ryan McCarty walked. With runners on first and second and no outs, center fielder Dasan Brown laid down a bunt. Townsend fielded the ball in front of the plate and plunked Brown in the back as he hustled to first. Nuñez came around to score as the ball trickled away. After a strike-’em-out, throw-’em-out double play, McCarty scored on a single from shortstop Josh Rivera. The Cats held a 2-0 lead after the top of the fifth.
Nuñez and Rivera were the Cats’ offensive standouts. Nuñez smacked three hits, the sixth time he’s reached that mark for New Hampshire this year. Rivera finished 2-for-3 with the RBI single.
Altoona got on the board after four straight walks from Palmer and Lavallee in the top of the eighth. The Curve scored two more runs on wild pitches and took a 3-2 lead. A sacrifice fly doubled Altoona’s advantage, 4-2, then Tres Gonzalez singled in Jase Bowen to reach the game’s final score.
The Fisher Cats return home on Tuesday for a seven-game series against the Portland Sea Dogs, Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. First pitch of Tuesday’s contest is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.. Neither side has named starting pitchers.
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