The Harrisburg Senators won their second straight game tonight, defeating the Altoona Curve 6-3 to take 2 out of 3 games in the series. The visiting Curve struck first, scoring single runs in both the 1st and 2nd innings off of Senators' starting pitcher Kip Bouknight to take a 2-0 lead. However, Harrisburg struck back with turned out to be the decisive frame of the game in the bottom of the 3rd, scoring 4 times. Bouknight got things started with a 1-out single to RF. After Dan Dement was retired, Greg Thissen hit a long home run to left-center to tie the game at 2-2. Kory Casto then ripped a double to LF and Prentice Redman followed with his own 2-run homer to LF, putting the hosts on top 4-2 and giving them a lead they'd never relinquish. Altoona snuck back within 4-3 with an unearned run in the top of the 4th but Harrisburg immediately boosted their lead back to 2 runs in the bottom of the frame, using a Seth Bynum single to LF, an excellent sacrifice bunt by Bouknight that turned into a single, a wild pitch that advanced Bynum to 3rd base, and an RBI groundout by Dan Dement to make the score 5-3. After some early struggles on the mound, Bouknight then really settled in, retiring Altoona in order in the 5th, 6th, and 7th innings. Unfortunately, the Senators were unable to cash in some opportunities during those innings. It didn't matter though, as Jeremy Plexico and Dan Kolb ultimately shut the door the final 2 innings and the Senators added an insurance run in the 8th on a Salomon Manriquez single and Rich Lane RBI triple to provide the final 6-3 margin.
General game notes:
- It was cooler tonight than Wednesday night; the game-time temperature was "only" 94 degrees Fahrenheit. There was also a little more of a breeze.
- The Senators committed 2 more errors, on back-to-back plays by 1B Josh Whitesell and 2B Dan Dement in the 4th inning that led to Altoona's final run. Kip Bouknight was able to induce the next batter into a double play, the first of 3 Harrisburg double-plays on the night (including a game-ending, unassisted DP by replacement 1B Rich Lane) and the first of 10 straight batters retired by Bouknight.
- Harrisburg's pitching staff was able to keep Altoona in check in part because they issued 0 walks. By contrast, Curve pitchers gave up 5 walks (2 intentional).
Individual player notes:
Kory Casto - was officially 1 for 3 on the night with a double, 2 walks, and a run scored. He's hitting .295 and has again raised his OBP to above .400 while maintaining a .500+ SLG. He played flawlessly in LF.
Prentice Redman - went 2 for 4 at the plate with a 2-run homer and a single and is now hitting .292 on the season. He played acceptably in RF.
Frank Diaz - had a 1 for 2 night with a single, an intentional walk, and a sacrifice bunt. He's gotten his batting average back up to .277. In the field, he made a fine catch in deep straightaway CF near the warning track where he got twisted around but stayed with the ball.
Salomon Manriquez - was 1 for 4 at the plate with a single and run scored. His batting average remained at .252. Behind the plate he was much better tonight than he was on Wednesday, not giving up any steals and blocking most pitches, though a wild pitch did bound away from him and allow an Altoona runner to advance early in the game.
Josh Whitesell - had a terrible night at the plate, going 0 for 3 at the plate with 3 strikeouts. He also received an intentional walk. As noted above, at 1st base he committed an error on a fairly difficult play that helped lead to an Altoona run.
Kip Bouknight - pitched 7 solid innings (plus one batter in the 8th), giving up 3 runs (2 earned) on 5 hits and 0 walks. He also struck out 5 batters and picked up the win, improving his record to 6-8 and lowered his ERA to 4.55.
Dan Kolb - relieved Jeremy Plexico after Plexico gave up a leadoff single in the 9th inning. Kolb pitched one scoreless inning, giving up 1 hit and striking out 1 batter while picking up his 4th save. His ERA is now 2.95.
MILB.com box score
