ALTOONA, PA — The New Hampshire Fisher Cats (18-35, 48-73) dropped their fourth straight game to the Altoona Curve (23-31, 52-71) at Peoples Natural Gas Field Friday night, falling 7-5 in 10 innings. For the second straight night, Altoona won on a walk-off hit; Curve right fielder Matt Fraizer smashed a three-run homer to end the contest.
After trailing 4-0, New Hampshire fought back with four runs to tie the game. The Fisher Cats took a 5-4 lead in the top of the 10th after Charles McAdoo scored on Devonte Brown’s RBI single off Grant Ford (W, 4-2), but Fraizer’s home run off Anders Tolhurst (L, 2-1) brought home two baserunners as well.
New Hampshire’s Devereaux Harrison tossed his second straight quality start with six innings of one-run baseball. The right-hander struck out six. Hunter Gregory allowed three runs in the bottom of the seventh, two of which were earned. Andrew Bechtold tossed a scoreless eighth and Ryan Jennings handled the ninth with a zero.
Altoona starter Po-Yu Chen delivered five scoreless innings, but New Hampshire eventually got to the Curve bullpen.
Altoona knocked in the game’s first run on a solo home run from Sammy Siani in the bottom of the second inning, the only run allowed by New Hampshire’s Harrison. Fajardo stroked a two-run single in the bottom of the seventh. After stealing second base, Fajardo came around on a fielding and throwing error from Fisher Cats shortstop Josh Rivera to push the Curve advantage to 4-0.
The Fisher Cats mounted a comeback in the top of the eighth. With one out, shortstop Josh Rivera singled, then right fielder RJ Schreck drove Rivera in with a double to the right field corner. Altoona made a pitching change, but it didn’t faze third baseman Ryan McCarty, who drove a deep fly ball to left field; Curve left fielder Yoyner Fajardo reached up to make the catch, but the ball bounced off his mitt and over the fence for a two-run blast. McCarty’s longball was his ninth Double-A homer of the season and extended his hit streak to 12 games.
Trailing by one, first baseman Rainer Nuñez singled, advanced to second on a walk. Garrett Spain entered the game to pinch-run for Nuñez and came around to score on an Altoona infield error. After the Cats rally, the game was tied, 4-4.
In extras, Brown stroked the first pitch of the tenth into center field to plate McAdoo for his 42nd RBI of the year. The next three batters went down in order.