Curve stomp Sea Dogs to start weekend series

PORTLAND, Maine. - The Altoona Curve wiped out an early deficit with eight unanswered runs highlighted by a go-ahead homer by Bryan Reynolds to beat the Portland Sea Dogs, 8-1, on Friday at Hadlock Field.
The Curve (66-54) trailed the Sea Dogs (52-69), 1-0, after four innings before rallying to score three runs in the fifth and sixth with two more in the seventh to take the series opener.

The lead changed hands for good in the fifth when Reynolds unloaded on a two-run homer to right, his sixth of the year. The game was tied, 1-1, after a sacrifice fly by Ke'Bryan Hayes . Reynolds would go on to reach base all five times he came to the plate. In addition to his homer, he walked twice, singled and reached on a fielding error.
Tweet from @AltoonaCurve: GONE. 👋Bryan Reynolds crushes a 415-foot, two-run homer and we've got a 3-1 lead in the fifth #FullSteamAhead pic.twitter.com/MfvypfHuIc
Many of the Curve's scoring came as a result of some wildness from the Portland bullpen. Sea Dogs reliever Jared Oliver walked two in the sixth and threw three wild pitches, two of which scored runs for Altoona. In the seventh inning, Oliver walked Reynolds to start the inning and hit three batters to give up one more before he was pulled from the game. Christian Kelley was the first batter to face Jake Cosart in relief of Oliver and hit an RBI single with the bases loaded to bring in a second score in the seventh.
Tweet from @AltoonaCurve: .@ZGeorge_7 and Christian Kelley score on a pair of wild pitches. @cotuck brings in Alfredo Reyes with a sac fly. Three runs in the sixth and we're now leading 6-1 in Portland. pic.twitter.com/yraNoOKFA1
Bret Helton (Win, 6-6) matched his longest relief outing of the season with three innings of work for the winning decision. He held the Sea Dogs to one hit and stuck out three without issuing a walk.
The Sea Dogs scored first in the fourth after a throwing error by Luis Escobar on a pickoff attempt to first base scored Jordan Betts. The runner made his way from first to third when Escobar threw ball four to the backstop to Jhon Nunez.
Escobar pitched four innings and allowed the one run on three hits but walked four with five strikeouts. Sean Keselica worked two shutout innings to close our the victory for the Curve.
Portland nearly scored in the bottom of the third when Chad De La Guerra hit the right-center field wall on the fly and was initially called a solo homer. However, the umpire crew overturned the call to a double after they decided the ball did hit above the yellow line on the wall. De La Guerra ended up going 3-for-4 in the contest.
Each squad loaded the bases early and did not come through with any runs. Portland filled the sacks in the first with a single a back-to-back two-out walks by Luis Escobar before a strikeout ended the threat. The Curve had the bases loaded in the third with two walks and a single, all with two outs, without pushing any runs across. Altoona also left the bases full in the seventh after scoring twice in the inning.
The Curve and Sea Dogs continue their three-game series at 6 p.m. on Saturday with left-hander Cam Vieaux (8-3, 3.61) taking the hill for Altoona against Portland lefty Matt Kent (8-8, 3.52).
After the current road trip, the Curve return to open the final homestand of the regular season against the Harrisburg Senators, Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, for two games beginning on Wednesday, August 22. For tickets or more information, visit AltoonaCurve.com, call 877.99.CURVE or stop by the PNG Field box office.
-CURVE-