Fisher Cats Hit Five Homers in Win

Altoona, Pa. – The New Hampshire Fisher Cats (8-6) hit five home runs on Saturday en route to a win, 9-7, over the Altoona Curve (Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-8). Orelvis Martinez, John Aiello, Zac Cook, Luis De Los Santos and Spencer Horwitz each left the yard and together drove in eight of the team’s nine runs.

Trailing Altoona, 3-0, after the first inning, the Fisher Cats tallied a six-run top of the second in their highest-scoring frame of the season. Will Robertson drove in De Los Santos on an RBI single to right field. Two batters later, John Aiello hammered a three-run homer to put New Hampshire in front, 4-3.

Aiello is a switch hitter, and he has a home run from each side of the plate this season.

New Hampshire wasn’t done in the inning. Rafael Lantigua singled, and Orelvis Martinez hit a two-run shot over the left field wall to extend the lead, 6-3. Martinez, the No. 2 prospect in the Toronto Blue Jays system, is tied for second in the Eastern League in home runs with five.

Altoona added two more runs in the bottom of the second, but New Hampshire added two of their own in the third. Zac Cook and Luis De Los Santos homered on back-to-back pitches and put the Fisher Cats up, 8-5.

De Los Santos had another multi-hit game on Saturday, his third of the series. He is 8-for-14 with six RBIs in four games against the Curve.

Altoona starter Kyle Nicolas (L, 0-1) had not allowed an earned run all season prior to Saturday. He exited after 2.0 innings of work in which he gave up eight runs, walked one and struck out one.

Spencer Horwitz’s fourth inning homer added another run. New Hampshire led, 9-5, heading into the fifth.

New Hampshire starter Max Castillo (W, 2-0) came out after 5.0 innings of work. He gave up six earned runs and walked three while striking out three.

Fisher Cats relievers Gabriel Ponce and Marcus Reyes each earned a hold in the win. Ponce went 1.2 innings and gave up one run while walking one and striking out two. Reyes threw 1.1 scoreless innings, walked one and struck out another two.

Closer Hagen Danner, the only Fisher Cat on the Toronto 40-man roster, worked a perfect ninth inning and earned a save. Again, his fastball hit 99 mph on the radar gun. Danner has two saves on the year and locked up the win, 9-7.

New Hampshire concludes their six-game road series with Altoona on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. After the game, the Fisher Cats will return home to Delta Dental Stadium to play the Reading Fightin Phils (Philadelphia Phillies) from Tuesday, April 26 through Sunday, May 1. Tickets for the six-game homestand can be found at NHFisherCats.com, via email at [email protected], over the phone at (603) 641-2005, or in-person at the Fisher Cats box office at 1 Line Drive in Manchester.