Keller One Hits Bowie to Give Curve 1-0 Lead in Playoff Series; Spikes Season Ends

Chris Rossetti

Chris Rossetti

Published September 8, 2017 4:16 am
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BOWIE, Md. – Behind a complete-game, one-hit shutout by Mitch Keller, the Altoona Curve beat the Bowie Baysox, 2-0, to take a 1-0 lead in the Eastern League Western Division Series on Thursday night at Prince George’s Stadium.

(Photo: Mitch Keller. Photo courtesy of Pittsburgh Pirates)

The Curve (1-0) took the series opener on the road from the Baysox (0-1) in the best-of-five set.

Keller (Win, 1-0) faced the minimum 27 batters and tossed the first complete-game shutout in Altoona Curve postseason history, allowing one hit over his nine innings with two walks and four strikeouts. He threw just 90 pitches in the game.

The Curve broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning. Cole Tucker doubled and Jordan George brought him in to score with a two-out single against Baysox starting pitcher David Hess (Loss, 0-1).

In the top of the seventh, Mitchell Tolman added a run with an RBI single to left, scoring Casey Hughston.

Bowie never saw a runner reach second base in the game. Their first baserunner came in the second inning with a lead-off walk by Garabez Rosa, but Keller worked an inning-ending double play from Austin Wynns.

Cedric Mullins reached with a lead-off single in the fourth, Bowie’s only hit of the game, but was doubled off trying to retreat back to first base after a lineout to left fielder Elvis Escobar hit by Ryan Mountcastle.

A fielding error by Tolman allowed Adrian Marin to reach in the sixth, but Jin-De Jhang threw him out trying to steal second. Steve Wilkerson walked to lead off the ninth, but Marin bounced into a double play to clear the bases again. Erick Salcedo followed with a lineout to left to end the game.

The nine innings pitched was a career high for Keller, who worked through eight scoreless innings for Bradenton against Tampa in last year’s Florida State League Championship Series.

Hess worked 6.1 innings and allowed two runs on seven hits with three walks and five strikeouts. Paul Fry pitched 1.2 scoreless innings with three strikeouts and Scott McGough worked a scoreless top of the ninth.

The Curve and Baysox play Game Two of the Western Division Series on Friday night at Prince George’s Stadium in Bowie. Right-hander Alex McRae (10-5, 3.61) will be on the mound for the Curve, opposed by Bowie lefty Tanner Scott (0-2, 2.22). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

SPIKES SEASON ENDS WITH LOSS

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA — Bryce Denton picked up a pair of hits and Irving Lopez drove in the State College Spikes’ lone run in his debut with the club, but the Williamsport Crosscutters took a 6-1 decision in the season finale for both teams on Thursday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

The loss set the Spikes’ final 2017 record at 40-35, marking the franchise’s fifth consecutive 40-win season after never before reaching that threshold.

Denton delivered a pair of singles as the Spikes were held to four hits, with Lopez’s run-scoring double in the seventh and Zach Kirtley’s fourth-inning single accounting for the others.

Williamsport (37-37) got a big effort from Jake Scheiner, who finished a triple shy of the cycle in a 3-for-4 night. Scheiner knocked in a pair of runs with his fourth homer of the season in the sixth.

The Crosscutters built their lead with a Nerluis Martinez groundout with the bases loaded in the second, then added two runs in the fourth on Malvin Matos’s RBI groundout and a wild pitch. Brian Mims’s single in the eighth capped the scoring.

State College starter Paul Balestrieri (3-4) took the loss, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out four batters over four innings.

Julian Garcia (4-5) picked up the win for Williamsport after starting and giving up just one hit over five scoreless innings. Garcia gave up three walks and recorded six strikeouts.

Prior to the game, the Spikes finished their honor roll of 2017 team award winners by presenting Daniel Castano with the Pitcher of the Year award and naming Evan Mendoza the team MVP.

Castano set new single-season club records for strikeouts (81) and innings pitched (91) while matching the franchise wins record with nine on the season. The left-hander, a 2016 19th-round draft choice out of Baylor, also tied single-game records for strikeouts and innings pitched during the year. Castano earned the honor of starting the New York-Penn League All-Star Game as well.

Mendoza became the first Spikes player to win two NYPL Player of the Week awards as he captured back-to-back honors for July 24-30 and July 31-August 6. The 2017 11th-round draft choice out of N.C. State hit .370 with 14 doubles, three triples, three home runs and 28 RBI over 41 games before being called up to Single-A Peoria on August 10.

Despite being out of the league for nearly a month, Mendoza could also still be awarded the NYPL batting title depending on results of other Thursday games, as his average while being credited with an out for every at-bat to meet the league minimum may still surpass all other NYPL batting qualifiers.

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