Elvis didn’t leave the building per say, but an Elvis did play a big role in sending the opposing team home on back-to-back nights. It was Elvis Escobar who helped notch two victories with walk-off hits over the Trenton Thunder this past weekend at Peoples Natural Gas Field for the Altoona Curve.
Escobar ended the game on consecutive nights with a pair of singles that plated the winning runs to help the Curve finish with a 5-8 record against the Eastern League leading Thunder for the season.
WALK. IT. OFF.
Elvis Escobar knocks a walk-off single for the second straight day as the Curve top the Thunder in extras pic.twitter.com/YniYacRUlc
— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) August 14, 2017
Escobar is hitting .375 in his last 10 games for Altoona amassing 12 hits in that time span. The center fielder is slashing .273/.314/.362 for the season with three home runs and 28 RBIs in 101 games. As the Curve are nearing the playoffs, Escobar is quietly having one of the best years of his career as a pro. The 5’8″ Escobar’s only better season in which he appeared in over 100 games came in 2015 with the Class-A West Virginia Power where he slashed .296/.326/.407 in 124 games.
Consistency name for Keller’s game
Top pitching prospect Mitch Keller started on the mound for the first time against someone other than Trenton Thursday afternoon as he took on the Portland Sea Dogs in his third Double-A start for Altoona.
In each of those outings, Keller has pitched six innings and given up two earned runs, with Thursday’s outing providing him with the first loss of his Double-A career. The first two outings against the Thunder found Keller giving up five hits while against the Sea Dogs he gave up only four. Keller gave up two walks in addition to striking out nine Portland hitters.
Through three starts, Keller sits at a record of 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA while walking giving up 14 hits, five walks, and striking out 21 in 18 innings.
Kramer shut down for season
According to the Altoona Mirror’s Cory Giger, Curve second baseman Kevin Kramer has been shut down for the season as he returns from a broken hand.
2B Kevin Kramer (broken hand) will not play again this season for @AltoonaCurve. Hope was for final few weeks, but he still has pain in hand
— Cory Giger (@CoryGiger) August 13, 2017
The hope was for Kramer to be back in time for the playoffs, however, the lingering pain in his hand has prohibited him from ramping up his recovery and rehab processes. Kramer’s first first foray into Double-A baseball was going smoothly until the injury happened.
In the 53 games Kramer appeared in, the second base prospect hit .297/.380/.500 while totaling 17 doubles, three triples, six home runs, and 27 RBIs.
Up Next
The Altoona Curve are in the middle of a nine game road swing that saw them lose their three-game series against Portland 2-1 and fall a full game back of Bowie for the Eastern League Western division lead. Friday features the Curve beginning a three-game set against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats who carry a 49-73 record into their match-up. Austin Coley (4-4, 3.11 ERA) takes the mound for Altoona to get the series started while Casey Sadler (1-2, 4.19 ERA) and J.T. Brubaker (7-4, 4.51 ERA) will follow in the remaining two games.
After New Hampshire, the Curve will travel to Hartford, CT. to take on the Hartford Yard Goats for a three-game series before returning home for what could be a division-deciding series against Bowie beginning next Thursday.
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