HARTFORD, CT.- Playing as the Hartford Rock Cats, the Colorado Rockies Double-A affiliate defeated the Altoona Curve, 5-4, on Thursday night at Dunkin Park. All three games in the series have been decided by one run with the Yard Goats earning two victories.

Hartford built an early 5-0 lead with runs in each of their first three innings at the plate. Emmanuel Chapman tossed the first two innings of the bullpen day for the Curve and allowed three runs, two earned, in his first start of the season. Hartford added two runs against Jake Shirk in the third, though Shirk came back with two scoreless frames after that; earning two strikeouts in his three-inning outing.

The Curve offense was stymied by Hartford starter Connor Staine through the first three innings of the game but finally broke through in the fourth inning. Lonnie White Jr. started the fourth with a walk and scored easily on Titus Dumitru’s double. After a single from Derek Berg, Omar Alfonzo brought Dumitru home with a sacrifice fly to make it a 5-2 game.

Staine faced the minimum through the fifth and sixth until Berg slammed his fifth homer of the season to lead off the seventh. Staine earned the win with 6.2 innings of three-run ball.

Altoona nearly rallied to win in the ninth for the second straight night, using an RBI single from Alfonzo to draw within a run. Will Taylor then reached on an infield single, extending his on-base streak to 13 straight games, to put men on first and second with one out in the ninth. However, Hartford closer Fidel Ulloa set down Ivan Brethowr and Matt King to strand the runners.

Noah Murdock tossed two scoreless innings of relief in the bullpen game. Murdock has been unscored upon in his last six outings, covering 10.1 innings and earning 11 strikeouts in that time.