The Result
Curve - 6 to 5

Sea Dogs - Year-to-Date
41 wins - 48 losses

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
Playing rightfield
Batting #3

At the end of the Game
2 hits from 3 at-bats - single, double, 1 x walk

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - two down
Foul ball - back over the screen
Ball - high
Ball - high
"And that is driven deep into leftfield and hits the "Maine Monster" about two-thirds the way up the thirty-seven foot wall and Brett has his twenty-second double of the season"
Double
Left stranded at the end of the innings
Second at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Led off the inning
Ball
Ball - low
Ball - low
Called strike
Ball - outside
Walk
Out at third base (see notes in the "Heard during the Game" section below)
Third at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - two down
Called strike - "Brett tried to check his swing but called a strike anyway"
Foul ball - over the third base seats
Ground ball between first and second base - and the runner advanced to third base
Single
Left stranded at the end of the innings
Fourth at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - one down
"...and there is a "shift" on Roneberg with the shortstop playing near second base and the second-baseman is in the hole"
"And that is hit straight to the second-baseman ...... perfect field positioning by the Curve"
Out 4-to-3

Heard during the game
(1) As Brett came in for his first at-bat, the commentator mentioned that "Brett is leading the Sea Dogs in a number of categories:-
------total hits - 94
------total bases - 157
------runs-driven-in - 56
------walks - 45
and is tied for the lead in a few others:-
------doubles - 21 (and he hit a double in this at-bat so he took over the team lead with 22)
------home runs - 12
------runs scored - 52
and Brett is second on the team with a 0.288 batting average"

(2) Brett was at first base following his walk in his second at-bat - the next batter flew out and there was one down - the next batter hit a ground ball to second base, and Brett had taken off for second base - and here is what the commentator said:-
"Brett is rounding second and trying for third base and he will be 'dead meat' and out at third"
"I don't know what he was thinking there"
"and he might hear a bit from Manager Ron Johnson who is in the third base coach's box"
Later the other commentator said:-
"I don't really blame Brett for trying for third base, but he hesitated a bit as he rounded second and that cost him"
(the ball was fielded cleanly by the second-baseman who threw to first and then the throw went to third base resulting in a '4-to-3-to-5' double play)

Email from Brett
N/A

Game Reports
Dogs' long ball too short

Jeff Andrews saw his share of home runs hit at Hadlock Field when he was the Portland Sea Dogs' pitching coach in 2001.
Andrews now is pitching coach with the Altoona Curve, and he's still watching balls fly out of Hadlock.

On Sunday, he watched four, three of which were hit by the Curve in a 6-5 victory over the Sea Dogs before a sellout crowd of 6,975.

Sean McGowan drilled a three-run homer with no outs in the ninth inning to close Portland within one run.

"I thought I was going to have a heart attack," said Andrews.
"You're always on edge here, until the last out is made."

Altoona closer Jeff Miller was summoned after the home run and retired three straight on a grounder and two strikeouts for his seventh save.

"It got real interesting there at the end," Portland Manager Ron Johnson said.
"But we got in a situation where we were just a few too many behind."

Portland starter Abe Alvarez (8-6) got the loss, allowing two runs over five innings.

Reliever James Johnson got tagged for a pair of two-run homers in the sixth as the Curve took a 6-0 lead.

Altoona starter Ian Snell (7-5) stymied the Sea Dogs for 6-2/3 innings, scattering five hits and striking out eight.
He is third in the Eastern League with 91 strikeouts.
Snell, 22, a top prospect in the Pittsburgh Pirates' organization, froze the Sea Dogs with a powerful fastball and a curve.

"When he's right, like (Sunday), he does a pretty good job," Andrews said.
"But he made some mistakes.
"That last walk was unnecessary with a 6-0 lead.
He hasn't been in this park and he doesn't understand what walks can do in this park."

Snell left with two outs in the seventh after allowing a single by McGowan and a walk to Kenny Perez.
Joe Kilburg doubled off the Maine Monster in left off reliever Mike Crudale to score both runners.

In the ninth, Crudale allowed a leadoff single by John Hattig.
Mike O'Keefe grounded to the pitcher, but Crudale threw the ball into center field trying for the force at second.
McGowan fouled off three two-strike pitches before ripping a fastball for a home run to left-center.

"We obviously wanted to win," McGowan said.
"But in a game like that, where we were shut down for a while, it's good to end it on a positive note."

Portland dropped to 41-48.
Altoona improved to a league-best 54-35.

NOTES
Left-handed knuckle-ball pitcher Joe Rogers was promoted from Sarasota and pitched 3-2/3 hitless innings, providing a needed rest to the Sea Dogs' bullpen.
Right-hander Chris Smith was diagnosed with shoulder tendinitis, Red Sox minor-league field coordinator Rob Leary said.
Smith received a cortisone shot and will be evaluated again in four days, Leary said.
Left-hander Kason Gabbard sprained his ankle Friday night.
He is doubtful for his next scheduled start.
Second baseman Jesus Medrano left for Florida to begin a rehab assignment.
The sellout was No. 301 for the Portland franchise.
At today's noon game, the first 4,000 fans will receive free sun screen.

Eastern League Game Summary - Altoona at Portland

Ray Sadler and Yurendell DeCaster both hit a two-run home run in the top of the sixth as the Altoona Curve defeated the Portland Sea Dogs, 6-5, in the Eastern League Sunday afternoon.

Altoona improved its record to 54-35 and sit 6-1/2 games up on Bowie in the Southern Division.

Portland fell to 41-48 and trail Binghamton in the Northern Division by 10-1/2 games.

With Altoona leading 2-0 in the top of the sixth, Nate McLouth walked then scored on Ray Sadler's 14th home run of the season.
Kevin Nicholson followed with a walk then was knocked home on DeCaster's 12th long ball of the season.

Ryan Doumit went 2-for-4 and hit his ninth home run of the season for the Curve.

Portland struck back with a two-run double by Joe Kilburg in the seventh.

Trailing 6-2 going into the bottom of the ninth, Sean McGowan hit a three-run home run that brought the Sea Dogs to within one but that would be as close as they would come.

Altoona brought in closer Jeff Miller to shut the Portland comeback down.
Miller earned his seventh save of the season.

Ian Snell got the win and improved his record to 7-5.
Snell allowed two runs on five hits and struck out eight in 6-2/3rd innings of work.

Portland's Abe Alvarez took the loss and fell to 8-6.
Alvarez surrendered two runs on five hits over five innings.

Joe Kilburg went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI for the Sea Dogs.

The teams will play the final game of their four-game series tomorrow starting at 12:00 PM (ET) before the All-Star Break on Monday.
The Eastern League All- Star Game will be held Wednesday, July 14th, in Bowie, MD.

ALTOONA HOLDS ON FOR 6-5 WIN OVER DOGS
Portland Nearly Rallies from 6 Run Deficit

Ian Snell scattered five hits and struck out eight over 6.2 innings and the Altoona Curve hit three home runs to score a 6-5 win over the Portland Sea Dogs before 6,975 fans at Hadlock Field Sunday afternoon.

Portland nearly rallied from a 6-0 deficit, scoring twice in the seventh inning on Joe Kikburg's two-run double and three times in the ninth inning on Sean McGowan's three-run home run.

Jeff Miller retired the final three batters for his seventh save and 12th consecutive scoreless inning.

Abe Alvarez (8-6) allowed five hits and two runs in five innings to suffer the loss.

James Johnson allowed four runs in 1/3 inning on two walks and two home runs in the sixth inning.

Left-handed knuckleballer Joe Rogers - called up from Single-A Sarasota yesterday - threw 3-2/3 no-hit innings to keep it close, setting up the near Portland comeback.

CURVE NEARLY LETS ONE GET AWAY, BUT HOLDS ON FOR 6-5 WIN OVER PORTLAND
Ryan Doumit, Ray Sadler and Yurendell DeCaster each homered and Ian Snell tossed 6-2/3 solid innings as the Altoona Curve defeated the Portland Sea Dogs 6-5 Sunday afternoon at Hadlock Field in Portland.

Altoona built a 6-0 lead and carried that advantage into the bottom of the seventh before Portland scored twice to make it a 6-2 game.

The Sea Dogs then made things interesting the bottom of the ninth when Sean McGowan touched up Curve reliever Mike Crudale for a three-run homer to cut Altoona's lead to 6-5 with no outs.

However, Curve closer Jeff Miller entered the game and retired the next three bats - the last by way of strikeout - to close out the win.
Miller, who took over the club's closer role from Elio Serrano on June 24, earned his seventh save of the season and extended his consecutive scoreless innings streak to 12.

Ian Snell (7-5), who allowed just two runs on five hits in his 6-2/3 innings, earned the win for Altoona.
The right-hander struck out eight and walked just two in carrying a shutout into the seventh inning.

The Curve used the longball to its advantage, particularly in the sixth inning when Ray Sadler (#14) and Yurendell DeCaster (#12) each hit two-run homers off reliever James Johnson to grab a 6-0 lead.

Ryan Doumit belted a solo homer to lead off the fourth inning against Sea Dogs' starter Abe Alvarez, giving the Curve a 2-0 lead at the time.
The blast was Doumit's ninth of the season, but his first as a right-handed batter.

Alvarez (8-6), who along with Snell is headed to the Eastern League All-Star Game in Bowie on Wednesday, took the loss after going five innings and allowing two runs on five hits.

With the win, Altoona (54-35) once again matched the franchise-record at 19 games above the .500 mark.
The Curve also added a game to its lead in the Eastern League's Southern Division standings thanks to second-place Bowie's loss at Binghamton.
Altoona now holds a seven game lead in the division.

Portland (41-48) returned to last place in the Northern Division with the loss.

The finale of the four-game series will be played Monday beginning at noon.
In the final game before the Eastern League All-Star Break, Altoona will send right-hander Bobby Bradley (2-1, 3.18) to the mound to oppose Portland righty Josh Stevens (4-6, 5.04).