The Result
Curve - 5 runs to 0

The Curve - Year-to-Date
23 won and 13 lost

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
Playing - First base
Batting - #3

At the end of the Game
0 hit from 4 at-bats - 2 x strike outs

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - two down
Called strike - on the outside corner
Ball
Foul ball - down the left side
Swing and a miss - "and Roneberg kinda just waved at that one"
Strike out
Second at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runners at first and second base - two down
"That is hit down the first base line and the fielder handles it and takes it to the base for the final out of the innings"
Ground out - PO3
Third at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at third base - two down
"That is a fly ball into leftfield but it will stay in the park and the fielder goes across to make the catch for the final out"
Fly out to leftfield - F7
Fourth at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - one down
Called strike/Foul ball
Ball
Ball - breaking ball - misses outside
Foul ball - just got a piece of that
Swing and a miss - "and Brett just waves his bat at that"
Strike out

Heard during the game

(#01) As Brett came in for his first at-bat, the commentator said - "Brett hit a grand slam last night in Game Two of the double header, and it was a towering shot to right-centrefield"

(#02) He went on to say that - "Brett has made a big impact since joining up with the Curve a couple of weeks ago"

Email from Brett

Game Reports

Altoona Curve (23-13) starter Mike Connolly supported his own cause Saturday evening, driving in two runs en route to a 5-0 Curve win against the Binghamton Mets (16-20)

Connolly pitched 5-2/3 innings of shutout ball, striking out three while allowing only five hits and three walks
Connolly broke open a scoreless game in the 4th inning, hitting a bases-loaded two-out single up the middle to bring home Javier Guzman and Simon Pond

The two runs marked Connolly’s first professional RBI’s, as well as the spark needed to propel the Curve to a five-run inning
Vic Buttler plated Connolly and shortstop Guzman later in the frame with his fourth triple this week and sixth of the season
Guzman went 2-for-4 on Saturday increasing his hit streak to five games

The five-run inning would be the only scoring generated by either team in the contest

After Connolly exited in the sixth, the Curve bullpen shut the door yet again when southpaw Shane Youman came in to pitch 2-1/3 perfect innings, striking out five
Jorge Vasquez pitched a shutout ninth to close out the Curve win

The Curve bullpen has now combined to pitch 11-1/3 scoreless innings in three games against the Mets

Binghamton starter Will Vazquez (0-2) didn’t last long Saturday evening, promptly making his exit after the Curve’s five run rally in the fourth
Vazquez pitched four innings, allowing five earned runs on seven hits

Mets relievers Robert Paulk and Chuck Smith did their jobs to keep the Mets within striking distance, tossing two scoreless innings each, but could not get the offensive help

The two teams will conclude their four-game series on Sunday at Blair County Ballpark
The Mother’s Day game features a 3.05pm start time, and the first 2,000 women in attendance will receive a free pink Curve hat presented by the Teeter Group

Curve players and coaches will wear special pink jerseys that will be auctioned off during the games to help raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, a group that helps to fight breast cancer

Lefty Landon Jacobsen (4-3, 4.09), will start on the mound for the Curve against the Mets Mike Pelfrey (0-0, 3.78)

The Altoona Curve did all their scoring with two out in the fourth, handing the Binghamton Mets a 5-0 loss at Blair County Ballpark Saturday

The B-Mets have lost the first three games of the series and four in a row overall

After the B-Mets (16-20) were unable to capitalize after getting the leadoff man on in the third and fourth innings against Mike Connolly, Altoona cashed in against Will Vazquez in the bottom of the fourth
Simon Pond led off the inning with a single and, two batters later, Rafael Alvarez hit a one-out single to right
After Craig Stansberry bounced into a fielder’s choice that forced out Alvarez at second, Milver Reyes walked to load the bases for Connolly (3-3), who helped his own cause with a two-run single to center, scoring Pond and Stansberry
Javier Guzman then singled home Reyes for the inning’s third run before Vic Buttler tripled home Connolly and Guzman, capping off the scoring

Meanwhile, Altoona (23-13) continued to hold Binghamton off the scoreboard, with Connolly escaping a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fifth and a two-on, no-out pickle in the sixth

The B-Mets left eight men on through the first six innings

Binghamton’s bullpen provided four scoreless innings in relief of Vazquez, including two from righthander Chuck Smith in his B-Mets debut

Sunday, the B-Mets wrap up their four-game series with Altoona
Mike Pelfrey (0-0, 3.78) starts for Binghamton against Landon Jacobsen (4-3, 4.09) of Altoona
Game time is 3.05pm from Blair County Ballpark with the Horizons Federal Credit Union Pre-Game Show kicking off the broadcast at 2.50pm on Newsradio 1290 WNBF

Michael Connolly pitched 5-2/3 strong innings and knocked in two runs as Altoona beat visiting Binghamton, 5-0, on Saturday
Connolly (3-3) scattered five hits and three walks while striking out three

Shane Youman and Jorge Vasquez combined for 3-1/3 perfect innings in relief

Connolly opened the scoring with a two-run single in the fourth
Javier Guzman added an RBI single and Vic Buttler hit a two-run triple to cap the five-run frame

Guzman and Rafael Alvarez both finished 2-for-4 for the Curve (23-13), who extended their winning streak to four

Mets starter William Vazquez (0-2) allowed five runs on seven hits over four innings
He struck out two and walked two

Yunir Garcia went 2-for-4 for Binghamton (16-20), which has lost four straight games

Mike Connolly has always been a solid pitcher for the Curve, and now, believe it or not, he’s the team’s hottest hitter
Yep, the same Mike Connolly who until Monday had been 0-for-50 in his career

But with two hits in his last three at-bats, including a key two-run single Saturday against Binghamton, Connolly now can be considered a force at the plate
OK, maybe not a force - but at least he doesn’t have that 0-fer hanging over his head any longer

“No, I don’t have to deal with that anymore” Connolly said after hitting and pitching the Curve to a 5-0 win over Binghamton before 7,036 fans Saturday at Blair County Ballpark

Connolly came up in the fourth inning with the bases loaded and two outs in a scoreless game
He dribbled a ball up the middle that would have rolled into center field if not for glancing off the second base bag
Still, it was a clean hit, one that drove in Simon Pond and Rafael Alvarez for a 2-0 Curve lead
Altoona added three more runs in the inning and went on to its fourth straight win

All thanks to the first RBI's of Connolly’s career
“Just a slow roller through the middle got the job done” Connolly said with a smile

Teammates have ragged Connolly for years about his hitting exploits, or lack thereof
He had gone 0-for-42 with the Curve and 0-for-8 with Triple-A Indianapolis entering this season, making him the target of good-natured jabs

“We have been on him relentlessly all year” Curve manager Tim Leiper said with a laugh
“It’s tough to go 0-for-50”

The pitchers, especially, have been waiting for Connolly to end the streak
“Oh yeah, we were all over him early in the year wondering how long it was going to be before he got his first hit” longtime Curve teammate Landon Jacobsen said

Turns out, it didn’t take long
In Connolly’s first at-bat of the season, he singled to left off Harrisburg starter Shawn Hill on Monday
He now has the ball for safe keeping
Connolly struck out his other at-bat that game, then walked his first plate appearance Saturday
Catcher Milver Reyes worked a two-out walk to get to the pitcher’s spot in the fourth inning, and Connolly made the B-Mets pay with the single off William Vasquez (0-2)

“So now he’s two out of his last three” Leiper said
“That was big time [the RBI hit]
That was a huge situation”

Connolly also pitched 5-2/3 scoreless innings for the win and said that effort probably was bigger for him than the hit
But --
“I won’t lie” he added
“I’ll definitely look back on the hit, and I’ve got to make a couple phone calls and rub it in to a couple guys”

Usually players get the ball after their first RBI, but Connolly elected not to

Javier Guzman followed Connolly’s hit with an RBI single, then Vic Buttler roped a two-run triple to right-center to make it 5-0

Buttler had two triples in a game Friday night and leads the Eastern League with six.
“He’s good, and he just needs to know that he’s good” Leiper said of his center fielder
“Sometimes I think he forgets how good he really is, but if you look at him on paper, gosh, he does everything
He runs, he throws, he can hit for average
He can play center field in the big leagues”

Connolly (3-3) gave up five hits with three strikeouts and three walks
He left with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth, and Shane Youman came on to clean that up to start a strong relief performance
Youman struck out five of the seven batters he faced over 2-1/3 perfect innings in his first outing since pitching one game for Triple-A Indianapolis
Jorge Vasquez finished off the shutout with a scoreless ninth

“Definitely the good pitching performance” Connolly said of his best accomplishment Saturday
“It’s sort of been an up and down year, but the last couple outings I’ve felt a lot better on the mound, and things are starting to come together a little bit mechanically”

With Connolly ending his hitting woes, the pitching staff now plans to make life tough on Matt Peterson, who’s 0-for-6 with six strikeouts this season
“We’ve been getting all over Petey because he’s struggling a little bit” Jacobsen said
Even Connolly now gets to be the one poking fun
“Now Matt Peterson has to deal with it all because he hasn’t touched a ball yet this year” Connolly said with a laugh