The Result
Phillies - 9 runs to 4

The Curve - Year-to-Date
25 won and 14 lost

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

At the end of the Game
1 hit from 3 at-bats - single, 2 x runs-batted-in, 1 x sacrifice fly

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runners at first and third base - none down
Called strike - "Roneberg checked his swing on a high fast ball ...... it wasn't much of a swing and Brett is asking the umpire to check with his counterpart at third base, saying that's what he's there for!!!"
Swing and a miss - fast ball
Foul ball - a high fast ball - back over the screen
Ball - fast ball - low
Ball - change up - low and away
Foul ball - down the third base side
"And that pitch is lifted into leftfield ...... the fielder is hustling over to the line and makes the catch, but the runner has tagged and comes in to score"
Sacrifice fly to leftfield - 1 x RBI
Second at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - one down
Foul ball - back over the screen
Foul ball - "that is popped up in foul territory on the third base side ...... the fielder misplayed it, and Roneberg stays alive at the plate"
"There's a ground ball towards the Phillies first-baseman, who fields the ball and makes the play at second base ...... no chance to get the double play as there wasn't much on the throw"
Ground out - safe at first base on a fielder's choice
Left stranded at the end of the innings
Third at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at second base - none down
Called strike - change up - on the outside corner
"That ball is hit to the right side of the first-baseman but he is able to get across for the ball and throw to the pitcher covering the base for the first out of the innings"
Ground out - 3 to 1
Runner advanced to third base
Fourth at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at second base - two down
(did not hear the sequence of pitches)
Line drive into centrefield
Single to centrefield - 1 x RBI
Left stranded at the end of the innings

Heard during the game

Email from Brett

Game Reports

The Curve had their season-high six game win streak snapped on Tuesday afternoon, losing 9-4 at Blair County Ballpark to the Reading Phillies

Reading got all the runs they would need in their first at-bat, scoring five times in the first inning
All the runs were unearned as the Phillies combined five base hits and two errors by the Curve to take the early advantage

Shane Youman (0-1) made his first start for the Curve since September of last year and suffered the loss after lasting just three innings
Youman allowed seven runs, including the five unearned runs in the first, seven hits and struck out three batters

The Curve would answer each time Reading scored, but didn’t have enough ammunition to keep the game close
Altoona was outscored 7-2 after two innings and the two clubs matched each other with one run in both the sixth and eighth frames to make the final score 9-4

Michael Bourn led off the game with a single in the first inning
He would later score on a base hit by John Castellano that followed a throwing error by Youman
Reading would score four more runs on three consecutive hits, as the Phillies sent nine hitters to the plate in the at-bat

Although the Curve would score a run of their own in the bottom of the first, the Reading advantage would grow to a six-run lead after a two-run homerun by Castellano in the second inning

Scott Mathieson (3-2) earned his third win of the year, pitching seven strong innings
The right-hander struck out seven in seven innings, allowing three runs on five hits

Reigning Eastern League Player of the Week, Vic Butter extended his consecutive game hit streak to eight games, going 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored

Teammate Javier Guzman also finished the game 2-for-4, scoring two of the Curve’s four runs

The Curve bullpen’s 25-inning shutout streak was snapped when Jorge Vasquez allowed a single run to score in the sixth frame

The Curve and Phillies will conclude their three-game set on Wednesday morning at 10.35am at Blair County Ballpark
Jason Roach (4-2) will start for Altoona against Reading’s Daniel Haigwood (1-1)

Scott Mathieson tossed seven strong innings and John Castellano drove in three runs as visiting Reading defeated Altoona, 9-4, on Tuesday afternoon

The Phillies (15-21) scored five unearned runs in the first inning
Michael Bourn singled to lead off the game and Carlos Leon reached on an error
Castellano then singled to plate Bourn with the game's first run
Jesus Merchan, Tim Moss and Tim Gradoville all contributed run-scoring, two-out hits in the frame

Castellano pounded a two-run homer in the second inning, his fourth of the year

Gradoville's sixth-inning sacrifice fly scored Moss, who had tripled

Mathieson (3-2) allowed three runs on five hits over seven innings
The 22-year-old right-hander fanned seven and leads the Eastern League with 59 strikeouts

Brian Reed allowed a run on three hits over two frames

Brett Roneberg drove in two runs for Altoona (25-14), which had a six-game winning streak snapped
The 27-year-old native of Melbourne, Australia, hit a sacrifice fly in the first inning and capped the game's scoring with an RBI single in the eighth

Craig Stansberry went yard in the second frame, while Vic Buttler doubled and scored in the sixth

Shane Youman (0-1) suffered the loss, allowing seven runs - two earned - on seven hits in three innings

Jonathan Albaladejo yielded one run over four frames, while Jorge Vasquez surrendered an unearned run in two innings

The Reading Phillies scored five unearned runs in the first inning and cruised to a 9-4 win over the Altoona Curve Tuesday morning at Blair County Ballpark

The Curve (25-14) had a six-game winning streak snapped

The Phillies (15-21) picked up just their second win in the last nine games

Two Curve errors fueled the big first inning for Reading
John Castellano's RBI single made it 1-0
Jesus Merchan, Tim Moss and Tim Gradoville each delivered a two-out RBI hit for the Phillies

After the Curve scored a run in the bottom of the first, Castellano blasted a two-run homer in the second to make it 7-1
Castellano was 2-for-5 with three runs batted in

Scott Mathieson (3-2) struck out seven in seven innings for the win
He has already matched his victory total for all of last season at Clearwater
Mathieson leads the Eastern League in innings pitched (52.1) and strikeouts (59)

Shane Youman (0-1) took the loss for the Curve

Moss had a double, triple, two runs scored and two knocked in for the Phillies

Gradoville had two RBI and Carlos Leon scored a pair of runs

Merchan was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI

Altoona (Double-A, 25-14) lost, 9-4, at home against Reading (Phillies)

LHP Shane Youman (0-1) lasted three innings, allowing seven runs, but only two were earned

LF Brett Roneberg drove in two runs, and 2B Craig Stansberry hit a solo home run
SS Javier Guzman scored twice and went 2 for 4

Shane Youman would love to have one throw back from his start Tuesday morning
Not one pitch, but one throw
Youman committed a costly throwing error on a potential double play ball in the first inning that opened the floodgates for Reading

The R-Phils cashed in with five runs in their first at-bat and snapped the Curve’s six-game winning streak with a 9-4 win before 4,750 fans at Blair County Ballpark

“Making that error, that kind of had a little effect on me mentally” Youman said
“But on days like this, I’ve got to be able to bounce back and make the next pitch”

Reading’s Michael Bourn opened the game with a single, then Carlos Leon hit a chopper to the left of the mound
Youman snared it and threw to second base looking to start a double play, but the toss was wild
“It just was a reaction play for me” Youman said
“I was fortunate to get my glove on it and stop it, but when I turned to throw, I actually had a little more time than I thought and I did rush the throw a little bit
I kind of threw across my body, and that’s why the ball was low”

A pitcher throwing wildly to second base in that situation is one of the more common errors in baseball

“It’s mainly because most of the time, us pitchers, we think we have to hurry up and make the double play instead of just making sure we get that out first” Youman said

John Castellano followed the error with an RBI single to center, then Youman appeared to settle down and was in position to get out of the inning trailing just 1-0
The Curve lefty got Joey Hammond on a groundout and struck out Brandon Gemoll
The R-Phils didn’t let him off the hook, though, as they strung together three straight two-out hits to go up 5-0
Youman couldn’t catch a break during the spurt as one of the hits was a blooper to right by Jesus Merchan and the other an infield single to second by Tim Gradoville
Tim Moss’ double fell in between, and each hit scored a run
Reading’s final run of the frame crossed when Curve second baseman Craig Stansberry threw wildly to first after diving to his right on Gradoville’s infield hit

“They came out and put it on us early, and it’s tough to scratch back, especially when they add one here and there as the game goes on” said Stansberry, who hit a solo homer in the second inning

Just before Stansberry’s homer, however, Castellano ripped a two-run shot in the top of the second for a 7-1 Reading lead

Down 8-2 by the sixth, the Curve offense tried to claw back but drew no closer than five runs

The R-Phils scored a run in the sixth off reliever Jonathan Albaladejo, snapping the Curve bullpen’s scoreless streak at 25 innings

Reading starter Scott Mathieson (3-2) worked seven strong innings for the win
The right-hander allowed three runs on five hits with no walks, and his seven strikeouts moved him into the Eastern League lead with 59

Youman (0-1), making his first start of the season, gave up seven runs on seven hits in three innings
All five runs in the first were unearned

“Today it was just one of those days that I threw strikes but just not the right strikes” Youman said
“I was up in the zone a little bit, and those guys were able to put the bat on the ball and put it into play”

Youman has had a whirlwind week, joining Triple-A Indianapolis for a relief appearance Thursday in Charlotte, N.C., before coming back to the Curve and having his first start be during a 10.35am game
“I don’t want to make excuses for guys, but look at the situation he’s been in the last week” manager Tim Leiper said
Leiper was encouraged Youman was able to go two more innings after the tough first, helping save the bullpen a bit

Albaladejo then did his part in that equation with four innings of relief, followed by Jorge Vasquez with two

“We may take a loss today, but the effort by Youman and the effort by Albaladejo and by Vasquez probably saved us four or five wins down the road” Leiper said

Around the Curve
Stansberry and right fielder Adam Boeve both started for the Pirates in Monday’s rain-shortened Hall of Fame Game against the Reds in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Boeve struck out in his lone at-bat, while Stansberry didn’t get to the plate
Lefty Josh Shortslef pitched a scoreless third inning for the Bucs
“It was fun” Stansberry said of the experience
“It would have been a lot more fun if we would have been able to play nine innings
It was kind of a shame to go out there and not get to play”
Adam West’s Retro Celebrity Series visit to Blair County Ballpark has been rescheduled from May 23 to July 25
West, who played Batman on television, had a personal circumstance that necessitated the change
Fans holding tickets for the May 23 game can exchange them for July 25 by calling the Curve ticket office