The Result
Aeros - 12 runs to 4

The Curve - Year-to-Date
33 won and 20 lost

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

At the end of the Game
1 hit from 4 at-bats - single, 1 x strike out

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - one down
Ball - high - and that was the only pitch I heard due to radio problems!!!
"There's a roller back to the mound and the pitcher makes the play to first base for the out ...... the runner was going on the pitch so there was no chance of a double play"
Ground out to the pitcher - 1 to 3
Second at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
Ball - outside - "no, hang on, the umpire has called that a strike!!!"
Ball - high
"There's a base hit into rightfield"
Single to rightfield
Left stranded at the end of the innings
Third at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - none down
Ball
Swing and a miss
Swing and a miss
Foul ball - back to the net
Swing and a miss - "Roneberg chases one that was up in the zone and strikes out for the first out of the innings"
Strike out
Fourth at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - two down
Foul ball - back to the screen
Ball - high
"That's a bouncing ball towards the Aeros first-baseman who gathers it up and takes it to the base himself"
Ground out to first base - PO3

Heard during the game

(#01) As Brett came in for his first at-bat, the commentator said - "At the start of tonight's game, Brett is the third leading hitter in the Eastern League Top-10 with a batting average of 326"

(#02) As Brett hit into rightfield in his second at-bat, the commentator said - "And take that, umpire!!!" - as if these few words were coming from Brett!!!
What's that about???
Before the start of Brett's innings lead off at-bat, the commentator mentioned that as the Aeros' pitcher was warming up between innings, Brett was out on the field watching and was chased back by the umpire - from what he said, Brett and the umpire had a few words!!! - the commentator was unsure exactly what was going on, but in his opinion Brett had every right to be standing where he was and he had never seen this type of incident before

(#03) After Brett's single in his second at-bat, the commentator said - "Brett continues to roll along and he has now hit in twenty-eight of the thirty-four games he has played in since joining up with the Curve"

(#04) After Brett's third at-bat, the commentator said - "You don't see Brett strike out very often, and that was only his twentieth strike out in one-hundred-and-thirty-eight plate appearances" (14.5%)

Email from Brett

Game Reports

The Altoona Curve lost their second consecutive game to the Akron Aeros, 12-4, Tuesday night at Canal Park

Despite a second-inning blast by right fielder Ray Sadler to give the Curve the early edge, the Aeros' bats would not give up as they drove in twelve runs over the next four innings to put the game out of reach

Starter Matt Peterson (3-4) was saddled with the loss for Altoona (33-20) after allowing nine earned runs in four innings pitched
The right hander struggled with his control at times, walking four batters and striking out two
After gliding through the first two frames, Peterson allowed four runs in the third and two more in the fourth before making his exit

Akron starter Sean Smith picked up his fifth victory of the year after pitching seven lights-out innings
Smith only allowed two runs off of two Curve hits, striking out three

The Curve did see some sparks of offensive power, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Akron assault

Sadler hit his third home run of the year in the third and second baseman Craig Stansberry hit his seventh of the season leading off in the fifth

Trying to rally any kind of a comeback, the Curve battled with two outs for two runs in the top of the ninth
Catcher Dave Parrish continued his hot hitting with a two-out double scoring Rafael Alvarez and Stansberry
Parrish is hitting .317 in 11 games with the Curve this season

Akron closed within 1-1/2 games behind the Curve for first place in the Eastern League Southern Division with the win

The teams will face off tomorrow for the third and final game of the series before the Curve head back to Blair County Ballpark for a weekend series with New Hampshire

Kevin Kouzmanoff hit two homers and drove in three runs as Akron crushed visiting Altoona, 12-4, on Wednesday

Kouzmanoff had three hits and scored three runs, raising his average to .420, and his two-run homer capped the Aeros four-run third inning as they opened up a 4-1 lead
He added a solo shot in the sixth

Ryan Goleski had two hits and drove in four runs, including a three-run double in the five-run fifth, which broke the game open for Akron (31-21)

Brad Snyder extended his hitting streak to 11 games with two hits and an RBI, and Ivan Ochoa went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored to round out the Aeros' 10-hit attack

Sean Smith (5-0) allowed two runs on four hits with three strikeouts and a walk for the victory
He has gone at least seven innings in his last five starts

Matt Peterson (3-4) took the loss, lasting just four-plus innings
He allowed nine runs on seven hits, struck out two and walked four

James Johnson replaced Peterson in the fifth and yielded three runs on three hits and two walks over two innings

Craig Stansberry went 2-for-3 with a solo homer and Ray Sadler had a solo blast to lead the Curve (33-20), who dropped their second straight game to the Aeros

Matt Peterson had nobody to bail him out this time around
Akron bludgeoned the Curve’s right-handed starter for nine runs over four-plus innings, as the Aeros ran away with a 12-4 win Wednesday at Canal Park

Akron moved to within a game and a half of Altoona in the Southern Division standings

Peterson’s (3-4) outing marked the most runs a Curve starter has surrendered this season and swelled his ERA to 5.92

Aeros starter Sean Smith (5-0) tossed seven solid innings and gave up two runs to earn the win

Peterson allowed six runs over five innings in his previous start against Erie, but Altoona’s offense rallied for an 8-6 victory
Peterson failed to redeem himself on Wednesday
He gave up four runs in the third inning, highlighted by a two-run homer by Kevin Kouzmanoff

Kouzmanoff added a solo shot in the sixth inning and finished the game 3-for-4, raising his league-leading average to .420

Peterson allowed two more runs in the fourth inning and one in the fifth
He left without retiring a batter in the fifth and with the Curve trailing, 7-2

Left-handed reliever James Johnson allowed both runners he inherited to score and gave up three more runs in his two innings pitched to extend Akron’s lead to 12-2

Home runs by Ray Sadler and Craig Stansberry and a two-run double by David Parrish represented Altoona’s only highlights on an otherwise dreary night
Sadler snapped Smith’s streak of 25-1/3 consecutive scoreless innings when he led off the second inning with his third home run

Roster moves
Left-handed reliever Brady Borner has left the team for undisclosed reasons - his return date is unknown
Right-handed pitcher Chad Blackwell joined the team from extended spring training to replace Borner on the Curve roster - the Pirates obtained Blackwell and minor league pitcher Jonah Bayliss in a December trade with the Kansas City Royals in exchange for pitcher Mark Redman
Blackwell made his Altoona debut with a scoreless inning of relief in Wednesday’s game

Kevin Kouzmanoff smacked two home runs and batted 3-for-4 to lead the Akron Aeros to 12-4 victory over the Altoona Curve in a Class AA Eastern League game at Canal Park

Kouzmanoff hit a two-run home run in the third inning and a solo home run in the sixth inning for three RBI

Akron's Sean Smith (5-0) pitched seven innings and gave up two earned runs and four hits before yielding to Travis Foley

Matt Peterson (3-4) took the loss for the Curve, giving up seven hits and nine earned runs over four innings

Altoona's Ray Sadler and Craig Stansberry both had solo home runs off Smith