Sixth win eludes pitchers

Although three different starters lead the Curve with five wins apiece, reaching their sixth win has been an uphill battle
Pitchers Josh Shortlef, Landon Jacobsen and Mike Connolly have all struggled in trying to obtain their sixth win of the season
In five tries combined, Curve pitchers are 0-3 with a 7.14 ERA
Shortslef (5-2) was untouchable in April, finishing with a 3-0 record in four starts, however he cooled down a bit in May, recording only two wins in five starts
While his ERA jumped from 2.10 after April to 4.69 at the end of May, Shortslef still entered June with a 5-2 record
In his single attempt for that sixth win, Shotslef imploded, allowing eight earned runs in four innings in the loss at Erie last Saturday
To make matters worse, Shortslef was placed on the DL two days later with an unspecified injury to his arm
Jacobsen (5-5) has also struggled while going for that ever-so-difficult sixth win
After winning his fifth decision back on May 14th over Binghamton, the right-hander has gone 0-2 in three starts since, with losses coming on the road against Binghamton and Akron
Jacobsen has lost five of his last seven starts overall and will look to right the ship when he takes the mound on Sunday in the series finale against New Hampshire
Connolly was in line for his sixth win when he exited in the game against New Hampshire on Saturday, but a come-from behind victory by the Fisher Cats gave Connolly his fourth no-decision of the year
Connolly left after allowing four runs on six hits in 5.1 innings pitched

---Connolly's Cruisin'

Curve starter Mike Connolly has won five of his last seven starts, earning him Eastern League Pitcher of the Week honors for the week ending May 28th
The 23-year old made a pair of starts for the Curve last week and was 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA
Connolly has also been hurling his way into the Altoona record books
The southpaw set a Curve franchise record Saturday night when he made his 71st career start in an Altoona uniform, surpassing John Grabow who started 70 games between the 2000-03 seasons
Connolly also became the club’s all-time wins leader with his 25th career victory last Sunday at Erie
Connolly has been one of the most reliable starters for the Curve as of late, pitching his way to a 3-0 record with a 2.47 ERA in his last five starts
He also leads the Curve in innings pitched (60.2) and strikeouts (48)

Seeing Triple

Vic Buttler hit his league-leading tenth triple of the year Saturday night, in game two of the Curve’s doubleheader with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats
Currently riding a .306 batting average, Buttler is on a pace to easily surpass the single-season club record of 12 triples set by Tike Redman in 1999

---Streak Snapped

Curve reliever Brandon Knight had his streak of 17-1/3 consecutive scoreless innings pitched broke when Carlo Cota scored on an Adam Lind double in game one of the team's doubleheader on Saturday
After not allowing a run in his previous twelve outings, Knight was three-innings shy of equaling the club-record scoreless streak of 20-1/3 set by Chris Spurling in 2002

The Result
Curve - 3 runs to 1

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

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

At the end of the Game
0 hit from 3 at-bats - 1 x sacrifice fly, 1 x run-batted-in, 1 x strike out, 1 x grounded-into-double-play

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - two down
Ball
Called strike
Foul ball - away to the left side
Swing and a miss - "that was a very nice pitch, down and in"
Strike out
Second at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runners at second and third base - one down
Foul ball - "that is hit deep but foul down the rightfield line"
Ball - outside
Called strike
Ball - in the dirt
Foul ball - down the rightfield line
Foul ball
"That pitch is hit into rightfield and it will be deep enough to score a run ...... the catch is made and the runner comes in to score ...... and the throw goes to third base but the runner makes it safely"
Sacrifice fly to rightfield - SF9 - 1 x RBI
Third at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - one down
Foul ball
Called strike
Ball - outside
Foul ball
"That is hit sharply into leftfield but the fielder is backing up and makes the catch just shy of the warning track"
Fly out to leftfield - F7
Fourth at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runners at first and third base - one down
"That is hit sharply but straight at the Fisher Cats shortstop who throws to second base for the first out and the relay is thrown on to first base to complete the inning ending double play"
Grounded into a double play - 6 to 4 to 3

Heard during the game

(#01) As Brett came in for his first at-bat, the commentator said - "The Fisher Cats starting pitcher tonight, righthander Ismael Ramirez, is extremely tough on left-handed batters, and they are only batting 172 against him" - and he then struck Brett out!!!

(#02) During Brett's third at-bat, the commentator mentioned - "Coming in to tonight's game, Brett was third in the Eastern League with a batting average of 320"

Email from Brett

I haven't been online much lately - just seem to be so busy and getting really tired!!
I am struggling a little bit - but I am hanging in there which is the main thing
Still staying up with the batting average and so when I get hot again it will keep going up!!
Hope for a better one today - I am the 'DH'

Game Reports

For the second straight night, the Altoona Curve played deep into the night, this time defeating the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, 3-1 after a 3 hour, 16 minute rain delay at Blair County Ballpark

The win helped the Curve avoid a three-game sweep and snapped their season-high five-game losing streak

Starter Landon Jacobsen earned his team-high sixth win of the year after pitching six solid innings
The right-hander allowed only one run on six hits, while walking five and striking out four
Jacobsen is now tied with New Hampshire’s Davis Romero and two other Eastern League pitchers for the league lead in wins

After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the second, the Curve rebounded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the frame
Left-fielder Rafael Alvarez drove home Simon Pond with a triple to left, and later scored off of a Ray Sadler sacrifice fly

Altoona took the 2-1 lead and never looked back

Chris Hernandez picked up the save for Altoona, his second of the year
Hernandez took over for Shane Youman, who pitched two solid innings of relief in his 15th appearance of the year
Youman retired six consecutive Fisher Cats in the seventh and eighth, before making his exit in the top of the ninth

Brett Roneberg picked up his 25th RBI of the season in the third inning, adding to the Curve lead
The native of Australia drove in third baseman Brant Ust, who finished 2-for-3 on the night, with a double

Playing without manager Tim Leiper, who was home in Canada due to family obligations, the Curve wore gray throwback Juniata Shops uniforms
The jerseys were auctioned off in a silent auction during the game, with all proceeds benefitting the Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum

Hitting coach Brandon Moore was behind the reigns for Altoona Sunday night

In a show of thanks for the fans who braved the elements on Sunday evening, all fans with tickets for the June 4th contest between the Curve and the New Hampshire Fisher Cats will be able to redeem their ticket stub for $3.00 off the purchase of any individual game ticket for a future 2006 Altoona Curve regular season home game, subject to availability

The Curve have an off-day on Monday and will travel to Portland for a three-game series beginning on Tuesday

Right-hander Matt Peterson will take the mound for the Curve against Portland’s Jose Vasquedano

Landon Jacobsen pitched six solid innings as Altoona ended a season-high five-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over New Hampshire on Sunday

After a rain delay of 3 hours, 16 minutes, Jacobsen (6-5) allowed one run on six hits and struck out five, joining three other pitchers for the Eastern League lead with six wins

Chris Hernandez worked a scoreless ninth to notch his second save

Rafael Alvarez had an RBI triple in the second for Altoona and scored on Ray Sadler's sacrifice fly

New Hampshire starter Ismael Ramirez (4-4) surrendered three runs on six hits over 4-2/3 frames
Alvarez's triple ended a 20-inning scoreless streak for the right-hander, who saw his ERA rise to 1.56

Erik Kratz had two hits and an RBI for the Fisher Cats (24-40), who had their season-high six-game winning streak snapped

New Hampshire's Adam Lind went 1-for-2 with two walks, extending his hitting streak to fourteen games

The Curve played deep into the night for a second straight game Sunday, this time with better results

Altoona snapped its season-high five-game losing streak with a 3-1 win over New Hampshire

The game, scheduled for 6:05 p.m., started 3 hours and 16 minutes late because of rain, and only a smattering of the 7,051 fans at Blair County Ballpark saw it end at 12.16am

New Hampshire swept a doubleheader Saturday night - the second game ended after midnight - to drop Altoona out of first place in the Southern Division
Sunday’s victory kept the Curve a half game behind Akron

All the scoring came early Sunday, with Altoona grabbing the lead for good with a pair of runs in the second inning and adding an insurance run in the third

The Curve trailed 1-0 entering the second but tied it when Simon Pond singled and scored on a triple by Rafael Alvarez
Ray Sadler followed with a sacrifice fly to drive home Alvarez with the eventual winning run

Brant Ust singled to start the third inning and later came home on Brett Roneberg’s sacrifice fly for a 3-1 Altoona edge

Curve starter Landon Jacobsen (6-5) earned the win, allowing a run on six hits over six innings

Fisher Cats starter Ismael Ramirez (4-4) gave up three runs on six hits over 4-2-3 innings to take the loss

New Hampshire took a 1-0 lead in the second with three straight singles off Jacobsen
Erik Kratz’s hit scored David Smith, but Jacobsen minimized the damage by holding the Fisher Cats to the one run

New Hampshire had its six-game winning streak snapped

Curve manager Tim Leiper missed the game to attend a family function in Ottawa, Canada

Hitting coach Brandon Moore ran the team and coached third base

The Curve wore throwback jerseys representing the old Juniata Shops, and the tops were auctioned off during the game with proceeds going to the Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum

The Curve are off today, then head to Portland and New Hampshire for a six-game road trip

They’ll also play Reading at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park next Monday

Game notes
Fans holding tickets for Sunday’s game can redeem them for $3 off the ticket price for any home game the rest of the season
Former Curve pitcher Chris Spurling was optioned back to Triple-A Toledo by the Tigers on Sunday

The New Hampshire Fisher Cats (24-30) lost to the Altoona Curve (34-23) 3-1 Sunday night at Blair County Ballpark after waiting out a three hour and 16 minute rain delay to snap a six game winning streak

The Fisher Cats took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning thanks to a leadoff single by right fielder David Smith
First baseman Chip Cannon followed with another single and catcher Erik Kratz made it three singles in a row with an RBI hit that scored Smith

That would be the only run allowed by Curve starter Landon Jacobsen (6-5), who allowed six hits and four walks in six innings while striking out four

The Curve answered right back in the bottom half of the second inning as first baseman Simon Pond led off with a single and scored on an RBI triple from left fielder Rafael Alvarez to tie the game 1-1
Right fielder Ray Sadler followed with a sacrifice fly that scored Alvarez to give Altoona a 2-1 lead against right-hander Ismael Ramirez (4-4)

The Curve struck again against Ramirez in the third inning as third baseman Brant Ust led off the inning with a base hit and moved to third on a double from center fielder Vic Buttler
Designated hitter Brett Roneberg then hit a sacrifice fly to score Ust

Ramirez finished after four and two-thirds innings pitched allowing three runs on six hits and two walks while striking out two
He had not allowed more than two earned runs in any of his ten previous starts this season

New Hampshire was unable to mount a comeback against the Altoona bullpen as lefty Shane Youman and righty Chris Hernandez combined to throw three scoreless innings as Hernandez earned his second save of the season

New Hampshire left fielder Adam Lind was 1-for-2 with a first inning single to extend his Eastern League high hit streak to fifteen games

Righties Brian Wolfe, Danny Hill, and Tracy Thorpe kept the Fisher Cats in the game by combining for three and a third scoreless innings of relief