After going nearly four years
without receiving a major league player on an injury rehabilitation
assignment, the Curve will have a Pittsburgh Pirates' standout
join the club for the second time in a span of three weeks
Injured starting pitcher Kip Wells, who has not pitched for Pittsburgh
this season after undergoing surgery in early March to repair
a blocked artery in his right arm, will join Altoona for the second
stop on his three-team minor league rehab tour and start the Thursday
June 15th game against the Harrisburg Senators at Blair County
Ballpark
Wells pitched for Class-A Lynchburg this past Saturday and will
make his final minor league start on June 20th for Triple-A Indianapolis
before returning to the Pirates' starting rotation
The 29-year old Wells is in
his fifth season in the Pirates' system after being acquired in
a trade from the Chicago White Sox in December 2001
Since joining Pittsburgh and subsequently becoming one of the
club's top starters, the Texas native has posted a 35-48 record
and a 4.07 ERA
The Result
Curve - 6 runs
to 3
The Curve - Year-to-Date
38 won and 27 lost
Brett's Position and
the Batting Order
Playing - First
base
Batting - #4
At the end of the Game
1 hit from 3 at-bats
- single, 1 x run scored, 1 x walk
Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
Called strike
Ball - outside - "and Brett managed to check his swing on
that one"
"That's a ground ball across the right side of the diamond
and the fielder gathers it up and throws Roneberg out for the
first out of the innings"
Ground out to second base
- 4 to 3
Second at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
Runners at first and second base - none down
Ball - low and away - "Brett checked his swing ...... and
the appeal is made to the third base umpire ...... and his call
is, "No, he didn't go!!!"
If there were any other pitches, I didn't hear them because
the commentator was interviewing a guest in the radio box
At the end of the at-bat, the commentator said Brett lined out
to the Senators' shortstop and the runners were able to hold up
to prevent the double play
Lined out to shortstop
- F6
Third at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
Bases empty - two down
Called strike
Swing and a miss
Ball - outside
Ball - outside
Ball - outside
Foul ball
Foul ball - back and out of play
"Brett gets that pitch out into leftfield and he now has
his first hit of the game ...... that was a real nice piece of
hitting by Brett ...... it was a lefty-v-lefty matchup, and he
worked the count full from a '0ball-2strike' count and then poked
the ball into leftfield to give the Curve a two out baserunner"
Single to leftfield
Scored on a home run
Fourth at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - two down
Ball - "and that was a pitch out and the runner was off ......
and he makes it safely and is now in scoring position for Roneberg"
Ball - outside
Ball - outside
Ball - outside - "that base-on-balls looked to be intentional"
Walk
Left stranded at the end of the innings
Heard during the game
Email from Brett
A note to Brett
A reply from Brett
Game Reports
Pittsburgh Pirates' starter Kip Wells worked
7-1/3 strong innings in his second of three minor league injury
rehab starts to help the Altoona Curve win the rubber match of
their three-game series against the Harrisburg Senators, 6-3,
Thursday night at Blair County Ballpark
A large crowd of 7,020 gave the right-hander a standing ovation
as he left the field after one out in the eighth inning, having
allowed three runs and six hits on eighty-nine pitches
Wells, who has not pitched for the Pirates this season after undergoing
surgery in March to repair a blocked artery in his right arm,
looked sharp most of the night and finished allowing just one
walk, while striking out four
Wells is expected to move on to Triple-A Indianapolis and make
his final minor league start with the Indians before possibly
returning to the Bucs' starting rotation next weekend
Harrisburg struck first in the game with a pair of runs in the
top of the first inning, but the Curve offense took over as Wells
settled in
Javier Guzman led off the third with a solo home run off Senators'
starter Oscar Alvarez to get Altoona on the board
The Curve then grabbed the lead for good in the fourth with three
runs on an RBI single by Dave Parrish and a two-run knock by Guzman,
making it a 4-2 game
Wells made one of his few mistakes on the night in the top of
the sixth when Prentice Redman, the brother of his former Pirates'
teammate, Tike, drilled a long solo home run to left to cut the
Curve lead to 4-3
But Altoona answered in the bottom of the frame when Ray Sadler
drilled his eighth homer of the season - a two-run shot - to cap
the scoring in the contest
Sadler's blast tied him with teammate Simon Pond for the team
lead in home runs, despite the fact that he didn't join the club
until May 19th after being sent down from Indianapolis
Blaine Neal replaced Wells in the eighth and recorded the final
two outs of the inning before turning the game over to Brandon
Knight in the ninth
The right-hander, who picked up the save in Wednesday's 2-1 win
over Harrisburg, struck out all three Senators' hitters he faced
to earn his team-high tenth save of the season
Alvarez (3-4) was tagged with the loss for Harrisburg after surrendering
all six Curve runs on eight hits in six innings of work
With the win, Altoona (38-27) earned a series win over the Senators,
and regained a three-game lead over Harrisburg for second place
in the E.L. South
The Curve also picked up a game on first-place Akron, as the Aeros
had their ten-game winning streak snapped Thursday night at Connecticut
The Curve will remain at Blair County Ballpark for a three-game
weekend series against the Reading Phillies beginning Friday night
at 7.05pm
Shane Youman (3-2, 1.84) will take the mound for Altoona against
Reading right-hander Tim McClaskey (1-3, 6.14)
Friday will be a busy day at BCB as the Curve will once again
be hosting the PIAA State Baseball Championships with games scheduled
for 11.00am and 2.00pm
Two more title games will take place Saturday at the same times
Also Friday night, the Curve will continue their "Retro Celebrity
Series" with an appearance from Jamie Farr, who played Cpl.
Max Klinger on the hit TV show M*A*S*H
Farr will meet and greet fans, sign autographs, throw out the
ceremonial first pitch and take part in in-game activities
Kip Wells pitched into the eighth inning in
his second rehab start as Altoona beat Harrisburg, 6-3, on Thursday
at Blair County Ballpark
Wells (1-0) allowed three runs on six hits over 7-1/3 innings
to pick up the win
The 29-year-old right-hander struck out four and walked one
Wells had surgery on March 6 to treat a blood clot in his right
shoulder
Barring any setbacks, he is expected to make one start for Triple-A
Indianapolis before rejoining the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 25
against the Los Angeles Dodgers
Blaine Neal recorded the last two outs in the eighth before Brandon
Knight struck out the side in the ninth for his tenth save
The Curve (38-27) were down, 2-1, in the fourth but rallied for
three runs, highlighted by Javier Guzman's two-out, two-run single
Guzman also led off the third with his third home run
Ray Sadler capped the scoring with a two-run homer in the sixth
The Senators (35-30) got on the board in the first when Kory Casto
scored on a double steal
Frank Diaz followed with a RBI single but was thrown out trying
to stretch it into a double
Harrisburg starter Oscar Alvarez (3-4) took the loss after giving
up six runs on eight hits in six innings
Curve catcher David Parrish salivated at the
prospect of major leaguer Kip Wells joining his team for a rehab
assignment, but for a different reason from Altoona’s fans
- wings, fries and baked potatoes from Outback Steakhouse
‘‘Can’t beat the Outback post-game meal, that’s
not something that we usually get’’ Parrish said, grinning
‘‘Major league rehabbers usually buy you good food after
the game
‘‘When Sean Casey was here, when he was in Erie, he
hooked us up with some good food, too, so we always welcome big
league rehab guys’’
Wells treated the team to a strong performance on the mound as
well, pitching into the eighth inning to help Altoona take the
deciding game of a three-game series from Harrisburg, 6-3, at
Blair County Ballpark Thursday night
Wells (1-0) tossed 7-1/3 innings, allowing three runs on six hits
The right-hander left the game to a rousing ovation from the 7,020
fans and doffed his cap to the crowd just before he stepped into
the dugout
He threw 89 pitches, one short of his pre-game limit, walking
one and striking out four
‘‘If you throw 90 pitches and you’re able to, for
the most part, locate 75 or 80 of them, as opposed to 60 or 65,
you feel like you’re making progress’’ Wells said
‘‘That’s what you need to accomplish as you get
back at this point, in order to be prepared for the big league
scene
The lights come on, and the hitters get better and the strike
zone gets smaller’’
The Curve lineup roughed up Senators starter Oscar Alvarez (3-4)
for six earned runs in his six innings of work
The left-hander walked none and struck out one
Brandon Knight struck out the side in the ninth inning for his
tenth save
Wells did not appear to have his best stuff but he squirmed out
of trouble on several occasions, stranding a runner at third base
to end the fourth and fifth innings
With a runner on third with one out in the fourth inning, Wells
got the next two batters to strike out and fly out respectively
The next inning, Wells faced runners on the corners with one out
but induced a double play grounder to end the inning
‘‘You know the thing that really impressed me the most
is, I’ve seen him with better stuff but he pitched tonight’’
Altoona’s manager Tim Leiper said
‘‘When times were tough, he took a little bit off his
fastball and got more sink and really, they didn’t get too
many good swings off him’’
Wells also suffered a rough start to the game, trailing, 2-0,
after the first inning
It marked the fifth consecutive game the Curve have fallen behind
after the opening frame
Harrisburg put runners on the corners with two outs and executed
a perfect double steal, with Kory Casto trotting home comfortably
when Parrish threw wide of the second base bag
Frank Diaz then followed with an RBI single
‘‘He only had a couple of mistakes’’ Parrish
said
‘‘When he got into pressure situations, he was able
to really bear down and hit his spots and not give them anything
to hit’’
Wells also displayed flashes of brilliance, registering his four
strikeouts with a mix of pitches
He baffled Tim Raines Jr., in particular, striking out the Senators
outfielder with curveballs in his first two at-bats
‘‘He had good command of his fastball and his offspeed
pitches, most notably his curveball’’ Parrish said
‘‘It’s not a floating curveball
It’s got some hardness and some depth to it’’
Meanwhile, Javier Guzman and Ray Sadler homered to lead Altoona’s
offense, but the most noteworthy offensive performance came from
a player who didn’t register an RBI or even an extra-base
hit
Craig Stansberry, who entered the game mired in a 2-for-33 slump,
batted 3-for-4 to raise his batting average to .233
The second baseman entered the season as the Pirates’ 12th-best
prospect, but his average had dipped to .223 as a result of his
recent struggles
‘‘This game evens itself out pretty much’’
Stansberry said
‘‘It’s just been tough, not quite feeling like
I’m in the groove’’
Leiper gave his second baseman a vote of confidence
‘‘This guy’s a good player and he’s figuring
it out’’ Leiper said
‘‘If you look at the back of his bubble-gum card, you
can tell what kind of season he’s going to have
The best baseball is yet to come from him, for sure’’
Oscar Alvarez threw a decent game for the Harrisburg
Senators last night at Blair County Ballpark
But there's a fine line between decent and outstanding, and the
Altoona Curve feasted on Alvarez's inability to finish off the
hitters
Two-strike rallies helped the Curve stomp the Senators 6-3 to
close a three-game series in Altoona
Alvarez, a left-hander coming off one of his best starts of the
season, worked ahead of most batters
But his "out" pitches were ineffective, as the Curve
showed zero problems hitting his 0-2, 1-2 and 2-2 offerings
Five of Altoona's six runs, including home runs by Javier Guzman
and Ray Sadler, were scored by players who were down to their
last strike
Harrisburg (35-30), which lost its second straight and begins
a three-game set tonight in Erie, jumped ahead 2-0 on Pittsburgh
Pirates right-hander Kip Wells, making a rehab start with the
Curve (38-27)
With two outs in the first, Kory Casto walked and Prentice Redman
singled him to third
The duo worked a perfect double steal for the first run before
Frank Diaz's single made it 2-0
After Guzman's solo shot in the third, two Harrisburg errors in
the fourth helped Altoona grab a 4-2 lead it would keep
A throwing error on Tim Raines Jr. enabled the Curve to escape
a baserunning blunder unscathed, and David Parrish later singled
with two outs to tie the score
Guzman followed with a two-run single off Alvarez (3-4) for the
lead
Redman homered in the sixth, but
Altoona answered immediately in the home half on a two-out, two-strike
single by Brett Roneberg before Sadler's
blast to left
Wells (1-0) scattered six hits in 7-1/3 innings and is slated
to make one more rehab start in the organization before joining
the Pirates
Brandon Knight struck out all three batters he faced in the ninth
for his tenth save
Notes
Redman (2-for-4) and Diaz (1-for-4) extended their hitting streaks
to eleven games
Alvarez's single in the fifth was only Harrisburg's second hit
by a pitcher- Kip Bouknight produced the other on April 28 in
Reading
In the two losses to Altoona, Harrisburg scored three combined
runs in the first inning and only one run covering the second-through-ninth
innings