The Result
Curve - 6 runs to 3

The Curve - Year-to-Date
46 won and 32 lost

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
Playing - Designated hitter
Batting - #4

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

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at third base - two down
Ball - high
Called strike
Ball - inside
Foul ball - "that is hit deep but foul down the leftfield line"
Ball - "the pitcher wanted that one but it must have been 'just a hair' inside"
Foul ball - "Roneberg protects the plate there and chased one out of the zone"
"That ball is hit sharply across the diamond but it's straight at the second-baseman who backs up to take the ball and throws to first base for the final out of the innings and the Curve leave a runner stranded at third base"
Ground ball to second base - 4 to 3
Second at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - two down
Called strike
Ball - high
Ball - downstairs
Foul ball - back and off the screen
Swing and a miss - "and the catcher tags Roneberg on the backside to complete the strike out for the final out of the innings"
Strike out
Third at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - two down
(First pitch??? - not sure because the radio went off!!!)
"There's a check swing bloop single into leftfield ...... Roneberg did all he could with that pitch ...... he didn't even complete his swing but got enough on it to put it into leftfield for his first hit of the game"
Single to leftfield
Advanced to second base on a walk to the next Curve batter
Scored on a Home Run
Fourth at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
Runner at second base - one down
Ball - downstairs
Ball - low
Called strike
Called strike
Foul ball - "fisted foul down the third base side"
"There's a three hopper ground ball out towards second base and the fielder collects the ball and makes the out at first base"
Ground out to second base - 4 to 3
Runner advanced to third base

Heard during the game

Email from Brett

Game Reports

The Curve flexed their offensive muscles Friday night, in a 6-3 series opening win against the Akron Aeros at Blair County Ballpark

Newly acquired shortstop Brian Bixler sparked the Curve offense in the third inning with a three-run jack to left field

The win over the first-place Aeros drew the Curve to within 3-1/2 games of the top spot in the division

Bixler, who was called up with outfielder Nyjer Morgan from Single-A Lynchburg on Thursday, drove a 2-2 fastball over the left-field wall to give the Curve a 3-1 lead
The 23-year old was the Pirates' second round selection in the 2004 draft

Starter Matt Peterson recorded the win for Altoona, his fifth on the year
The right hander threw six innings, allowing only one run on three hits

His only blemish came in the second inning after walking the first three batters, allowing Bowie first baseman Ryan Mulhern to score
The 24-year-old quickly removed himself from trouble after that, forcing Akron catcher Wyatt Toregas to ground into the 1-6-3 double play

Ray Sadler gave the Curve some breathing room in the bottom of the sixth with a three-run home run of his own to left-center
His team-high tenth home run of the year gave the Curve a 6-1 lead from which they would never look back

Bowie starter Bear Bay suffered his sixth loss of the season after giving up six earned runs in six innings pitched
The right-hander walked two batters, striking out six

The Aeros attempted a late-inning comeback, but fell short after rallying for two runs in the seventh off of reliever Jorge Vasquez

Akron struggled at the plate all night, stranding ten men on base compared to two for Altoona

Brandon Knight picked up his team-high fourteenth save of the season after pitching 1-2/3 innings of no-hit baseball
Knight was called into action in the eighth with runners on first and second and quickly struck out the first two batters he faced
Knight shut down Akron in the ninth to preserve the win

Vic Buttler wasted no time picking up his league-leading fourteenth triple of the year
Buttler drove a ball to the wall in right-center field in the first inning and finished the day 1-for-4

Altoona and Akron will continue their weekend series tomorrow evening at 7.05pm
Wardell Starling (1-0, 4.50) will make his third start for the Curve against Akron right-hander Adam Miller

Curve Post Game Notes
Newly acquired shortstop Brian Bixler hit his first homerun in a Curve jersey, smashing a three-run shot to left in the third inning
Ray Sadler added a three-run home-run himself in the sixth inning, giving the Curve a 6-1 lead
Sadler is currently the team leader in home runs with ten
Matt Peterson recorded his fifth win of the year after pitching six strong innings, giving up three hits, one run, while walking four and striking out five
Vic Buttler hit his league-leading fourteenth triple of the year in the first inning
Buttler not only leads the Eastern League but all of professional baseball in triples
First baseman Simon Pond had his eleven game hit streak broken after an 0-for-2 day
Pond did score a run however, after walking in the sixth inning
The win over the first-place Aeros drew the Curve to within 3-1/2 games of the top spot in the division

Matt Peterson tossed six solid innings and was supported by a pair of three-run homers as Altoona beat Akron, 6-3, on Friday at Blair County Ballpark

Peterson (5-5), who matched his longest outing of the season, limited the first-place Aeros (50-29) to one run on three hits
He struck out five and walked four

Brandon Knight fanned four in 1-2/3 hitless innings to notch his fourteenth save

With the Curve trailing, 1-0, in the third, Javier Guzman and Milver Reyes led off with singles and Brian Bixler brought them home with a one-out blast to left-center field

Three innings later, Brett Roneberg delivered a two-out single, Simon Pond walked and Ray Sadler sent another blast to left-center to open a 6-1 advantage

Guzman went 2-for-3 and was the only player with more than one of Altoona's seven hits

Vic Buttler hit his Minor League-leading fourteenth triple for the Curve (46-32)

Akron starter Bear Bay (4-6) took the loss after giving up six runs on seven hits in six innings
He struck out six and walked two

Brad Snyder went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs for the Aeros

There he was, No. 23, standing at the plate for the Curve and ripping the ball over the outfield wall
Except this middle infielder rounding the bases wasn’t Craig Stansberry, Altoona’s former home-run-bashing second baseman
It was new shortstop Brian Bixler, who has inherited Stansberry’s jersey number and for one night, at least, his power production

“They are two totally separate guys” Curve manager Tim Leiper said
“The only thing common about them is they wear the same number, but I was really impressed with the way Bixler has gone about it”

Bixler and Ray Sadler each smashed three-run shots to lead the Curve past their nemesis, Akron, 6-3, before 5,757 fans at Blair County Ballpark on Friday night

Altoona fired the first salvo in the four-game series and closed to within 3-1/2 games of the Aeros in the Southern Division standings

The Curve trailed, 1-0, entering the third inning but opened the frame with back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners
With one out, Bixler stepped up to the plate to face Akron starter Bear Bay (4-6), one of the Aeros’ two hurlers selected to next month’s EL All-Star Game
Bixler flashed Stansberry-esque power when he turned on an inside changeup and clubbed a towering flyball over the left-center field wall for his first Double-A home run

“Oh yeah, I’ll remember this for a long time” Bixler said
“I was just glad to be able to get a good pitch to hit at a good time and was fortunate to be able to do something with it”

Leiper, who was coaching third base, pointed at Bixler and gave him an animated slap on the back as the shortstop rounded the base and headed for home plate

Bixler reached base again in the ninth inning when he was hit by a pitch and finished 1-for-3 in his second game with Altoona

“There’s no fear in him” Leiper said
“He’s definitely a guy that you want up there against their toughest pitcher in a big situation”

The Curve showed more muscle in the sixth inning, pulling away to a 6-1 lead on Sadler’s three-run blast
The crowd erupted as soon as Sadler made contact with the ball, as the outfielder lashed a hanging breaking ball by Bay high over the left-center field wall
Sadler went deep for the second straight game and tied Stansberry, who’s now in Triple-A, for the team lead with his tenth homer

“Every home run he’s had has been a big home run” Leiper said
“It’s factored into the game
There’s been no cheapies in any of them
He gets clutch hit after clutch hit”

Altoona hammered Bay for six earned runs in six innings to saddle him with the loss

Curve starter Matt Peterson (5-5) limited Akron to a lone run on three hits and four walks in six innings for his third consecutive strong start
The right-hander tied his season-high with five strikeouts

Peterson ran into trouble against the potent Aeros lineup for his second straight outing, however, and had to weather two wobbly innings
He loaded the bases with no outs in the second inning, and again in the fourth with just one out

“It’s just small mechanical things” Peterson said
“I get to jumping
Sometimes I get overexcited and things will go bad, but then I have to realize I need to calm myself down and make good pitches”

Peterson conjured up those good pitches and wiggled out of trouble in each instance
The lanky pitcher allowed only a run in the second inning on an RBI groundout
He escaped the fourth-inning jam by striking out the last two batters
With two outs, he pounded Ivan Ochoa with fastballs and finally caught him looking at a heater on the outside corner for strike three

Peterson pumped his fist as he walked off the mound
“They tell me to keep my emotions in” he said
“It’s a baseball game
I’m having fun
Sometimes I just can’t help it; I’ve just got to show a little bit of emotion”

Akron chipped back with two runs in the seventh inning, but Brandon Knight blanked the Aeros in their final 1-2/3 innings to pick up his fourteenth save

Around the Curve
Vic Buttler hit his fourteenth triple in the first inning
Aeros third baseman Jared Sandberg, nephew of Cubs Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg, left the game in the second inning with a dislocated right thumb after sliding into second base on a forceout