The Result
Phillies - 5 runs to 2

The Curve - Year-to-Date
48 won and 35 lost

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
Did Not Start
Playing
Batting - #
-----------------Entered the game at the start of the bottom of the seventh innings
-----------------Playing - First base

At the end of the Game
0 hit from 1 at-bats

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
(Did not listen)
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - one down
Fly out to leftfield - F7

Heard during the game

Email from Brett

Game Reports

The Curve dropped their second straight contest Wednesday night, falling to the Reading Phillies, 5-2, at First Energy Stadium

Despite an early Curve lead, Reading struck for five runs in the third inning and never looked back

Third baseman Brant Ust drove in a run for Altoona and enjoyed a 2-for-4 night, despite the losing effort

Despite winning two out of his three previous starts, Curve right hander Matt Peterson struggled early against the Phillies

After only allowing two earned runs in his last eighteen innings pitched, Peterson was tagged for five runs on five hits and one walk in the third inning
Led by Reading first baseman Matt Padgett, the Phillies had three consecutive two-out hits which plated four runs
Padgett doubled to straight-away centerfield, scoring catcher Jason Jaramillo from second base

Peterson received the loss for the Curve after pitching four innings, allowing those five runs on seven hits

Altoona did have a short lead in the contest after scoring once in both the second and third frames
Ust doubled in the bottom of the second, scoring first baseman Simon Pond who had walked to leadoff the inning
The Curve manufactured another run in the third, courtesy of a Vic Buttler RBI single to center
Second baseman Javier Guzman reached on an infield single, and put himself in scoring position for Buttler after stealing second base

Reading starter J.A. Happ collected the win for the Phillies after pitching six quality innings
The southpaw allowed only four hits, while walking six and striking out six
It was his first win of the year

The Curve will try to avoid the three-game sweep tomorrow night as the two teams meet again at 7.05pm
Right hander Wardell Starling (1-1, 4.85) will try to pick up his second win of the year against Reading lefty Gio Gonzalez (4-8, 4.01)

Following Thursday’s series finale against Reading, the Curve will travel to Erie and open a four-game set against the SeaWolves Friday night at Jerry Uht Park
The series against Erie will conclude Monday and the club will enjoy the two-day Eastern League All-Star Break before resuming action next Thursday, July 13th, will the opener of a four-game series against Erie

J.A. Happ tossed six strong innings to pick up his first Double-A victory as Reading defeated Altoona, 5-2, on Wednesday at FirstEnergy Stadium

Happ (1-1) allowed two runs on four hits while striking out six and walking six in six innings

Talley Haines fanned two in two frames before Chris Key tossed a scoreless ninth to pick up his seventh save

The Phillies (36-47) were down, 2-0, when Peeter Ramos led off the bottom of the third with a bloop single to center
Reading followed with four more hits and a walk to take the lead, with Matt Padgett driving in the go-ahead run with a double to center field
Gary Burnham added a pair of insurance runs with a two-run single following Padgett's double

Ramos went 2-for-3 with a run scored while Padgett was 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored

Brant Ust went 2-for-4 with an RBI to lead the Curve (48-25), who scored a run in the second and third

Altoona starter Matt Peterson (5-6) took the loss after allowing five runs on seven hits and a walk in four innings

Phillies left-hander J.A. Happ didn't finish the game and didn't blank the Altoona Curve, but he followed the plan developed a night earlier by Zack Segovia in a 5-2 victory Wednesday night

Just like Segovia, who pitched a route-going seven-hitter, Happ (1-1) struggled early, pitched well under pressure, and got stronger as the game progressed

A key point in the game came in the fifth inning, when Happ walked the first two batters, the fifth and sixth passes he would issue
He got Ray Sadler on strikes, then got Brian Bixler to ground into a 4-6-3 double play

He wound up going six innings, allowing two runs on six hits, with six strikeouts

Talley Haines and Chris Key finished, Key getting his seventh save with a scoreless ninth

The victory was the fourth straight for the Phillies (36-47), tying a season best

Matt Peterson (5-6) took the loss

The Curve fell to 48-35

The Phillies batted around in a five-run third inning, getting RBI singles by Peter Bergeron and Angel Chavez, a run-scoring double by Matt Padgett, followed by a two-run single by Gary Burnham, giving him sixteen RBIs in his last nine games

Notes
The Altoona Curve's previous four games had all ended in shutouts, their 5-0 loss to the Phillies Tuesday giving them a split in the four games
Zack Segovia's complete-game shutout Tuesday was the first over nine innings since Ken Pumphrey blanked Altoona July 4, 2002
Philies utilityman Carlos Leon missed his fifth straight game with a bone bruise on his left knee
First baseman Matt Padgett was forced out of the game in the top of the seventh with what was called a sprained left elbow when the throw and the runner arrived at the same time
Veterans Gary Burnham and Matt Padgettm, both of whom alternate between the outfield and first base, were named Eastern League all-star to replace former teammates Daniel Haigwood and Michael Bourn
Burnham was batting .319 with two home runs and 25 RBIs, 14 over the last eight games
Padgett was batting .295 with four home runs and 21 RBIs
Haigwood was traded last week to the Rangers organization and Burnham was promoted Monday to Triple-A Scranton
The game is scheduled for July 12 in Altoona

On good days, Matt Peterson baffles opposing hitters with his nasty pitches
For much of this season, however, it is the Curve who have had to do the guessing with Peterson on the mound
The lefty has careened between streaks of memorable starts and forgettable ones all season long
His latest outing on Wednesday night belonged to the latter category

Reading hung a five-spot on Peterson in the third inning for all the offense it would need in a 5-2 win against Altoona at FirstEnergy Stadium

The Curve have now lost two in a row against the worst team in the Southern Division and will look to salvage the final game of their three-game series Thursday

Peterson (5-6) had allowed just two runs over a span of eighteen innings in his last three starts entering Wednesday’s contest
The recent resurgence had shrunk his ERA from 6.82 to a more-manageable mark of 5.59
All that progress came undone in just one inning

Altoona led, 2-0, entering the bottom of the third inning, when things quickly unraveled for Peterson
With a runner on and two outs, Peterson walked a batter and then surrendered three consecutive singles
The third of those came off the bat of Gary Burnham and chased two runners home to cap the scoring

Burnham continued to torment the Curve, after thumping two home runs and driving in four runs in Reading’s win Tuesday night

Peterson lasted four innings, allowing those five runs on seven hits and a walk, while striking out one

Phillies starter J.A. Happ (1-1) earned the win by tossing six innings and allowing two runs on four hits