Curve Welcome Two Familar Faces

Altoona welcomed back two familiar faces this week who had been with Curve previously this season
Pitcher Jason Roach and infielder Taber Lee are both back from stints at Triple-A

Roach made his first start for the Curve since May 17th on Friday night against Erie and pitched five full innings, striking out three while walking two in picking up the no-decision
The right-hander, who went 4-2 with a 1.81 ERA in eight early-season starts for Altoona, was promoted to Indianapolis on May 20 and went 2-2 with a 3.54 ERA in ten games (nine starts) for the Indians
Combined between the two levels, Roach is 6-4 and holds a 1.99 ERA while throwing in a Curve uniform
The right-hander took the roster spot of reliever Derrik Moeves, who was sent to Single-A Lynchburg
“Of course it’s disappointing any time you get sent down” said Roach to the Altoona Mirror, before his Friday night start
“But I just want to win
I am coming back to a team that’s playing well and got a chance to win, and that’s all you can ask for
It definitely helps soften the blow, I guess”

Lee has bounced between the two clubs a couple times this season
He had a six-day stay in Indianapolis at the end of April and was promoted again on May 21st where he appeared in fourty-three games, splitting time between shortstop and second base
In his first appearance back, Lee pinch ran for Dave Parrish in the ninth inning of Friday night’s game

Man on Fire

Catcher Dave Parrish has certainly made an impression on Curve fans since his arrival to the Curve in mid-May
In fact, Parrish, who was acquired from Columbus (AAA-Yankees) on May 14th to replace injured Octavio Martinez, may becoming someone Curve fans talk about for years
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound backstop has been on fire as of late and currently holds a thirteen game on base streak, not to mention a six game hitting streak
Parrish, who went 2-for-4 against Erie on Friday night, is batting 11-for-23 over the past six games, and has raised his batting average from .286 on June 25 to .319 as of Saturday, July 15
Parrish joined the Curve after batting .417 (5-for-12) for Columbus early in the season
Since his arrival, he has racked up eight doubles and eighteen RBI’s in fourty games
His recent surge at the plate has catapulted him into the team lead for batting average (.319)

Can't Touch This

After throwing three scoreless innings on Friday night against Erie, Curve reliever Franklin Perez has not allowed a run in 18-1/3 consecutive innings, pushing him ahead of Brandon Knight for the longest scoreless streak by an Altoona pitcher this season
The last time an opposing team has been able to score against the right-hander was over a month ago when Harrisburg pushed four runs across the plate
Since then, Perez has made eight appearances, allowing only six hits in 17-1/3 innings pitched
During his streak, he has walked four while striking out eight
The franchise record for consecutive scoreless innings is 20-1/3, set by Chris Spurling during the 2002 season

The Result
Curve - 5 runs to 2

The Curve - Year-to-Date
53 won and 38 lost

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

At the end of the Game
0 hit from 4 at-bats - 1 x strike out, and 1 x run-batted-in (an interesting story and refer to the "Third At-Bat" below!!!)

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - two down
"Roneberg swings at that first pitch and lines it into leftfield and the fielder moves across to take the catch for the final out of the innings"
Fly out to leftfield - F7
Second at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - two down
Ball - inside - "and that almost hit him"
Ball - down and in
"That ball is hit towards the second-baseman and he gathers the ball and throws to first base and the innings is over"
Ground out to second base - 4 to 3
Third at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runners at first and third base - one down
"That first pitch is hit towards the SeaWolves second baseman and he collects and throws to second base for the first out and the relay to first base is------not in time!!! ...... Roneberg beats it out!!! ...... and on the play the runner from third base comes in to score so Roneberg gets credited with the RBI ...... that ball was hit softly and only gave the SeaWolves the chance to get the force out at second base"
Ground out to second base - safe at first base on the fielder's choice play - 4 to 6 - 1 x RBI
--------------------NOTE #01 - this RBI was not credited to Brett!!!
--------------------The scorers awarded it to the batter before Brett (Vic Buttler)!!!
--------------------Buttler's single actually moved a runner from second to third base - not to home!!!
--------------------This RBI is mentioned in the 'Game Reports' below
--------------------NOTE #02 - Correction done on Sunday 16th July!!!
Fourth at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
The batter before Brett was intentionally walked ......
...... so the bases are loaded!!!
One down!!!
Bottom of the eighth innings!!!
The Curve are leading 3 runs 2!!!
Ball - outside
Swing and a miss - breaking ball
Swing and a miss - breaking ball
Foul ball - into the seats
"And here comes the '1-2' pitch ...... and Roneberg swings and misses at another breaking all and it's now two down with the bases loaded"
Strike out

Heard during the game

Email from Brett

Game Reports

After scoring before recording an out on Friday night, the Curve had to wait until the sixth inning on Saturday to post their first hit

Erie starter Virgil Vasquez brought a no-hitter into the sixth, but unraveled after that, allowing back-to-back-to back singles to Brandon Chaves, Javier Guzman, and Nyjer Morgan
Morgan’s single to right drove in Chaves to equalize the game at one apiece
Following Morgan in the batting order, shortstop Brian Bixler drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly to right field
Morgan would also score in the inning, upping the Altoona lead to two

After Curve starter Shane Youman cruised through his first two batters of the night, Erie right fielder Brent Clevlen smashed a home run over the left-field bleachers, giving the SeaWolves the early 1-0 advantage
It was Clevlen’s eighth home run on the season

Erie would not record another hit until the sixth inning when shortstop Adam Haley drove a two-out single to right field
Youman quickly found his groove once again and forced Clevlen to ground out back to the mound

The 6-foot-4, 219-pound Youman lowered his already league-leading ERA to 1.55 Saturday night after pitching seven innings of lights-out baseball
He struck out six and walked two, allowing only one run on four hits
He picked up his sixth win of the year

Erie's Vasquez exited after pitching seven full innings, allowing three runs on four hits
Vasquez, who pitched well except for the sixth inning, has not won since June 21

The SeaWolves closed the gap to 3-2 in the eighth, off of reliever Blaine Neal, but Simon Pond answered right back in the bottom half of the inning, driving in two runs with a two-out single to center
The first baseman finished 1-for-4 on the night

Brandon Knight rebounded from his blown save on Friday to pitch a scoreless ninth, and pick up his eighteenth save
He is now tied with Justin Pope of Trenton for the league lead

The Curve continued their unique and innovative Retro Celebrity Series Saturday evening, with Jerry Mathers, who is best known for his role as ‘Beaver Cleaver’ on the hit show 'Leave it to Beaver'
Mathers threw out the first pitch, met with fans and signed autographs throughout the game

As part of the series, five more stars will visit Blair County Stadium throughout the remainder of the season from some of the most popular shows in TV history
Remaining appearances include Adam West (“Batman”) on July 25th, Bernie Koppell (“Dr. Adam Bricker” from Love Boat) on August 8, Dawn Wells (“Mary Ann” from Gilligan’s Island) on August 22, Ron Palillo (“Arnold Horshack” from Welcome Back Kotter) on August 28 and Jimmie Walker (J.J. from Good Times) on September 2

Curve Notes
8,310 fans were on hand on Saturday to witness game three of the series
All-Star game aside, it marks the third largest crowd of the season at Blair County Ballpark
Catcher Dave Parrish had his six-game hit streak broke on Saturday night, but extended his on-base streak to fourteen games after walking in the eighth

Shane Youman allowed one run over seven innings to lead Altoona past visiting Erie, 5-2, on Saturday

Youman (6-2) made just one mistake, serving up a first-inning homer to Brent Clevlen
He scattered four hits, struck out six and walked two, lowering his Eastern League-leading ERA to 1.55
He has won his last six decisions and has not lost since a relief appearance against Binghamton on May 20
Over his last seven starts, he has surrendered seven runs over 42-1/3 innings

Brandon Knight worked a perfect ninth to earn his eighteenth save as Altoona snapped its two-game losing streak

Nyjer Morgan had two hits and two runs scored while Vic Buttler had an RBI single during the Curve's three-run sixth

Simon Pond added a two-run single in the eighth to lead Altoona (53-38)

Erie starter Virgil Vasquez (4-8) worked five hitless innings before running into trouble in the sixth, when the 24-year-old right-hander surrendered three runs on four hits
Vasquez struck out one and walked two over seven frames

Clevlen hit his eighth homer and Francia scored the other run for the SeaWolves (39-51), who managed just five hits

The SeaWolves failed in their attempt to win three in a row as they fell to the Altoona Curve on Saturday night 5-2

Erie struck first with two down in the top of the first inning
Brent Clevlen worked a count to 2-0 and then hammered a fastball over the left field wall for his eighth home run if the season, giving the SeaWolves a 1-0 lead

SeaWolves starter Virgil Vasquez took a no-hitter into the sixth inning

In the sixth, Brandon Chavez led off with the first hit of the game for the Curve on a comebacker up the box
Javier Guzman followed with a single to right to put runners on first and second for the top of the order
On a snap throw by Danilo Sanchez down to second base, the ball went into centerfield and the error put Chavez at third
Nyjer Morgan singled home Chavez, tying the game at 1-1
On the play, Guzman advanced from first to third and he scored on a Brian Bixler sacrifice fly to right for a 2-1 Altoona lead
Vic Butler singled to put runners on first and third for Brett Roneberg who hit into a fielder’s choice that scored Morgan from third for a 3-1 Curve advantage

In the top of the eighth, Juan Francia led off and on a nine-pitch at bat, single up the middle to put a runner on base
Franica then stole second and third with Vince Blue at the plate
Blue hit into a fielder’s choice that scored Franica to cut the Curve lead to 3-2

In the bottom of the eighth, Altoona scored two insurance runs to extend their lead to 5-2
Guzman led off the inning with his second hit of the game
Morgan followed with a single to centerfield
On the play, Blue misplayed the ball in center and it allowed both runners to get into scoring position
Mike Nannini struck out the next batter Bixler
The ‘Wolves then intentionally walked Butler to load the bases and set up a potential inning-ending double play
Nannini struck out Brett Roneberg for the second out of the inning, but the next batter, Simon Pond, singled home two insurance runs

Altoona’s closer Brandon Knight game into the game in the top of the ninth and shut down the side in order to pick up his eighteenth save of the season

Vasquez took the loss for the ‘Wolves and he falls to 4-8 on the season
He went seven strong innings, allowing three runs off of four hits

Shane Youman picked up his sixth win of the season for Altoona by going seven innings, allowing one run off of four hits

If Brandon Chaves had looked up at the scoreboard as walked to the plate to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning, he would have seen a zero in the Curve’s hit column
What Chaves didn’t know, however, couldn’t hurt him

“To tell you the truth, I didn’t realize that Erie starter Virgil Vasquez was doing so well” Chaves said
“You can’t really think too much up there as it is”

Chaves’ strategy worked wonders
The lanky third baseman ruined Vasquez’s no-hit bid with a single and sparked a rally that propelled Altoona past the SeaWolves, 5-2, before 8,310 fans at Blair County Ballpark Saturday night

The win snapped the Curve’s two-game slide against Erie, the Southern Division’s cellar-dwellers

“No chance there” Altoona outfielder Nyjer Morgan said about the no-hitter
“I knew that we weren’t going to get no-hit because I’ve got confidence in this team
I knew eventually we’d come around and we’d get to Vasquez”

They finally did in the sixth inning, and once the Curve hitters got started, they didn’t stop until they had dented the scoreboard for three runs
With Altoona trailing, 1-0, Chaves ignited the rally when he tapped a slow grounder up the middle
The Erie shortstop fielded the ball behind the second base bag, but his throw arrived long after Chaves had charged past first base
The third baseman has now hit safely in five of his last six games after his average had plunged to .235 on July 4 as a result of a month-long slump

“I was putting a lot more pressure on myself than I should when I was scuffling” he said
“I told myself in the second half that I’d just go out there and have fun, and if I do good, great
If I do bad, I’m not going to hang my head”

Javier Guzman then smoked a line drive to right field and Morgan followed by stinging a grounder through the right side of the infield to score Chaves and tie the game

Curve manager Tim Leiper, who was coaching third base, pointed across the diamond at Morgan, before walking over to Guzman at third and patting him on the shoulder

“He’s very calm” Leiper said of Morgan
“Things that would’ve have thrown him off last year aren’t throwing him off right now
He’s really, really done a tremendous job of slowing the game down”

Altoona then wasted no time in taking the lead, with the go-ahead run scoring on Brian Bixler’s sacrifice fly and another on Brett Roneberg’s fielder’s choice grounder

“It’s a very powerful squad, up and down the order” Morgan said of his team
“Tonight’s pitcher, if we don’t get him in the first couple of innings, we’re going to get him eventually”

The Curve gave credit to Vasquez (4-8), nonetheless, for suffocating their lineup over the first five innings
The right-hander finished with a line of three earned runs on four hits and two walks in seven innings

“He was working that cutter in on everybody” Morgan said
“That was pretty much his main pitch that he was getting a lot of people out with”

The spirited comeback helped make sure Altoona starter Shane Youman’s (6-2) latest magnificent outing did not go to waste
The All-Star lefty surrendered just a lone run on four hits and two walks in seven innings, while striking out six

“Vasquez had some things working for him” Youman said
“It just makes you bear down a little bit more, concentrate a little bit more, when it’s a well-pitched game”

Youman lowered his league-leading ERA to 1.55 and remains on pace to break the franchise record for best ERA in a season

“I’m glad he got the win, because he definitely earned it” Leiper said
“You get so confident when he’s out there
You know if we just score a couple of runs, Shane’s going to keep us in the game, because he’s probably ... not probably, because he’s always in command”

The SeaWolves scrapped back for a run in the eighth inning, but Altoona responded with two insurance runs in the bottom half of the frame to complete the scoring

Brandon Knight moved into a tie for the league lead with his eighteenth save when he retired the SeaWolves 1-2-3 in the ninth

The Erie SeaWolves fell short in a bid to win their third straight game against Altoona, falling 5-2 in front of 8,310 fans at Blair County Ballpark on Saturday night

Erie (39-51) opened the game on a positive note with Brent Clevlen's eighth home run of the season in the top of the first inning

Virgil Vasquez had a no-hitter through five innings, but things started to unravel for the SeaWolves' starter in the bottom of the sixth inning
Vasquez gave up three consecutive singles followed by a sacrifice fly and another single to give Altoona a 3-1 advantage

Juan Francia singled in the top of the eighth inning, then stole second and third base and scored on Vince Blue's groundout to close Altoona's lead to 3-2

After Altoona loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth inning, Simon Pond drove in Javier Guzman and Nyjer Morgan to extend the Curve's lead to 5-2

Brandon Knight pitched a perfect ninth inning to earn his eighteenth save of the season

Shane Youman (6-2) picked up the win, striking out six over seven innings for Altoona

Guzman and Morgan each went 2-for-3 and scored two runs for the Curve

Vasquez (4-8) took the loss as he gave up just four hits but had three earned runs in seven innings

Erie and Altoona meet for the final time in the regular season today at 6.05pm