Van Benschoten Ready to go Tonight

The Curve will send a major league talent to the mound tonight to try to claw out of their recent pitching rut
John Van Benschoten will make his first start for Altoona in the first game of a doubleheader against Connecticut

Van Benschoten missed most of the last two seasons after undergoing surgeries on both shoulders

“He’s ready to go” Altoona manager Tim Leiper said on the Curve Radio Network before Sunday’s game
“Obviously, the inactivity of the two years has fueled him a little bit
He really wants to get back out there on the mound
He was really excited to go pitch in the Gulf Coast League, and he did really well down there in one start”

Leiper expects Van Benschoten to last five innings or seventy-five pitches tonight

“I’ve never seen him pitch” Leiper said
“I’m sure he’s going to help us out a lot”

Injury Update

Leiper’s heart must have skipped a beat when he saw Brett Roneberg crumple into a heap after a checked swing in Saturday night’s loss to New Britain

“For him to have to come out of the game” Leiper said, “obviously it didn’t feel very good at the time"

As it turned out, Roneberg merely twisted his left ankle and is day-to-day

Roneberg has been the Curve’s hottest hitter of late, driving in seventeen runs in his last fourteen games
The Aussie has batted .368 (28-for-76) in his last twenty-two games to raise his average to .296, tied for fifth in the league

Roneberg was available to pinch-hit on Sunday, and Leiper expects to pencil him into the lineup in the next few days

Closer Getting Close

Curve closer Brandon Knight soon will see action as Altoona clashes in a four-game set against Connecticut in the next three days

Knight notched his league-leading twenty-second save against New Britain at Blair County Ballpark on August 6 but has not pitched since due to some arm fatigue

“Everything’s good, everything’s checked out, everything’s sound” Leiper said
“This is the first year he’s pitched as much as he has
Coming out of the bullpen and being a closer for the first time and just throwing a lot of games, I just think he’s a little bit tired"

The Curve have missed Knight’s presence at the back end of the bullpen, having nailed down just one of three save opportunities in his absence

The Result
Game #01 - Curve - 4 runs to 2
Game #02 - Curve - 6 runs to 3

The Curve - Year-to-Date
68 won and 51 lost

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
Did Not Play
----------Recovering from injury
----------Refer to game on Saturday 12th August - click here
Playing
Batting - #

At the end of the Game
0 hits from 0 at-bats

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Righthanded pitcher

Second at-bat
Righthanded pitcher

Third at-bat
Righthanded pitcher

Heard during the Game

Email from Brett

Game Reports

After the Curve offense stammered to a 4-2 win in Game One of a doubleheader against the Connecticut Defenders at Dodd Stadium on Monday night, Altoona’s bats came alive to complete the sweep with a 6-3 win in the nightcap

Simon Pond came up big for the Curve in both games finishing the night a combined 3-for-6 with five RBI

Nyjer Morgan led the Curve attack in Game Two, going 3-for-3 with two runs scored and two stolen bases

Ray Sadler was also 3-for-3 with a run scored and Vic Buttler and Brian Bixler eached chipped in two-hit efforts

The Curve banged out fourteen total hits in the second game after mustering only three hits in Game One

Altoona jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the second game, but had to respond late after the Defenders cut the Curve advantage to just one run

Led by back-to-back doubles by Buttler and Pond, Altoona tallied two insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning to put the second game of the double-dip out of reach

It was déjà vu for Connecticut in the bottom of the seventh as Blaine Neal came on to pitch a scoreless frame to earn his second save of the night
Neal ended the evening with two innings pitched, no runs allowed, three hits, three strikeouts and two saves

Nerio Rodriguez made his first start in a Curve uniform after being added to the roster early on Monday, and pitched effectively
The right-hander had five strikeouts in four innings while allowing two runs on four hits

Matt Peterson came out of the bullpen to pitch the fifth and sixth frames before turning the ball over to Neal
Peterson earned his sixth win of the year, despite allowing a run for the first time since being converted to a reliever nearly a month ago

The Curve used a four-run fifth inning to take the first game of the doubleheader, 4-2

Connecticut scored twice in their first at-bat, but Pond's bases-clearing triple in the fifth inning put the Curve in front for good, and Neal nailed down his first save of the season, pitching a scoreless seventh

Pirates’ right-hander John Van Benschoten earned the victory, allowing two runs on three hits in five innings
The 2003 first-round pick joined the Curve as part of his rehabilitation from shoulder injuries, and struck out three batters in picking up the win

The Curve won the game despite earning just three hits
Pond had two of them, including the game-winning three-bagger in the fifth that scored Morgan, Buttler and Javier Guzman

The Curve and Defenders will continue their series on Tuesday night at Dodd Stadium at 7.05pm
Wardell Starling will start for Altoona against Connecticut's Jesse Floyd

Simon Pond's bases-loaded triple capped a four-run fifth inning as visiting Altoona rallied for a 4-2 victory over Connecticut in the opener of Monday's doubleheader

Protecting a 2-0 lead, Defenders starter James Garcia (3-7) made an error on Javier Guzman's grounder to hand the Curve (67-51) their first run
Vic Buttler was hit by a pitch to load the bases before Pond pulled his second triple of the season down the right-field line, putting Altoona ahead to stay

Pond, who doubled in the second, went 2-for-3 and leadoff hitter Nyjer Morgan had the only other hit for the Curve, who rebounded from Sunday's 12-0 loss to New Britain

Altoona starter John Van Benschoten (1-0) picked up his first win in over two years as he allowed two runs on three hits and three walks while striking out three in five innings
A first-round pick in 2001, Van Benschoten hadn't won since Aug. 1, 2004 when he was with Triple-A Nashville

Blaine Neal tossed a scoreless seventh for his first save

Garcia (3-7) surrendered four unearned runs on three hits and three walks while striking out seven over five frames

Brian Buscher had an RBI single during a two-run first for Connecticut (57-64)

Nyjer Morgan went 3-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored as visiting Altoona beat Connecticut, 6-3, to complete a sweep of Monday's doubleheader

The Curve's 26-year-old leadoff man, who went 1-for-3 with a run scored in a 4-2 victory in the opener, also stole two bases in the nightcap

Simon Pond, who smacked a go-ahead bases-loaded triple in the first game, lifted a sacrifice fly in the first inning and ripped an RBI double in the seventh

Milver Reyes added a two-run single for the Curve (68-51), who have won three of four

Matt Peterson (6-6) picked up the win in relief, allowing a run on two hits and a walk in two innings

Blaine Neal worked a scoreless seventh for his second save

Nate Schierholtz fell a homer shy of the cycle and Tyler Von Schell had three hits and an RBI for the Defenders (57-65)

Connecticut starter Jason Waddell (1-3) gave up four runs - three earned - on eight hits and a walk in three innings

The Connecticut Defenders five game-winning streak came to a screeching halt as they dropped both ends of a double header to the Altoona Curve, 4-2 and 6-3

In Game One, the Defenders got off to a fast start against John Van Benschoten, who was making his second rehab start after being out of baseball for two years

The Defenders scored two first inning runs with a Brian Buscher RBI single highlighting the inning

Unfortunately for the Defenders those two runs would be all they would manage

For a while it seemed as though that would be all James Garcia would need, but he struggled in the fifth inning, and a two out error led to a run
The Curve eventually loaded the bases for Simon Pond who cleared them with a three run single, giving the Curve a 4-2 lead

The Defenders would not recover, as 4-2 was the final score in Game One

In Game Two, Jason Waddell made a spot start for the Defenders, and struggled early, allowing four runs in the first two innings, two of which were earned

The Defenders would gradually chip away at the lead, as Nate Schierholtz played a big roll
In the third, a lead off Schierholtz double led to the Defenders first run

The Defenders got their second run from an unlikely source in the fourth inning when Scott Munter hit a deep ground rule double, making the score 4-2

In the fifth inning, a Schieroltz triple led to the Defenders third run, but they would get no closer, and Schierholtz would finish a home run shy of the cycle

The Curve got insurance with two seventh inning runs in a 6-3 loss

The Defenders will meet up with the Curve again on Tuesday with right-hander Jesse Floyd (2-12) on the mound
Right-hander Wardell Starling (4-2) will make his third start against the Defenders for Altoona in the last three weeks

The first pitch is scheduled for 7.05pm

John Van Benschoten was on the mound when the Curve played their first-ever Eastern League home playoff game three years ago
The right-hander is doing his part to pitch Altoona into the postseason once again, making a triumphant return to Double-A on Monday night

Van Benschoten weathered a shaky start to pitch five solid innings, leading the Curve to a 4-2 victory in the first game of a doubleheader against Connecticut at Dodd Stadium

Altoona completed the sweep with a 6-3 win in the second game

The Curve extended their lead over idle Reading, which has won six in a row, to 6-1/2 games

Van Benschoten, coming back from shoulder surgeries that kept him out almost two full seasons, surrendered a pair of first-inning runs
He allowed a leadoff walk and back-to-back singles to fall into a 1-0 hole before retiring his first batter
He then uncorked a wild pitch and, two batters later, allowed a sacrifice fly
Van Benschoten settled down after the wild pitch, however, retiring eleven straight batters and allowing just one hit after the first inning

The Curve mustered only one hit through the first four innings and entered the fifth with a 2-0 deficit
Altoona stormed back with a four-run rally, highlighted by Simon Pond’s two-out, bases-loaded triple

Van Benschoten (1-0) allowed two runs on three hits with three strikeouts and three walks in five innings

Defenders starter James Garcia (3-7) gave up four unearned runs on three hits and three walks in five innings to take the loss

Altoona enjoyed balanced production from its lineup to win the second game
Eight of the nine starters recorded a hit, and Pond drove in two runs to boost his RBI total for the night to five

Matt Peterson (6-6) picked up the win with two innings of one-run relief

Connecticut starter Jason Waddell (1-3) suffered the loss by giving up four runs on eight hits and a walk in three innings

Blaine Neal recorded his first two saves with a scoreless seventh inning in each game

The offensive woes that have plagued the Connecticut Defenders all season reared their head again on Monday

Early on, it certainly appeared that the Defenders were eager to play Monday's doubleheader against Altoona and build on the five-game winning streak they entered it with

Starter James Garcia breezed through a 1-2-3 top of the first and the Defenders scored twice in the bottom of the inning before the Altoona Curve scored four unearned runs in the fifth en route to a 4-2 victory in the first game

It didn't get much better in the second game for the Defenders, as Altoona put the finishing touches on the sweep with a 6-3 win in front of 2,178 fans at Dodd Stadium

The Defenders are now 4-1/2 games out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern League's Northern Division

“To get to 3-1/2 games out would have been real nice” Connecticut manager Dave Machemer said
“But, unfortunately, you can't cry over spilled milk
You just go on to the next game”

Connecticut entered the game with a league-worst team batting average of .233 and, while it had twelve hits in fourteen innings on the night, it couldn't connect in any big spots

After Altoona, which is in second place in the Southern Division, loaded the bases in the fifth inning of the opener, Simon Pond hit a bases-clearing triple to right field just beyond the glove of outfielder Nate Schierholtz
The hit came two batters after Garcia couldn't come up with a ball hit in front of the mound

After the first inning, when the Defenders scored on a RBI single by Brian Buscher and a sacrifice fly from Dan Ortmeier, they managed just two hits

Randy Walter hit a pinch-hit double in the fifth, and Brian Horwitz delivered a two-out, pinch-hit single in the seventh

“We were just a little flat today” Machemer said
“We had a good series against Erie, winning three big games against them and we just came out flat today”

In the second game, Milver Reyes hit a two-run single and the Curve scored three runs in the second to take a 4-0 lead

Connecticut came back with single runs in the third, fourth and fifth, but Altoona scored two insurance runs in the top of the seventh and Blaine Neal got Derin McMains to strike out to end the game with two men on

With the two wins, the Curve picked up a game in the standings on first-place Akron

Altoona starter Nerio Rodriguez, who has appeared in thirty-two games over five big league seasons with four teams, struck out five and gave up two runs and four hits in four innings in the second game

Schierholtz singled, doubled, tripled and scored twice for the Defenders, while Tyler Von Schell had three hits, including a double, and drove in a run

Connecticut reliever R.D. Spiehs pitched two perfect innings and struck out three in the opener

News and Notes
One highlight for the Defenders came in the fourth inning of the second game, when reliever Scott Munter hit an RBI double to deep left-center field to score McMains
It was the first at-bat of the season for Munter
Altoona's John Van Benschoten, who started the first game, is on a major league rehab assignment
Van Benschoten had one win in six games for Pittsburgh in 2004 before injuring his shoulder
Monday was just the second game he has pitched since that injury after pitching six innings last Tuesday for the rookie league Gulf Coast Pirates
Van Benschoten was Pittsburgh's first-round selection in the 2001 draft
Ex-Red Sox reliever Neal earned the save in both games for Altoona, his first two of the year
Connecticut catcher Andy Busch threw out two runners attempting to steal second base in the second game
Todd Jennings threw out one in the opener
The Defenders have not had a six-game win streak since their season-high six-game streak April 10-15

Things had been going so well, the Connecticut Defenders had to expect another bump - or two

Connecticut had a chance to move within 1-1/2 games of a playoff spot in the Eastern League's Northern Division, but saw that opportunity pass by when Altoona swept a pair of seven-inning games, 4-2 and 6-3, in a doubleheader at Dodd Stadium Monday night

The losses were just the sixth and seventh in the last seventeen games for the Defenders, who are still 1-1/2 games behind Binghamton and Portland for the final playoff spot in the North

"It would have been really nice, but unfortunately you cannot cry over spilled milk" Connecticut manager Dave Machemer said
"We just came out flat tonight
We had a great series against Erie, but we just came out flat"

In the nightcap, Altoona scored the majority of their runs off Connecticut southpaw Jason Waddell (1-3)
The bottom of the lineup victimized Waddell, as sixth batter Ray Sadler had a leadoff single and Taber Lee doubled
Milver Reyes singled home both, and later would score on an error

Altoona would put it away with two more in the seventh

The Defenders tried to peck away at the Curve lead and got as close as one when Nate Schierholtz - who missed the cycle by just a home run - tripled in the fifth and scored on a ground out

Relief pitcher Scott Munter tried to help the cause when his line drive to centerfield bounced over the wall for an RBI double in his first at-bat of the season in the fourth

James Garcia (3-7) pitched well in the opener as he allowed only three hits, but the Curve turned that meager number into four unearned runs

Altoona scored all of their runs in the fifth off the Defenders right-hander
Brandon Chaves drew a one-out walk and was sacrificed to second by winning pitcher John Van Benschoten
Nyjer Morgan then grounded one deep into the hole at short that Jake Wald could make no play on and left runners at the corners
Javier Guzman tapped one down the first base line that Garcia failed to get a handle on, and Chaves scored the first run for the Curve
Vic Buttler was nicked by a Garcia pitch to load the bases and set the stage for Simon Pond
The Altoona first baseman had already connected off Garcia in the second for a double and this time had the pitchers' number again
He drilled a Garcia delivery off the right field wall and recorded a three-run triple to account for the remainder of the Curve runs

Connecticut had little in the way of success against Van Benschoten, who was impressive in his second rehab start in the Pittsburgh organization
The right hander allowed only three hits, struck out three and walked three in a five inning rehab stint
Van Benschoten was the Pirates top draft pick in 2001, eighth overall, but suffered a shoulder injury with the big club in 2004

Connecticut scored both of their runs in the first inning when Brian Buscher singled home a run and Dan Ortmeier drove home the other with a sacrifice fly