The Result
Defenders - 4 runs to 1

The Curve - Year-to-Date
68 won and 53 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

Hey, x-rays tomorrow at 11.00am
Hope it's good news!!
I will let you know as soon as I find out

Game Reports

Altoona’s offensive woes continued at Dodd Stadium on Wednesday as the Curve lost to the Defenders 4-1

After sweeping a doubleheader from the Defenders on Monday, Altoona dropped the final two games of the series in Connecticut, scoring just twice in two days on a total of ten hits

One night after fellow top prospect Neil Walker drove in the only score for the Curve with a solo home run, Andrew McCutchen came through with a ninth-inning RBI single to score Altoona’s only run of the game on Wednesday
The 19-year-old centerfielder now has two hits in as many games at the Double-A level since joining the Curve on Tuesday

The Defenders took a 1-0 lead after a Nate Schierholtz double in the bottom of the third inning
The two-bagger scored Andy Busch from second base and was Schierholtz’s seventh hit of the series against the Curve, who have now dropped six of its last nine contests

Busch’s tally was the only earned run allowed by Curve starter Jason Roach, who took the loss after pitching five innings, surrendering four runs and four hits while striking out five

The Defenders would pile on three more runs in the fifth frame thanks to a sacrifice fly by Schierholtz and a two-run blast by Brian Buscher
All three runs were unearned due to a fielding error committed by Brian Bixler during the third at-bat of the inning

The Curve managed just two hits, both by Bixler, through the first eight frames before earning three hits in their final at-bat to score their only run of the game

Bixler has now earned at least one hit in thirteen of his last fifteen games

Chris Begg started for the Defenders and tied the Curve’s Landon Jacobsen for the second most victories in the league after winning his twelfth decision
The right-hander pitched a complete game five-hitter with two strikeouts and no walks

McCutchen’s RBI single came with two outs in the ninth inning after pinch-hitter Ray Sadler and left fielder Nyjer Morgan also singled

The Curve will enjoy an off-day on Thursday before returning home to open up a six-game homestand at Blair County Ballpark with the first of three games against the Harrisburg Senators
Jacobsen (12-7, 3.06) will start against David Maust (6-9, 4.59)

The game begins at 7.05pm and will be followed by a spectacular fireworks show
It’s also Hometowns of Blair County Night

Chris Begg went the distance to win his fourth straight start as Connecticut defeated visiting Altoona, 4-1, on Wednesday

Begg (12-10) gave up one run on five hits with two strikeouts in his second complete game of the season
He pitched an eight-hitter in a seven-inning win over Portland on July 14
The 26-year-old right-hander yielded just a pair of singles to Brian Bixler over the first eight frames, but lost the shutout with two outs in the ninth on Andrew McCutchen's RBI single
His only other nine-inning complete game came on Aug. 3, 2003 for San Jose of the California League

Begg began his winning streak against the Curve (68-53) on July 30, when he yielded one run on four hits over eight innings
During his winning streak, he has given up six earned runs in 30-1/3 innings to lower his ERA to 3.53

Brian Buscher crushed a two-run homer in the fifth to give the Defenders (59-65) a 4-0 lead

Connecticut right fielder Nate Schierholtz was 2-for-3 with two RBIs, extending his hitting streak to thirteen games

Altoona starter Jason Roach (6-5) yielded four runs - one earned - on four hits with four strikeouts and three walks in five innings

Connecticut Defenders starter, Chris Begg tied ten-year-old franchise record with seventeen ground ball outs in a complete game 4-1 victory over the Altoona Curve to finish a 5-2 home stand

The Defenders scored first in the third inning
Andy Busch led off with a walk, and an advanced to second on a ground ball out on a Brian Horwitz ground out
He would then come into score on an RBI double by Nate Schierholtz

Schierholtz knock in two runs as he stretched his hit streak to thirteen games

The other three runs were unearned, and they all scored in a fifth inning highlighted by Brian Buschers seventh home run of the year, a two run shot

Chris Begg was magnificent, at one time retiring seventeen Curve batters in a row
He also tied a franchise record, inducing seventeen ground ball outs

Begg allowed only a single run to score when he allowed three singles in the ninth inning, but still took his twelth win of the the year in the 4-1 victory

The Curve are enduring more bad games than good these days, not what the team needs as it tries to nail down a playoff berth

Altoona’s once comfortable ten game cushion for the Southern Division’s wild-card bid now stands at just 4-1/2 games after a 4-1 loss Wednesday at Connecticut

The Curve offense struggled for the second straight day, failing to get a runner to second base until the ninth inning

Reading continues to put pressure on the Curve, beating Akron on Wednesday for its eighth consecutive win
The R-Phils have strung together an amazing second-half run to get back into the playoff chase
Reading stood at 32-47 on July 1 but has gone 31-10 since to climb to 63-57
The R-Phils hadn’t been above .500 this late in a season since 2002

Despite the dwindling lead, the Curve still have a little cushion and two things in their favor down the stretch
The team will get its final day off today, then play fifteen of its last nineteen games at Blair County Ballpark, where it has gone 38-18 this season
Also, the Curve will not play Reading again this season, so the R-Phils would have to make up that ground without the benefit of head-to-head matchups

None of that will matter, though, if the Curve can’t find a way to play more consistently and stop beating themselves

They suffered the worst shutout loss in franchise history Sunday at New Britain, 12-0, only to bounce back and win a doubleheader Monday at Connecticut

Then, with the departure of offensive catalyst Vic Buttler to Triple-A on Tuesday, the club hasn’t been able to get much going at the plate the past two days

Connecticut starter Chris Begg (12-10), who began his career with the independent Johnstown Johnnies in 2001, fired a five-hit complete game Wednesday
Begg threw seventeen groundball outs and moved within one of the league lead in victories

A costly error in the fifth inning helped the Defenders take control
Curve shortstop Brian Bixler committed an error on what should have been an inning-ending double play, and Connecticut used the miscue to score three runs
Nate Schierholtz’s sacrifice fly made it 2-0, and Brian Buscher followed with a two-run homer for a four-run edge

Curve starter Jason Roach (6-5) gave up four runs - one earned - over five innings to take the loss

Begg was masterful, tossing his second complete game of the season