The Result
Curve - 3 runs to 1

The Curve - Year-to-Date
72 won and 58 lost

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Game Reports

Wardell Starling tossed seven strong innings and Brandon Chaves knocked in a pair of runs as part of a three-run third inning as the Altoona Curve earned a key 3-1 win over the Harrisburg Senators Friday night at Commerce Bank Park in Harrisburg

The win, coupled with third-place Reading's 5-4, ten inning loss at Connecticut on Friday night, reduces the Curve's magic number to officially secure an Eastern League playoff berth to six

In addition, Altoona (72-58) increases its lead over Reading in the standings to five games with ten to play

The Curve scored all three of their runs in the top of the third inning against Harrisburg starter Beltran Perez
After loading the bases with one out, Ray Sadler knocked in the first run of the game with a sacrifice fly to left
Chaves then came through with the game’s biggest hit, a groundball, two-run single to center, which scored Andrew McCutchen and Simon Pond and gave Altoona a 3-0 advantage

Perez (8-6), who was saddled with the loss, was ejected from the game along with interim manager Bob Henley and pitching coach Rick Tomlin after arguing a series of calls with the home plate umpire following the third inning

Meanwhile, Starling (5-4) built early momentum on the mound, retiring his first eleven batters faced and cruised to the win
The right-hander, who also added a double at the plate, allowed just one run and three hits over his seven innings

The bullpen of Jorge Vasquez and Brandon Knight each tossed a scoreless inning to close out the win, with Knight earning his twenty-fourth save

The Curve and Senators will continue their four-game weekend series Saturday night at 6.05pm, as Altoona right-hander Nerio Rodriguez (0-1, 8.64) squares off against Harrisburg southpaw Matt Chico (1-0, 3.64)

Wardell Starling tossed seven strong innings as visiting Atloona beat Harrisburg, 3-1, on Friday

Starling (5-4) allowed a run on three hits and a walk with three strikeouts before Jorge Vasquez fanned two in the eighth and Brandon Knight worked around a hit in the ninth for his twenty-fourth save

Ray Sadler lifted a sacrifice fly in the third and Brandon Chaves followed with a two-run single for the Curve (72-58)

Prentice Redman delivered an RBI triple in the fourth for the Senators (60-71)

Harrisburg starter Beltran Perez (8-6) surrendered three runs on three hits and three walks with three strikeouts in three innings

He was ejected along with interim Senators manager Bob Henley and pitching coach Rick Tomlin after arguing a series of calls with the plate umpire

Beltran Perez hides nothing on the mound
The Harrisburg Senators right-hander, fueled by his emotions, transformed himself into the team's best starting pitcher
But those emotions sometimes run very hot

Such was the case last night before a season-high crowd of 6,435 at Commerce Bank Park, when Perez, pitching coach Rick Tomlin and interim manager Bob Henley were ejected early in a 3-1 loss to the Altoona Curve

Perez missed Thursday's scheduled start when the Washington Nationals told manager John Stearns to sit him in case the parent club needed him this weekend
Harrisburg received the go-ahead to start Perez last night

But the damage to the bullpen, which combined to throw all nine innings Thursday, was done

Then Perez got himself into some trouble in the third inning last night
With one out, he plunked Brian Bixler, surrendered a bloop single to Andrew McCutchen and walked Simon Pond to load the bases in a scoreless game
Then, with a 2-2 count on Ray Sadler, the batter checked his swing
Perez and Co thought Sadler went too far; home plate umpire Al Porter ruled he didn't, and base umpire Jason Klein supported this on appeal
But Perez was clearly upset by the non-call

Sadler eventually hit a sacrifice fly, and Brandon Chaves followed with a two-run single to give the Curve (72-58) a 3-0 lead

When Perez retired Javier Guzman on a groundout to end the frame, he and Porter exchanged words
Porter tossed Perez just before he reached the dugout

"Beltran's a competitor" Senators hitting coach Mike Hart said
"Some words were said out there
But throwing a starting pitcher out of a game at that point is huge
It's a tough pill to swallow"

Tomlin shot out of the dugout like it was on fire and immediately got in Porter's face
Henley, filling in while Stearns is attending his stepson's wedding in Hawaii, worked hard to separate the pitching coach from the umpire
But Tomlin was tossed anyway, and after another ninety seconds of discussion, Henley also was ejected

Suddenly the Senators (60-71) were staring at a three-run deficit in the third inning, their best starting pitcher ejected, two coaches gone and an incredibly fatigued bullpen being called to the rescue

And, while Harrisburg's offense could muster only one run on Prentice Redman's RBI triple in the fourth inning, the team deserves significant recognition for never folding the tent
Thank Dan Kolb and Devin Perrin, who combined on six shutout innings to keep the home team in the game
Kolb threw four two-hit innings; Perrin tossed the final two without allowing a hit

The most amazing thing about last night's game, considering the likely playoff-bound opponent and early inning fireworks, is that Harrisburg had a decent chance to at least tie after Kory Casto's leadoff single in the bottom of the ninth

"You've got to give Dan Kolb a ton of credit" said Casto, who yesterday was named the Eastern League Rookie of the Year
"He had very little notice coming out of the 'pen and still stuck them at three runs
We lost, but we really played well"

Notes
Perez fell to 8-6
Altoona right-hander Wardell Starling (5-4) picked up the win, allowing one run on three hits in seven innings
Brandon Knight retired the final three batters of the ninth to earn his twenty-fourth save
Senators SS Seth Bynum left in the second inning after getting hit in the hand with a pitch - ruled a foul ball by Porter - in the first inning
Five Senators relievers have combined to throw twelve consecutive shutout innings over the series' first two games

There can’t be a more valuable .226 hitter in all of baseball than the Curve’s Brandon Chaves
You look at his average and think Chaves is having a bad year, but he actually has come up with numerous big hits and big plays when the team badly needed them

He’s been so important that manager Tim Leiper suggested Chaves should be in the running for team MVP honors

Chaves delivered the key hit Friday night, a two-run single in the third inning that helped the Curve take control
That made it 3-0, and Wardell Starling pitched seven superb innings to help Altoona to a 3-1 win over Harrisburg at Commerce Bank Park

The win, coupled with Connecticut rallying late to beat Reading on Friday, dropped the Curve’s magic number for a playoff berth to six

Brian Bixler was hit by a pitch with one out in the third, and the Curve loaded the bases behind a single from Andrew McCutchen and walk to Simon Pond
Ray Sadler put Altoona ahead with a sacrifice fly that scored Bixler
The Curve, who had lost five of six, needed something positive early in a game to build on, and Chaves delivered
A wild pitch by Harrisburg’s Beltran Perez (8-6) moved two runners into scoring position, then Chaves smacked a single to center that drove home McCutchen and Pond for a 3-0 cushion

Chaves now has 47 RBIs and has been the team’s most versatile defensive player

Starling (5-4) limited Harrisburg to a run on three hits over seven innings, striking out three with one walk

Jorge Vasquez blanked the Senators in the eighth for the Curve

Closer Brandon Knight then bounced back from a tough outing his last appearance to toss a scoreless ninth for his twenty-fourth save

Eastern League Awards
Akron’s Adam Miller (13-6, 2.88) bested the Curve’s Shane Youman (7-2, 1.51) and was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Year on Friday
The Aeros’ Tim Bogar was selected EL Manager of the Year, while Harrisburg’s Kory Casto (.281, 20 homers, 78 RBIs) was named EL Rookie of the Year