The Result
Curve - 4 runs to 2

The Curve - Year-to-Date
73 won and 59 lost

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
Playing - First base
Batting - #4

At the end of the Game
2 hits from 3 at-bats - 2 x singles, 1 x run-batted-in, 1 x run scored, 2 x walks

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runners at second base - two down
Called strike
Ball
Ball - tailing fastball - low and wide
Ball - high
Foul ball - down the left side
Ball - low
Walk
Left stranded at the end of the innings
Second at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runners at first and second base - two down
"Brett laces this pitch into rightfield for a hit!!! ...... and the runner is rounding third base and heading for home!!! ...... and here comes the throw - but it's off line and the Curve take a '1-0' lead here in the third innings on Roneberg's RBI-single!!! ...... and the Curve now have runners at first and third base"
Single to rightfield - 1 x RBI
Left stranded at the end of the innings
Third at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - one down
"That ball comes off the end of the bat and it's a slow roller up the middle that gets past the gloves of the Senators shortstop and second-baseman and out into centrefield ...... and Brett picks up his second hit of the game on a seeing-eye single to centrefield"
Single to centrefield
Scored on a hit
(The next Curve batter tripled into the rightfield corner and Brett scored all the way from first base ...... it was a close play at home and the commentator said that 'Brett slid across the plate safely' ...... sprained ankle injury??? - hurt??? - okay???)
Fourth at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - two down
Ball - high
Ball - high
Ball - high
Called strike - "and Roneberg was taking all the way there"
"Brett drives that deep the other way!!! ...... and the fielder is going back!!!, back!!!, back!!! ...... and he makes the catch on the warning track for the final out of the innings!!!"
Fly out to leftfield - F7
Fifth at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
Runners at second and third base - two down
"And Brett is going to be intentionally walked here in the top of the ninth innings with the Curve leading '4-1' ...... the Senators feel they will have more success against Simon Pond"
Intentional walk
Left stranded at the end of the innings
"Simon Pond strikes out with the bases loaded and the Senators' tactic of walking Roneberg works and we now go to the bottom of the ninth innings"

Heard during the Game

(#01) As Brett came in for his first at-bat, the commentator mentioned - "Brett comes in to tonight's game with a batting average of 0.298 which is fifth best in the Eastern League in that category"

(#02) After Brett's RBI-single in his second at-bat, the commentator said - "That is Brett's sixty-eighth run-driven-in for the season ...... coming in to tonight's game he was tied for seventh in the 'RBI Top-10' in the Eastern League"
He then continued - "Brett has now driven in twenty runs in his last twenty games"

Email from Brett

Game Reports

The Curve won their final regular season road game of the 2006 season, 4-2 against the Harrisburg Senators on Sunday

The victory shrunk the Curve’s magic number to secure an Eastern League playoff berth to four

Altoona scored the first run of the ballgame in the third inning on an RBI single by Brett Roneberg, and would get all the runs they needed in the top of the sixth inning, when they scored three times

Josh Shortslef earned his sixth victory of the year and first since going on the disabled list in May with a solid, five-inning effort
The left-hander allowed just one run on four hits and struck out six on a day when the Curve would use three pitchers to get the final twelve outs of the game

With the score 4-0, the Senators threatened in the bottom of the sixth
Trey Webb and Kory Casto reached to begin the frame and the Curve brought in Jorge Vasquez to relieve Shortslef
Vasquez allowed a single to load the bases and then induced a groundout and struck out the next two batters to get out of the inning with only one run scoring

Brandon Knight pitched the bottom of the ninth, allowing a solo home run to Cristian Guerrero, but still picking up his twenty-fifth save of the season

Harrisburg’s Garrett Mock remained winless on the season, dropping his fourth decision of the year
He surrendered four runs on eight hits in six innings pitched

Roneberg had the only multi-hit effort for the Curve, finishing 2-for-3, and Andrew McCutchen has now reached base in all thirteen games with the Curve, going 1-for-3 with a walk

The Curve will open up an eight-game homestand on Monday night with the first of four contests against division-leading Akron
Landon Jacobsen will start for Altoona against the Aeros’ Aaron Laffey

The first pitch is scheduled for 7.05pm, and the game will feature an appearance by "Ron Palillo" as part of the Curve’s Retro Celebrity Series

Josh Shortslef and three relievers combined on a six-hitter as visiting Altoona beat Harrisburg, 4-2, on Sunday

Shortslef (6-1) allowed a run on four hits, struck out six and walked one over five-plus innings

Jorge Vasquez allowed a hit over two scoreless innings while striking out four

Matt Peterson worked a 1-2-3 eighth, and Brandon Knight earned his Eastern League-leading twenty-fifth save, despite yielding one run on one hit with a strikeout

Leading in the sixth, 1-0, the Curve scored three times on four consecutive one-out hits
Brett Roneberg started the outburst with a single to right and scored on Simon Pond's triple
Brandon Chaves followed with an RBI single, stole second and scored on Javier Guzman's base hit

Roneberg went 2-for-3 with two walks to lead Altoona (73-59), which remains 8-1/2 games behind first-place Akron in the Eastern League's Southern Division

Senators starter Garrett Mock (0-4) was charged with four runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out three in six innings
The right-hander has not won in four starts since being acquired from Tennessee on Aug. 8 as part of the Livan Hernandez trade

Cristian Guerrero went 2-for-4 and smacked a solo homer in the ninth and Trey Webb had two hits and crossed the plate for Harrisburg (61-72), which has lost two of three

On the final day of the home season in front of 5,231 fans, the Senators fell to the Altoona Curve 4-2

With the late season rush of fans, the Senators drew over 250,000 fans again to Commerce Bank Park

On Sunday Garrett Mock started for the Senators and was able to get through the first two innings with no trouble, allowed a run in the third, then three more in the sixth before being lifted
It was the second solid start for Mock out of four for the Senators

The Sens loaded the bases in the sixth inning, but only scored a single run on a force out leaving them down 4-1

Cristian Guerrero homered in the bottom of the ninth to trim the deficit to 4-2, but that was as close as the Senators would get

Altoona teammates ragged on him for notching a simple five-inning victory, but Josh Shortslef will take it

He and three relievers combined to stifle Harrisburg 4-2 yesterday afternoon in the Senators' 2006 home finale in front of 5,231 fans at Commerce Bank Park

Shortslef, a 24-year-old left-hander from Sterling, N.Y., sparkled in just his second Class AA start since a nearly three-month stint on the disabled list with a strained left forearm

His effectiveness bodes well for the Curve (73-59), whose magic number for clinching a fourth straight Eastern League playoff berth dwindled to four games
(Four combined wins by the Curve or losses by the Reading Phillies will punch Altoona's playoff ticket)

"It feels good to be back and feeling healthy" Shortslef (6-1) said after allowing one run on four hits and a walk in five-plus innings
He struck out six, including four batters in a row over the first and second innings
"It's all about timing" he continued
"Plus, I have a great defense behind me and I trust them"

Altoona's offense dumped Harrisburg (61-72) into a 4-0 hole after 5-1/2 innings thanks in large part to a couple of former Senators
Brett Roneberg, who played for the Senators in 2002, smacked an RBI single for a 1-0 lead in the third and added a single and run scored in the sixth
Simon Pond, who participated in just a couple Senators games in 1998, smoked an RBI triple in the sixth
Brandon Chaves and Javier Guzman added RBI singles that inning against Garrett Mock (0-4)

But it wasn't all bad news for Mock
The 6-4, 215-pound right-hander pitched a scoreless first inning for the first time in four starts with the Senators
His command improved, and he showcased a nasty curve ball
Four straight hits in the sixth cost him a chance at victory, though

"Mock threw well; he just had that one bad inning" Senators coach Mike Hart said
"But we just didn't give him any run support
He was getting ahead of batters, and that usually makes a big difference no matter who you are"

Mock had allowed a total of eleven runs in the first inning over his first three starts and carried a 12.66 ERA into this contest
He finished with the four runs on eight hits and one walk in six innings

But Hart was right
There just wasn't enough offense to generate runs

The Senators loaded the bases against Shortslef and reliever Javier Vasquez to begin the sixth but mustered only one run on Frank Diaz's RBI groundout
Cristian Guerrero and Rich Lane then whiffed with two runners still on base to keep Altoona's lead at 4-1

The final run scored when Guerrero launched his fourth homer with one out in the ninth off Brandon Knight, who still collected his twenty-fifth save

But that was it for the Senators, who've scored more than five runs just once in their last nineteen games

"We played well here through June and then kind of went into that swoon when our bats went south" Hart said after his team finalized a 41-30 season record at Commerce Bank Park
"Our pitching picked up, but our offense did not
Overall, though, I was pleased
We had a lot of first-year guys who will be back and be good here next year"

Notes
Harrisburg's home attendance grew an average of 62 fans (from 3,728 last year to 3,790), but the team lost four home dates to rain or flood and forfeited more than 10,000 fans because of it
Altoona leadoff hitter Nyjer Morgan injured himself in the first at-bat and was replaced in right field by Ray Sadler in the bottom of the first
Senators LF Prentice Redman extended his hitting streak to eight games
In attendance yesterday was former No. 1 overall draft pick and Harrisburg product Al Chambers (1979, Seattle Mariners)

Josh Shortslef had such an impressive start to the season, and now he’s trying to finish it off with a strong showing when the team needs it most

Shortslef struck out six and allowed just one run over five innings Sunday to help the Curve to a 4-2 win over Harrisburg at Commerce Bank Park

Altoona scored three runs in the sixth inning to pull away

Shortslef became the first Curve pitcher ever to open a season 5-0, then he missed nearly three months with a strained left forearm
He’s been sharp in two starts since returning from the disabled list, giving up three runs in 10-2/3 innings, and he could be a big boost for the rotation in the playoffs

Brett Roneberg singled home Brian Bixler in the third inning to put the Curve on top for good
Simon Pond tripled home Roneberg to ignite the big sixth inning
Brandon Chaves singled home Pond and later scored on Javier Guzman’s single for a 4-0 lead

Harrisburg got a run in the sixth off Shortslef (6-1), who allowed four hits and one walk

Curve relievers Jorge Vasquez and Matt Peterson blanked the Senators until the ninth

Brandon Knight gave up a solo homer to Cristian Guerrero before closing out the win and earning his twenty-fifth save

Walker progressing
Catcher Neil Walker, the Pirates’ top prospect, continues to battle back from a viral infection that landed him on the DL on Wednesday
“Walker’s doing much better” Curve manager Tim Leiper said Sunday on his weekly radio show
“We’ll see how he is when we get back to Altoona
I know he’s eating now
He spent about a week and a half where he didn’t eat, and he lost a lot of weight”
The Curve hope to get Walker back in time for the playoffs but will go with Dave Parrish and Milver Reyes if necessary

Perez finished
Leiper said reliever Franklin Perez is done for the season with a groin injury
Perez, who set the franchise record with twenty-three consecutive scoreless innings pitched this season, has been on the DL since Aug. 7
The pitcher has left to return to the Dominican Republic

Altoona (Double-A, 72-59) won, 4-2, at Harrisburg (Nationals)

First baseman Brett Roneberg reached base four times, drove in a run and scored another

Left fielder Simon Pond had an RBI triple and scored in the sixth

Left-hander Josh Shortslef (6-1) allowed four hits and struck out six in five innings