The Result
Senators - 3 runs to 1

The Curve - Year-to-Date
5 wins and 6 losses

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
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Game Reports

The Curve again came up empty against the opposition's starting pitcher and it finally caught up to them as Harrisburg took the second game of a four-game series 3-1

Altoona has now run their streak of futility against starting pitching to 24-1/3 innings, a run spanning the course of five ballgames

This time around it was lefthander Mike Hinckley who handcuffed the Curve
Hinckley, who was the top-prospect in the Nationals system heading into the 2005 season before battling through shoulder injuries the last two seasons, stifled Altoona on just two hits through six innings on Friday

Curve starter Josh Shortslef was also effective over six innings, but did allow a run in both the second and third innings

In the second, Shortslef was fortunate to escape only trailing 1-0
The Nationals loaded the bases with nobody out, before Hinckley grounded into a double-play that scored Frank Diaz
With a runner at third, Roger Bernadina bounced out to end the inning

In the third, the Senators attack was much more abrupt as Tony Blanco blasted a Shortslef offering off the Blair County Ballpark scoreboard
Blanco's solo home run, his second homer of the year, made it 2-0

The score stayed that way until the ninth, when Harrisburg used two hit batsmen by Curve reliever Romulo Sanchez to add an insurance run and make it 3-0

The Curve did mount a comeback in the ninth inning
Daniel Rueckel entered to attempt to close things out for Harrisburg, but walked Andrew McCutchen to begin the inning
McCutchen moved to third a batter later when Randy Ruiz singled on the infield to put runners at the corners
Rueckel was again wild to Chris Truby, walking the newest member of the Curve to load the bases
That brought Adam Boeve to the plate representing the winning run
Boeve singled through the left side of the Harrisburg infield to score McCutchen and get the Curve on the board for the first time at 3-1
Boeve's single also forced Rueckel from the ballgame
Zechry Zinicola took over with the bases still loaded and promptly got Brandon Chaves to bounce into a 4-6-3 double play that ended the ballgame

Zinicola collected the save (1) for Harrisburg

Hinckley was rewarded for his dominating performance with his second win as he improved his record to (2-1) on the year

The win was the Senators first on the road after they opened the season by dropping their first seven

Shortlef's third start turned into his third loss of the year as the lefty dropped to (0-3) on the season
That total is in stark contrast to a season ago when Shortslef began the season (5-0)

Game three of the series is tomorrow night at 5.05pm
RHP Wardell Starling (0-2, 7.88) will make the start for Altoona
RHP Beltran Perez (0-0, 2.70) will oppose him for Harrisburg

Michael Hinckley tossed six shutout innings as visiting Harrisburg blanked Altoona, 3-1, Friday night

Hinckley (2-1) held the Curve to two hits and a walk while striking out three

Dan Kolb fanned four in two innings and Zech Zenicola escaped a jam in the ninth for his first save

Leading, 3-0, heading into the bottom of the ninth, the Senators (3-10) found trouble
Danny Rueckel opened the frame by walking Andrew McCutchen
With one out, McCutchen advanced to second on defensive indifference and moved to third on Randy Ruiz's single
Chris Truby walked to load the bases before Adam Boeve grounded a ball through the left side to bring in McCutchen
Zenicola, who saved 12 games last year across three levels, came in and induced Brandon Chaves to ground into a game-ending double play

It gave the Senators their first road win of 2007

Tony Blanco slugged his second home run of the year for Harrisburg, a solo shot to left in the third

Juan Melo and Josh Whitesell each had two hits and Wade Robinson was 3-for-4 with a run scored

Josh Shortslef (0-3) suffered the loss, but threw six strong innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and two walks while fanning two

Boeve had two of the Curve's four hits

Altoona (5-6) has not scored a run against an opponent's starting pitcher in 24-1/3 innings, spanning five games

The Senators finally figured out how to win on the road, defeating the Altoona Curve 3-1 on Friday night

After taking leads of at least two runs into the late innings on four occasions on the road, the Senators managed to hang on to their three-run late inning lead for the win

Leading 3-0 into the bottom of the ninth, reliever Danny Rueckel started the inning by walking Andrew McCutcheon on four pitches
After Neil Walker flied out, Randy Ruiz singled and then Chris Truby walked to load the bases
Adam Boeve singled to drive in a run and that was it for Rueckel
Zechry Zinicola came into the game and induced Brandon Chaves to ground into a double play on a 2-2 pitch to end the game
It is the first save this season for the Nationals 2006 Minor League Pitcher of the Year

The Senators took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Mike Hinckley hit into a double play scoring Frank Diaz

In the second Tony Blanco launched his second home run of the year, a blast to left center off the scoreboard

The Senators had chances, stranding eleven runners, seven in scoring position, but couldn't capitalize until the ninth inning
Seth Bynum and Blanco were both hit with pitches, with Blanco's driving in a run for a 3-0 lead, setting up the bottom of the ninth

Mike Hinckley picked up his second win of the year, going six shutout innings and allowing just two hits

Dan Kolb made his 2007 Senators debut and went two innings, striking out four batters and walking one

Game three of the series is Saturday late afternoon, with RHP Beltran Perez taking the mound for the Senators opposed by RHP Wardell Starling for Altoona
Saturday's game gets started at 5.05pm

The Curve’s streak of not scoring against the opposing team’s starting pitcher reached 24-1/3 consecutive innings when Harrisburg’s Mike Hinckley held them scoreless for six innings Friday night
Despite their troubles in that department, the Curve had been able to build a three-game winning streak on battering the Bowie and Harrisburg relief pitchers
But even that was missing for Altoona, which scored a run off of reliever Daniel Rueckel in the bottom of the ninth, but it fell, 3-1, in the second game of a four-game series before 3,822 fans at Blair County Ballpark

“We’ve just got to be able to make that adjustment early to know the kind of pitcher we’re facing” Curve manager Tim Leiper said
“It is early
We’re going to play Harrisburg 20-something times and we’ll see Hinckley three or four times
He did what he wanted to do tonight, and we didn’t make the adjustment”

Baseball American rated Hinckley the Nationals’ No. 1 prospect going into the 2005 season, but the 24-year-old from Oklahoma City had shoulder surgery during spring training of that year
But he’s struggled since then, going 10-18 in three seasons with Potomac and Harrisburg

“It’s been one of those things where it’s been rebuilding” Hinckley said
“I’ve gone through a long rehab
It’s taken a few seasons, but I finally feel healthy
That whole prospect thing - You have to go out and perform
I’m excited that the slate’s clean this year”

Against the Curve (5-6), he gave up only two hits in six innings while striking out three and walking one
He and his defense didn’t allow a Curve runner to reach second base

“I felt good” Hinckley said
“I had all my pitches
I needed to throw some more first-pitch strikes, but I was able to get the ground balls when I needed to”

“I think he did a fine job” said Harrisburg manager Scott Little, who served as the Curve’s bench coach in 2001 under Dale Sveum
“His curveball was good
His velocity wasn’t up there, but he made some good pitches in situations where I thought he might walk a couple guys”

Josh Shortslef, meanwhile, was turning in his best pitching performance of his three starts this season
He yielded two runs and two walks while giving up seven hits in six innings

“He minimized damage” Lieper said
“I still think he didn’t go out there with his best stuff, but he only gave up two runs in six innings
When you do that, you’re going to win a lot of games”

The Senators’ first run came in the second, when they loaded the bases for Hinckley, who hit into a double play, but Frank Diaz scored

Shortslef got the first two outs of the third, but then Tony Blanco unloaded a home run off of Sheetz sign on the center field scoreboard - estimated at about 415 feet

The Curve defense, trying to keep it close, shined in the seventh for reliever Jason Roach
Wade Robinson attempted to take the extra base on Robin Jennings’ single to right, but Adam Boeve threw a strike to third baseman Walker to catch Robinson
Chris Truby then made an excellent stop of a Roger Bernadina ground ball

Curve reliever Romulo Sanchez had his control problems in the ninth, hitting two batters and giving up a run to make it 3-0

In the bottom of the ninth, Rueckel’s control blew up, and the Curve took advantage
Andrew McCutchen walked, and Randy Ruiz reached on an infield hit
Truby walked to load the bases for Boeve, whose single to left plated McCutchen
Boeve went 2-for-3 in his first game back from a hip flexor injury
Little called on Zachary Zinicola to put the fire out, and he did
Brandon Chaves hit into a 4-6-3 double play

“We never quit” Lieper said
“Every game is within reach
There’s a lot of threats in our lineup that can do it
Hopefully, we’ll continue to do it”