The Result
Curve - 7 runs to 1

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

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
Playing - Leftfield
Batting - #5

----------Came out of the game at the start of the top of the ninth innings - defensive substitution

Brett's at-bats
First plate appearance
Righthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
Ball - fast ball - high
Called strike
Called strike - fast ball
Ball - outside
Foul ball - down the leftfield line
Foul ball
Ball - downstairs
"This pitch is tagged into deep centrefield but there is plenty of real estate out there and the fielder gets under it and makes the catch for the first out of the innings"
Fly out to centrefield - F8
Second plate appearance
Righthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
Called strike
"Roneberg hits that across the diamond on two high hops to Senators' second-baseman who fields and throws across to first base and that's the first out of the innings"
Ground out to second base - 4 to 3
Third plate appearance
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - none down
Ball - fast ball - a little bit low
Ball - outside
Called strike - fast ball - on the inside half of the plate
"That is hit down the rightfield line and the fielder is across to cut it off but Brett has his first hit of the game"
Single to rightfield
Stole to second base - "There's goes Roneberg!!! ... and the throw from the catcher is down the line and Brett has his third stolen base of the year!!! ... Brett got a good jump on that pitch and forced the catcher to hurry his throw"
Scored on a hit
Fourth plate appearance
Righthanded pitcher
Runners at first and second base - none down
"That's a bouncing ball to second base and it should be two ... there's the flip to the shortstop covering second base and the relay throw to first base is in time for the second out ... Brett hits into that double play and the Curve now have a runner at third base with two down in the innings"
Grounded into a double play - 4 to 6 to 3

At the end of the Game
1 hit from 4 at-bats - single, 1 x run scored, 1 x stolen base, 1 x grounded into a double play

Heard during the game

(01) During Brett's first plate appearance, the commentator said - "Brett is off to a very slow start this year ... at the start of tonight's game he was just 6-from-31, for an average of 0.194 ... this is nothing like his start last season, where he hit safely in his first thirteen games straight out the gate"
......and click here for those details

Email from Brett

Game Reports

On Neil Walker Bobblehead Night, Neil Walker showed all the tools that make him worthy of having his own bobblehead, collecting three hits and finishing a home run shy of the cycle as the Curve took game three with Harrisburg 7-1

The Curve played arguably their best all-around game of the season, and got an outstanding start on the mound from Alay Soler
Soler made the spot-start for Altoona due to the doubleheader they played in Bowie on Tuesday night
He held Harrisburg hitless through five innings, before departing the ballgame in favor of Chris Hernandez

The Curve finally snapped their scoreless streak against opposition starting pitchers at 25-2/3 innings when they got to Beltran Perez in the second inning
With one out, Chris Truby singled
Truby scored when Dave Parrish nearly knocked down the left field wall with a line-drive double to the corner and the Curve led 1-0

The Curve added a run on an Andrew McCutchen sacrifice fly in the fifth, but did their most significant damage in the sixth
Walker led off with a towering triple to center field, and Randy Ruiz followed with his fourth home run of the season which cleared the bleachers in left field and landed halfway up the hill beyond them to make it 4-1 Curve
Following the home run, Brett Roneberg got it going again for Altoona
Roneberg singled and stole second base before Chris Truby brought him around with his second single of the game to make it 5-1

The three-run sixth inning chased Beltran Perez from the ballgame
Perez allowed five earned runs on nine hits to take the loss, and drop to (0-1) on the season

Harrisburg picked up their only run of the game on their first hit of the game in the sixth
Juan Melo was the first Senator to face Curve reliever Chris Hernandez and he greeted him rudely homering to right-center field to make it 5-1
Hernandez recovered nicely after the home run however, and held the Senators scoreless through the seventh

Altoona was back at it in the eighth, and again it was Walker who was the catalyst
Walker doubled, his third hit of the ballgame, to lead off
Chris Truby also picked up his third hit in the inning, as his two-out single scored Walker to make it 6-1
The Curve capped the scoring when Brandon Chaves' grounder to second was misplayed by Wade Robinson allowing Truby to score the seventh run of the night for Altoona

Dave Davidson pitched a scoreless pair of innings in the eighth and ninth to close it out for the Curve who climbed back to .500 for the season, leveling their record at 6-6

Soler's dominating performance earned him the win in his first Altoona start
His record now stands at (1-0) for the year

The Curve and Senators will play the series finale of this four-game series tomorrow at Blair County Ballpark beginning at 3.05pm
RHP Wardell Starling (0-2, 7.88) will make the start for the Curve
RHP Anastacio Martinez (0-1, 2.57) will oppose him for Harrisburg

Aley Soler fired five no-hit innings as Altoona cruised to a 7-1 victory over visiting Harrisburg on Saturday

Soler (1-0), who yielded two earned runs on eight hits over five innings in his first two appearances, worked around four walks while striking out five en route to his first win of the year
The 27-year-old Cuban right-hander walked the leadoff batter in the first and second innings before hitting a batter in the third

Despite his wildness, Soler left with a 2-0 lead, thanks to David Parrish's RBI double in the second and Andrew McCutchen's sacrifice fly in the fifth

Parrish's two-base hit ended Altoona's streak of 25-2/3 scoreless innings against opposing starters

Chris Hernandez yielded a run on two hits with two strikeouts in two innings before David Davidson pitched two perfect frames to complete the shutout

Neil Walker fell a homer shy of the cycle and scored twice, Randy Ruiz went deep for the fourth time this year and Chris Truby had three hits and two RBIs for the Curve (6-6)

Juan Melo belted his first homer of the year for the Senators (3-12), who have dropped five of six

Harrisburg starter Beltran Perez (0-1) surrendered five runs on nine hits and a walk with two strikeouts over five innings

In a rare late afternoon start, the Senators didn't warm up with the weather and fell to the Altoona Curve 7-1 at Blair County Ballpark on Saturday

Cuban defectee Alay Soler handcuffed the Senators, no hitting them in his five innings of work
Soler picked up his first win of the season in his first start

The Senators first hit was a solo home run off the bat of Juan Melo, leading off the sixth inning

Wade Robinson had the only other hit, a single with one out in the seventh

Altoona pounded out 12 hits, the second time this season they've had 12 hits in a game and broke a tight game open with three runs in the bottom of the sixth
With Altoona leading 2-1 into the last of the sixth, Neil Walker tripled to lead off the inning, then Randy Ruiz hit a very long home run to left, his fourth of the season, to give Altoona a 4-1 lead
Chris Truby singled in Brett Roneberg to put Altoona up 5-1

Altoona tacked on two in the eighth for their final winning margin of 7-1

Roger Bernadina had his eleven game hit streak snapped when he struck out in the seventh inning, the only time he batted in the game

Beltran Perez started, lasting into the sixth inning, giving up five of the seven runs for the loss

Josh Hall pitched the final three innings allowing two runs, but just one earned

The final game of the four game series is Sunday afternoon at 3.05pm with RHP Anastacio Martinez on the mound for the Senators against RHP Wardell Starling for Altoona

On full display at Altoona's Blair County Ballpark last night was Harrisburg's aggression on the base paths
Also on display was another pitiful offensive performance

In front of 4,710 fans on the nicest day of the season, the Curve bewildered the Senators 7-1 in the third game of their four-game Eastern League series

Harrisburg (3-11) managed just two hits against three Altoona (6-6) pitchers, but did increase its league-leading stolen base total to 22 with four more swipes
Unfortunately for the Senators, none of those thieves scored, as the team was 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and didn't manage a hit until Juan Melo's solo home run led off the sixth inning against reliever Chris Hernandez

The Senators, who've scored two or fewer runs in half their games, lost for the fifth time in six games and fell to 1-2 against the Curve with today's series finale slated for 3.05pm

Altoona spot starter Alay Soler (1-0), a Cuban defector who pitched for the New York Mets last year, didn't allow a hit in five shutout innings
But he walked four batters and hit another, with four of those base-runners stealing second base

Leadoff hitter Frank Diaz walked twice and stole a pair of bases for the Senators

Altoona scored five runs in five-plus innings against Harrisburg right-hander Beltran Perez (0-1), but didn't begin to put this game away until the sixth

An RBI double by David Parrish in the second and a sacrifice fly by Andrew McCutchen in the fifth handed the Curve a 2-0 lead before Melo's bomb cut the lead in half

In the bottom of the sixth, Neil Walker tripled, Randy Ruiz homered, Brett Roneberg singled and stole second, and Chris Truby smacked an RBI single to finally chase Perez, who allowed nine hits

Altoona added two runs - one earned - off John Hall with three hits and an error in the eighth

Walker and Truby both finished 3-for-4 for the Curve, with Ruiz upping his league-leading home run total to four

Notes
Harrisburg has been caught stealing just once
Senators CF Roger Bernadina, who entered in a double switch in the sixth and was 0-for-1, had his 11-game hitting streak snapped
Altoona tied a season high with 12 hits
The Curve hadn't scored off an opposing starting pitcher for more than 25 innings before Parrish's RBI double in the second

Curve manager Tim Leiper has seen a lot in his 24 seasons of professional baseball, but removing a pitcher who had a no-hitter intact, and in the fifth inning?
“It’s not a fun thing to do” Leiper said “but he understood”

Curve starter Alay Soler and another former major leaguer, infielder Chris Truby, helped Altoona to a 7-1 win Saturday night before 4,710 fans at sunny Blair County Ballpark

Soler, usually a reliever, made a spot start and filled in admirably
He walked four and hit another, but he hadn’t allowed a hit when he was lifted for a pinch hitter after reaching his pitch count of 75
Leiper was in the peculiar position of taking the ball from a guy with a no-hitter, something he hopes to avoid becoming a habit
“I wouldn’t make too many friends if I did” the manager laughed

Chris Hernandez, who relieved Soler, allowed a home run to Juan Melo leading off the sixth to end the no-hitter and shutout

Soler, Hernandez and Dave Davidson combined on a two-hitter

Soler (1-0) threw a two-hit shutout last summer against the Arizona Diamondbacks as a member of the New York Mets
He spent much of this spring training with the Mets but was released and signed with the Pirates

The Curve broke out offensively, largely due to Truby and Neil Walker

Truby, who spent parts of five seasons in the majors, scored the game’s first run when Dave Parrish doubled him home in the second inning against Harrisburg starter Beltran Perez (0-1)
Parrish ripped a 2-2 pitch high off the wall down the left field line in the second, and when the ball kicked around the fence, Truby scored from first

The run ended a drought of 25-2/3 scoreless innings off the opposition’s starting pitcher

‘‘It was about time we got to the starters’’ said Walker, who finished a homer short of the cycle and scored twice
‘‘It seemed like we’d battle out the starters and wait to get to the relievers, but then the relievers did a nice job’’

Truby, who just joined the Curve to replace injured utility man Javier Guzman, singled three times, scored twice and drove in two runs
‘‘It’s nice to get some adrenaline going and just getting out there and playing’’ said Truby, who hadn’t appeared in a game at Triple-A Indianapolis
‘‘I’m happy to be here if it means I can get some at-bats and some playing time’’

Walker, playing before family and friends on his bobblehead night, tripled to start a three-run sixth inning that helped the Curve take control at 5-1
Randy Ruiz, who has accounted for all four of Altoona’s home runs, ripped a two-run shot to highlight the sixth-inning outburst

Walker let out a hearty laugh when asked if he’d face more grief from teammates for the bobblehead or legging out a triple
‘‘Probably the bobblehead’’ he said
Hundreds of fans streamed along the sidewalks leading to the main entrances more than 90 minutes before the game, hoping to receive one of the Walker bobbleheads handed out to the first 2,000 fans
‘‘It’s fairly close’’ Walker said of its likeness
‘‘They could have cleaned it up in a couple of spots, but overall, it was good’’

So, too, was the Curve’s overall performance
Leiper called it one of the most complete games the team has played
‘‘Absolutely’’ he said
‘‘We’re a talented team, but it’s just a matter of putting it together
This was a good step’’

Game notes
Soler escaped without a run despite four of the five Senators who reached base against him stealing second - two attempts didn’t draw a throw, and at least three more attempts would have been successful if not for foul tips or balls put in play
Tonight’s starter for Harrisburg, right-hander Anastacio Martinez, spent nine days with the Curve in 2003, joining the Pirates’ organization with pitcher Brandon Lyon when pitchers Mike Gonzalez and Scott Sauerbeck were dealt to Boston - when Lyon failed his physical, the Pirates sent pitcher Jeff Suppan, Martinez and Lyon back to the Red Sox, and the Pirates settled for Gonzalez and Freddy Sanchez
The Curve took a 2-0 lead when Andrew McCutchen’s sacrifice fly scored Brandon Chaves in the fifth - Adam Boeve, in his second game back after sitting with a hip flexor, batted second
Pine-Richland, Walker’s alma mater, played Carrick earlier in the afternoon at BCB and lost, 2-1