The Result
Defenders - 4 runs to 1

The Curve - Year-to-Date
32 wins and 31 losses

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
Playing - Leftfield
Batting - #3

Brett's at-bats
First plate appearance
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - two down
Ball - low
Ball - downstairs
Called strike
Ball - outside
Foul ball - on the rightside
"Here comes the 3ball-2strike pitch ... and it's a chopping ball to first base and it's collected by the fielder who takes it to the base himself for the final out of the innings"
Ground out to first base - PO3
Second plate appearance
Righthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
Ball - breaking ball
Called strike - "That off speed pitch loops in for a called strike"
Ball - wide
"There's a hot shot grounder down the line to first base ... and it's taken by a spinning first-baseman who then takes it to the bag himself for the first out of the innings ... that is the second time Brett has been put out by the first-baseman unassisted ... that was well hit by Brett and he was robbed of extra bases by an outstanding play"
Ground out to first base - PO3
Third plate appearance
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - one down
"Brett tags that pitch sharply into rightfield ... it is hit deep but the Defenders had Roneberg played perfectly and the fielder takes a few steps back and makes to catch"
Fly out to rightfield - F9
Fourth plate appearance
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - two down
Called strike - breaking ball
Ball
Foul ball - "Stung but foul down the first base line"
"Roneberg swing and misses and strikes out to end the innings"
Strike out

At the end of the Game
0 hit from 4 at-bats - 1 x strike out

Heard during the game

Email from Brett

Game Reports

Connecticut right-hander Dave McKae cooled off the previously red-hot Curve offense as the Defenders took game of a three-game series, 4-1, Friday night at Blair County Ballpark

Making just his third start at the double-A level, McKae was masterful, allowing just one unearned run and six hits over eight innings of work

The loss snapped the Curve's eight-game home-winning streak one shy of the franchise record of nine games

Curve starter Luis Munoz also pitched well, but ran into trouble in the third inning
In a scoreless ballgame, Eugenio Velez led off with a single
Trey Webb singled behind him to put runners on the corners and Velez scored on a fielders choice to make it 1-0
Steve Holm followed with a single to put two aboard
Both men moved up on a wild pitch from Munoz and scored on a single for Simon Klink to increase the Defenders' lead to 3-0

The Curve scored an unearned run in the bottom of the inning as Brian Peterson sent a ball back to the mound that was thrown away by McKae allowing Peterson to advance all the way to third base
He scored from there on a Brandon Chaves single
The single for Chaves extended his season-high hit streak to 10 games and pulled the Curve within two runs at 3-1

The Defenders got the run back in the fourth as Jake Wald belted a Munoz offering over the center field wall for a solo home run and a 4-1 lead

The score held as Munoz settled in and McKae kept the Curve off balance through the eighth inning

McKae handed the ball to closer Brian Anderson in the ninth, and the right-hander turned in a 1-2-3 inning for his 12th save of the season

Munoz (6-4) was hit with the loss for Altoona

Game two of the series is slated for Saturday night at 7.05pm
RHP Dewon Brazelton will make his Curve debut and the start for Altoona against RHP Garrett Brosius (1-7, 3.04) for Connecticut

Dave McKae pitched eight strong innings to lead visiting Connecticut past Altoona, 4-1, on Friday

McKae (2-0) allowed an unearned run on six hits while striking out four to lower his ERA to 0.39 after three starts
Since joining the Defenders at the beginning of the month, he has given up just one earned run in 23 innings
The 25-year-old right-hander went 5-1 with a 1.93 ERA in 11 starts for Class A Advanced San Jose

Brian Anderson worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 12th save

Simon Klink went 2-for-4 with an RBI single in the third and Jake Wald hit a solo homer, his third, in the fourth for the Defenders (25-39), who snapped a four-game losing streak

Altoona starter Luis Munoz (6-4) surrendered four runs on eight hits in seven innings, striking out three and walking one

Brian Peterson scored the lone run for the Curve (32-31) on Brandon Chaves' single in the third

Connecticut pitcher Dave McKae worked with another teammate of his to write a book on the art of pitching
His lesson Friday night was more hands-on

McKae ended the Curve’s eight-game home winning streak as the Defenders topped Altoona, 4-1, before 5,140 fans at Blair County Ballpark

The 2001 Curve squad won nine in a row at BCB, the best mark in franchise history

McKae wrote ‘‘In Pursuit of Pitching Perfection’’ with Nick Pereira, and the book went on sale before the season
The book’s Web site is pitchingperfection.com
‘‘We don’t give away secrets’’ McKae was quick to point out
‘‘It’s basic things most pitchers should follow’’

McKae (2-0) followed those things Friday, scattering six singles and allowing just one unearned run with four strikeouts and no walks over eight innings
He baffled a Curve lineup that had averaged 6.8 runs in its past 17 games

‘‘That was not an easy task’’ Curve manager Tim Leiper said
‘‘He did a heck of a job’’

McKae, a 25-year-old non-drafted free agent, joined Connecticut at the beginning of the month
The right-hander went 5-1 with a 1.93 ERA in 11 starts at Single-A San Jose and has been even more dominant in three starts for the Defenders, giving up just one earned run in 23 innings (0.39 ERA)

‘‘The way things have been going since I’ve been here, I needed to continue to throw the same way and keep the same approach’’ McKae said
‘‘It’s the same game, just maybe slightly better hitters’’

McKae struggled to locate his offspeed stuff most of the night and estimated 70 of his 102 pitches were fastballs
He worked down in the zone to induce 11 groundball outs

‘‘It shows you don’t have to be overpowering’’ Leiper said ‘‘but if you put the ball down in the zone and just command the lower half of the strike zone, you’re going to get a lot of groundballs and a lot of outs’’

The Curve scraped together their only run in the third when Brian Peterson hit a bleeder to McKae, who promptly bounced the throw to first and into foul territory
Peterson advanced to third and scored on a Brandon Chaves single, pulling the Curve within 3-1

Connecticut’s Jake Wald homered to the left of the batter’s eye in center field for a 4-1 lead in the fourth inning

Any chance of that lead diminishing ended when pinch-hitter Taber Lee lined into a double play in the seventh
The Curve had Peterson at second and Adam Boeve at third, but Peterson was doubled off

‘‘We had one chance to score and didn’t take advantage of it’’ Leiper said
‘‘It’s unfortunate, but at the same time, there’s nothing to hang your head about’’

Altoona’s frustrations came to a head in the eighth inning
Hitting coach Brandon Moore was ejected, and Andrew McCutchen snapped his bat on home plate after fouling out
McCutchen then tossed his bat into the dugout

Curve starter Luis Munoz (6-4) gave up four runs on eight hits over seven innings, though he did get into a groove after the Defenders nicked him for three runs in the third

If not for a disputed call, the damage against Munoz in the third may have been minimal
John Bowker hit what looked to be a double play ball, but he beat second baseman Jason Bowers’ throw to first
Had Bowker been called out, the bases would have been empty with two outs and one run across
Instead, Connecticut added two more runs
Sam Klink singled with runners on second and third, then got caught in a rundown between first and second long enough to let Steve Holm score

‘‘He kept his composure’’ pitching coach Ray Searage said of Munoz
‘‘Yeah, he was a little upset, but he went right back to work’’

Brian Anderson pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 12th save

The Defenders traveled to Pennsylvania on Friday June 15 to start a three game set with the Altoona Curve

Game 1 of the series was kind to the Defenders as Dave McKae was dynamite for his third start with Connecticut, leading them to a 4-1 victory, snapping a four game losing streak

The Defenders struck first for the third straight game

This time it was in the top of the third inning as 2B Eugenio Velez led off with a single
After OF Trey Webb followed with a single to right field, OF John Bowker grounded into a fielder’s choice, but Velez came down the line to score the first run of the game
C Steve Holm followed with a single to center and during 3B Simon Klink’s at bat, a wild pitch allowed Bowker and Holm to advance to second and third base
Klink stepped back in the box and slapped a single to right field to score Bowker for the second run
On the play Klink rounded first and headed for second and got caught in a run down, but kept the defense occupied long enough for Holm to score on the play
At the end of the frame, Defenders led 3-0

The Curve responded in the bottom of the inning
Pitcher Dave McKae fielded a grounder by the leadoff batter C Brian Peterson and his low throw to first base got past Pat Dobson, allowing Peterson to reach second base
SS Brandon Chaves followed with a single to score Peterson and cut the lead to 3-1

The Defenders got that run back in the top of the fourth inning with a long ball to straightaway center field off the bat of SS Jake Wald, his third home run of the season
The homer extended the Defender lead to 3 runs, 4-1 and that’s how it would remain

Dave McKae continued his excellent performance on the mound and allowed just 2 runners to advance beyond second from the fourth inning through the eighth inning

Brian Anderson came on in the ninth and set down the Curve side in order to solidify the 4-1 Defender victory

Luis Munoz (L, 6-4) dropped his fourth game of the season despite looking good at times throughout the game
He went 7 innings, surrendered 4 runs, 8 hits, walked 1 and struck out 3 batters

Dave McKae pitched 8 strong innings, giving up 1 unearned run, scattering 6 hits and striking out 4 batters

Brian Anderson looked great in a 1-2-3 ninth inning to record his 12 save of the season and striking out a batter

McKae has still not walked a batter since joining the Defenders

Simon Klink went 2 for 4 in the game with an RBI and John Bowker went 1 for 3 with an RBI for the Defenders in the win

The Defenders look to make it 2 in a row in game two of the series starting at 7.05pm on Saturday June 16