The Result
Curve - 8 runs to 7

The Curve - Year-to-Date
33 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
Called strike
Foul ball - back
"The 0ball-2strike pitch is swung on and missed ... Roneberg thinks he got a piece of that but the catcher throws on to first base to complete the out and Brett strikes out to end the innings"
Strike out
Second plate appearance
Righthanded pitcher
Runners at first and second base - two down
Foul ball
Ball - low and outside
Ball - outside
"This ball is chopped on the rightside and this will end the innings ... the second-baseman gathers the ball and throws on to first base for the final out"
Ground out to second base - 4 to 3
Third plate appearance
Righthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
----Brett Roneberg flies out to centerfielder Trey Webb
----Steven Pearce flies out to centerfielder Trey Webb
----Neil Walker walks
----Adam Boeve grounds into a force out - third baseman Simon Klink to second baseman Eugenio Velez
--------Neil Walker out at second
Fly out to centrefield - F8
Fourth plate appearance
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - none down
----Pitcher Change - Jeff Petersen replaces Garrett Broshuis, batting ninth
----Andrew McCutchen walks
----Brett Roneberg grounds out - second baseman Eugenio Velez to first baseman Pat Dobson
--------Andrew McCutchen to second
----Steven Pearce singles on a ground ball to centerfielder Trey Webb
--------Andrew McCutchen scores
----Neil Walker walks
--------Steven Pearce to second
----Adam Boeve homers on a fly ball to left field
--------Steven Pearce scores
--------Neil Walker scores
----Brian Peterson flies out to centerfielder Trey Webb
----Brandon Chaves walks
----Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Alex Fernandez replaces Jason Roach
----Alex Fernandez grounds out - third baseman Simon Klink to first baseman Pat Dobson
Ground out to second base - 4 to 3
Fifth plate appearance
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - two down
----Pitcher Change - Yosandy Ibanez replaces Jeff Petersen, batting ninth
----Jason Bowers grounds out - pitcher Yosandy Ibanez to first baseman Pat Dobson
----Andrew McCutchen singles on a ground ball to centerfielder Trey Webb
----Andrew McCutchen out at second - center fielder Trey Webb to shortstop Jake Wald
----Brett Roneberg lines out to shortstop Jake Wald
Line out to shortstop - F6

At the end of the Game
0 hit from 5 at-bats - 1 x strike out

Heard during the game

Email from Brett

Game Reports

The Defenders nearly erased an eight-run deficit, but their comeback bid came up short as Matt Peterson closed out an 8-7 Curve win in game two of a three-game series at Blair County Ballpark

Trailing 8-0, the Defenders plated two runs off of Wardell Starling in the eighth inning to make it an 8-2 ballgame

Things got a lot more interesting than the Curve would have like in the ninth inning
Alay Soler came on for Altoona and allowed five consecutive singles to the Defenders which amounted to three runs and an 8-5 score
Peterson, the Curve's closer, was then called in for an unexpected save opportunity
With the tying run at the plate, Peterson struck out Steve Holm for the first out of the inning, but walked Simon Klink to load the bases
Peterson then struck out Patrick Dobson, but Carlos Sosa cracked a two-run single to left-center field and it was a one run ballgame at 8-7
However, Peterson was able to induce a pop fly off the bat of Jake Wald to end the ballgame

Peterson earned his 13th save of the season

Prior to the late-inning uprising by the Defenders, the Curve had received solid pitching while jumping out to a big lead through seven innings

Dewon Brazelton made his much anticipated Curve debut and turned in four scoreless innings, permitting just three hits

Brazelton was ineligible for the win however, which instead went to Jason Roach (4-1) who threw three scoreless innings of relief to claim the victory

The Curve used five hits and a costly Defenders' error to get out to a 4-0 lead in the third inning
Neil Walker singled off of Defenders' starter Garrett Broshuis with one out and advanced to third on a double for Adam Boeve
They both scored as Brian Peterson sent a grounder to second that skipped through the legs of Eugenio Velez into right field
A batter later Jason Bowers singled to open the door for Andrew McCutchen who drove in two runs with a single

In the seventh inning, Altoona got after Defenders' reliever Jeff Peterson
McCutchen walked to start the inning and advanced to second base on a ground out by Brett Roneberg
Steven Pearce singled in McCutchen and was pushed to second as Peterson walked Walker
Boeve followed with a three-run blast to left field to seemingly put the game away at 8-0

Broshuis (1-8) was hit with his eighth loss of the season

Had the Defenders come all the way back, it would have been the largest blown lead in Curve franchise history

The series will be decided in game three on Sunday at 6.05pm
RHP Yoslan Herrera (1-4, 5.76) will make the start for Altoona against RHP Brooks McNiven (2-3, 3.72) for Connecticut

Adam Boeve homered and drove in three runs as Altoona hung on for an 8-7 triumph over visiting Connecticut on Saturday

Boeve, who went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, cracked a three-run homer, his eighth, in the seventh inning to give the Curve (33-31) an 8-0 lead
He has hit safely in 41 of his last 46 games

Andrew McCutchen was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored and Neil Walker scored twice for Altoona

Eugenio Velez went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, while John Bowker and Carlos Sosa each had two hits and two RBIs for the Defenders (25-40), who scored two runs in the eighth and five in the ninth

Bowker's two-run single in the ninth chased reliever Alay Soler, who gave up hits to each of the five batters he faced

Matt Peterson got the final three outs, striking out two, for his 13th save to move within one of Bowie's Jim Hoey for the Eastern League lead
Peterson walked one and gave up a two-run single to Sosa, but got Jake Wald to pop out with runners on first and second to end the game

Reliever Jason Roach (4-1) allowed three hits, walked one and struck out one in three scoreless innings for the win

Starter Dewon Brazelton made his season debut with Altoona on his 27th birthday and yielded three hits with a walk and a strikeout over four frames
The third overall pick in the 2001 First-Year Player Draft, Brazelton was 0-4 with a 7.11 ERA in four starts for Triple-A Omaha

Defenders starter Garrett Broshuis (1-8) was tagged for four runs - two earned - on eight hits and three walks and struck out one in six innings
He has lost his last four decisions and is winless since May 14

After a slow start to game two of a three game set with the Altoona Curve in Pennsylvania, the Defenders stormed back in the final two innings to make it a nail biter
Unfortunately, the rally came up just short and the Curve evened up the series, barely holding on for a 8-7 victory

The Curve struck first against starter Garrett Broshuis, putting up 4 runs in the bottom of the second
With runners at second and third, C Brian Peterson grounded a ball to 2B Eugenio Velez that trickled under his glove and into right field for an error, scoring 3B Neil Walker and OF Adam Boeve
2B Jason Bowers and OF Andrew McCutchen followed with back-to-back RBI singles to stake the Curve to an early 4-0 lead

After four scoreless innings, the Curve put 4 more runs on the board in the bottom of the seventh inning against reliever Jeff Peterson
McCutchen led off the inning with a walk and he’d come around to score on a single by 1B Steven Pearce
1B Neil Walker followed with a walk and Boeve jacked one to deep left field for a 3-run HR (8) to give the Curve a commanding 8-0 lead

The Defenders finally got on the board in the eighth inning
An RBI groundout by 3B Simon Klink and an RBI single by 1B Pat Dobson cut the Curve lead to 6 runs, 8-2

A scoreless bottom of the frame put the Defenders in the final at bats still trailing by 6 runs and reliever Alay Soler on the mound

The Defenders started off the inning with six straight singles to start the inning, including an RBI knock by OF Trey Webb and 2-run hit by OF John Bowker
They wouldn’t be done there
After a Steve Holm strikeout, Klink walked and Dobson struck out swinging
But OF Carlos Sosa delivered a 2-run single to cut the lead to 8-7 and advance the tying run into scoring position
But with Klink at second base and Sosa on first, SS Jake Wald popped a 3-1 pitch on the infield and 2B Jason Bowers settled under and made the catch to end the improbably comeback effort and seal the Curve victory
The Curve narrowly avoided a colossal meltdown holding on for the 8-7 victory

Starter Garrett Broshuis (L, 1-8) absorbed his eight loss of the season after pitching 6 innings, surrendering 4 runs (2 earned), 8 hits, 3 walks, and striking out a batter

Roach (W, 4-1) picked up his fourth win of the season in relief, pitching 3 shutout innings, scattering 3 hits, walking 1 and striking out a batter

Matt Peterson (S, 13) tallied his thirteenth save of the year in the ninth, giving up just 1 hit, walking 1 and striking out 2 batters

The Defenders missed tying a season high in hits with 15 on the evening

John Bowker went 2 for 4 with a walk, 2 RBI and a run scored

Carlos Sosa went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI and a walk

The Defenders six straight hits were the most consecutive hits they strung together in any inning this season

Dewon Brazelton turned in the highlight of the evening Saturday for the Curve, and it had nothing to do with his arm
The former major leaguer was solid in his first mound appearance in nearly two months as he tossed four shutout innings
The most interesting part of his night, though, occurred on the basepaths

‘‘Running through a stop sign, head-first sliding into home like that, that was definitely impressive’’ teammate Adam Boeve said with a laugh after the Curve held on for an 8-7 win over Connecticut before 6,779 fans at Blair County Ballpark

Altoona built an 8-0 lead behind a pair of four-run innings, only to see the Defenders score twice in the eighth and five times in the ninth
Connecticut had the tying run at second base with two outs in the ninth before Matt Peterson finally slammed the door for his 13th save

Brazelton, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2001 draft who had some rocky times in the big leagues with the Devil Rays and Padres, was scheduled to go just three innings
He ended up lasting four, allowing three hits with one strikeout and one walk on his 27th birthday

He also celebrated the birthday by providing one of the season’s more comical moments in the second inning
‘‘It was a horrifying 15 seconds for me, to be honest with you’’ Curve manager Tim Leiper joked afterward
Brazelton reached base on a fielder’s choice and was on second when Andrew McCutchen smacked a single up the middle
A large man at 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, Brazelton didn’t exactly look like Chris Duffy as he rumbled to third base
Leiper threw up his right hand as a stop sign, but Brazelton kept on chugging
Luckily for him and the Curve, center fielder Trey Webb’s throw to the plate had little on it, allowing Brazelton to score for a 4-0 lead
He didn’t just score, though
The big fellow added some flare by sliding in head first

Asked what was more impressive, Brazelton’s pitching or the slide, Boeve didn’t hesitate
‘‘Oh, the head-first slide, definitely’’ he said

Brazelton wasn’t available for comment after the game, his first since April 23 when he was in Triple-A with the Royals

Boeve admitted to being a little curious watching Brazelton’s return, and it was hard not to be given the pitcher’s history
‘‘I was definitely impressed the way he came out and threw after the time off’’ said Boeve, whose three-run homer in the seventh made it 8-0

‘‘Great command, good changeup, did everything well’’ Leiper said
‘‘I was real happy’’

Catcher Brian Peterson liked what he saw and noted he has some history with Brazelton
‘‘I caught him nine years ago’’ Peterson said
‘‘We were in the Cape Cod League together, and he was two inches shorter and 50 pounds lighter
He’s progressed over the years
I know he hasn’t had a great career numbers-wise in the big leagues, but he’s got good stuff
I think tonight was a good confidence booster for him to get him back in the game on a positive note’’

Brazelton’s fastball stayed in only the 82-86 mph range, but he was effective because he mixed things up and threw strikes

‘‘His location was good, down in the zone’’ Leiper said
‘‘We preach and talk about every night if you’re down in the zone, you’re going to have success’’

Jason Roach (4-1) came on for Brazelton in the fifth and worked three shutout innings for the win

Defenders starter Garrett Broshuis (1-8) allowed four runs - two earned - in six innings for the loss

Connecticut scored twice off Wardell Starling in the eighth and collected five hits on Alay Soler’s 12 pitches to start the ninth-inning rally
Matt Peterson came in with runners at the corners, no outs and an 8-5 lead
He allowed two inherited runners to score on Carlos Sosa’s single but got Jake Wald to pop out to end the threat
The ending wasn’t pretty as the bullpen nearly blew it, but Leiper didn’t seem concerned
‘‘A win’s a win’’ he said

News and Notes
Curve reliever Mike Nannini was promoted to Triple-A Indianapolis to clear a roster spot for Brazelton - Nannini was 1-1 with a 4.95 ERA in 14 outings
SS Brandon Chaves went 2-for-2 to run his hitting streak to 11 games and raise his average to .297
Saturday also was Curve GM Todd Parnell’s birthday - he’s 41
Curve trainer Thomas Pribyl has returned after missing a few weeks for medical reasons
Connecticut had 15 hits, three by Velez and two apiece from four others