The Result
Curve - 3 runs
to 2
The Curve - Year-to-Date
37 wins and 37
losses
Brett's Position and
the Batting Order
Did Not Play
Playing
Batting - #
Brett's at-bats
First plate appearance
Second plate appearance
Third plate appearance
Fourth plate appearance
At the end of the Game
0 hit from 0 at-bats
Heard during the game
Email from Brett
Game Reports
Neil Walker snuck a home run just over the
left field wall in the eighth inning and the Curve snuck out a
3-2 win over the Trenton Thunder in game one of a four-game series
from Blair County Ballpark on Tuesday night
With the game tied 2-2, Walker led off the eighth inning with
his 11th home run of the year to put the Curve ahead 3-2
The blast just crept out to left field off of Thunder reliever
Jeff Kennard
Kennard (1-4) was hit with the loss for Trenton
Kip Bouknight was tremendous for Altoona, but did not factor in
the decision
Bouknight turned in 7-2/3 innings of work before giving way to
Matt Peterson in the eighth
Trenton scored their only runs against Bouknight in the fourth
inning
Cody Ehlers singled in one run for Trenton and the other scored
on a Bouknight wild pitch to give Trenton a 2-0 lead
Andrew McCutchen answered for Altoona in the fourth, singling
home Walker to cut the Trenton lead to 2-1
The Curve tied the game at two with an unearned run in the seventh
inning
With runners at first and second and two outs, Jason Bowers trickled
a ball in front of the plate which was thrown away by Thunder
catcher P.J. Pilliterre allowing McCutchen to score the tying
run
Peterson (3-0) used his trademark first-to-third pick off move
to escape a jam left behind by Bouknight in the eighth, and turned
in a 1-2-3 ninth to earn the win for Altoona
Peterson entering in a non-save situation put an end to his streak
on nine-consectutive appearances in which he earned a save
Trenton starter Ian Kennedy permitted just one earned run in five
innings of work, but also received a no decision
Game two of the series is scheduled for 7.05pm on Wednesday night
RHP Luis Munoz (7-4, 3.66) will make the start for Altoona against
RHP Joba Chamberlain (2-0, 3.24) for Trenton
Neil Walker homered in the eighth inning to
help Altoona squeeze past Trenton, 3-2, on Tuesday at Blair County
Ballpark
With the score tied, 2-2, Walker led off the eighth with his 11th
homer of the season
He went 2-for-4 and scored twice
Andrew McCutchen went 3-for-4 with an RBI, a stolen base and a
run scored for the Curve (37-37)
Reliever Matt Peterson (3-0) got the win after striking out one
in 1-1/3 perfect frames
Starter Kip Bouknight gave up two runs on six hits and one walk
with four strikeouts in 7-2/3 frames
Thunder reliever Jeff Kennard (1-4) allowed two runs - one earned
- on three hits and a walk in three frames
Trenton (47-28) scored its runs in the fourth when Cody Ehlers
hit an RBI single and Andy Cannizaro came home on a wild pitch
Neil Walker's solo homer off Thunder reliever
Jeff Kennard in the 8th Inning gave the Altoona Curve a 3-2 win
over the Thunder on Tuesday night
The loss was the fourth straight for Trenton, giving them a 2-6
record on their current 11-game road trip
Trenton (47-28) took a 2-0 lead in the 4th Inning
They started the inning with three straight hits off Curve starter
Kip Bouknight, the final one being an RBI single by 1B Cody Ehlers
The second run scored on a wild pitch by Bouknight, who allowed
just two runs over 7-2/3 innings
Altoona (37-37) came back with a run in the bottom of the fourth
on an RBI single by Andrew McCutchen off Trenton starter Ian Kennedy
Kennedy allowed one run over five innings
The Curve tied the game at 2-2 with an unearned run in the 7th
Inning
After a two-out walk put runners at 1st and 2nd Base, Curve 2B
Jason Bowers hit a ball in front of home plate
C P.J. Pilittere's throw went off the glove of Ehlers allowing
the tying run to score
Then in the 8th Inning, Walker hit an opposite field homer off
Kennard leading off the inning for a 3-2 lead
Kennard (1-4) took the loss allowing two runs (one earned) in
three innings
Matt Peterson got the win with 1-1/3 innings of scoreless relief
The Thunder and Curve meet again on Wednesday at 7.05pm
Joba Chamberlain (2-0, 3.24) starts for Trenton against Altoona's
Luis Munoz (7-4, 3.66)
The Eastern League’s best team hurt itself
Tuesday night, then Neil Walker and the Curve made sure the damage
didn’t stop
Walker’s solo homer in the eighth inning was the deciding
run in a 3-2 win over Trenton before 4,938 fans at Blair County
Ballpark
If not for a crucial seventh-inning error, the Curve third baseman’s
blast would have tied the game
‘‘We were fortunate to score a run on an error’’
Walker said ‘‘but we’ll take it’’
Trenton reliever Jeff Kenard walked the No. 9 hitter, Matt Meath,
on five pitches
Jason Bowers then hit a bleeder about 20 feet up the third base
line, but Thunder catcher P.J. Pilliterre threw the ball away
at first
Andrew McCutchen, who reached on an infield single, scored from
second base to tie the game at 2-2 with two outs
To the Curve and Walker’s credit, the squad capitalized on
the miscue to claim the first game of the series
Trenton entered the night 20 games over .500 but has lost four
in a row
Kenard tried to get a 2-1 fastball past Walker, but the pitch
stayed over the middle of the plate
Walker drilled it over the wall in left, an opposite-field shot
that gave the Curve the lead
Walker, who usually bats fifth behind Steven Pearce, hit in the
No. 3 hole Tuesday
‘‘Kennard didn’t want to walk me because he didn’t
want to face Steve, so he gave a nice little cookie to me’’
Walker said
The Curve, who trailed 2-0 in the fourth, picked up a good come-from-behind
win against a Trenton club with the best team ERA (2.63) in all
of professional baseball
‘‘We’ve got seven games in 10 days against these
guys’’ Curve manager Tim Leiper said
‘‘I’ve got a feeling every game is going to be
similar to Tuesday’’
Altoona received another quality outing from ace Kip Bouknight,
and closer Matt Peterson’s ace in the hole escaped yet another
threat to preserve a 2-2 tie in the eighth
Peterson came on in relief of Bouknight with two outs and runners
at the corners
Peterson used his effective fake-to-third, throw-to-first pickoff
move to catch Brett Gardner between first and second
Gardner was chased attempting to steal second by Pearce
The Curve first baseman then threw to third to nail Aarom Baldiris,
who had started toward the plate and was tagged out by Walker
trying to get back to third
‘‘Pearcie did a really nice job on the rundown’’
Leiper said
‘‘If you get out of control, that runner scores
He did a very nice job of reading that runner at third base’’
Peterson (3-0) then pitched a perfect ninth to earn the win
Bouknight allowed only two runs on six hits in 7-2/3 innings,
a strong bounce-back performance after Erie lit him up for seven
runs in just two innings his last start
Outside of the fourth inning, when Trenton had four baserunners
and scored twice, the Thunder did little damage against Bouknight
He retired the side in order in six innings
‘‘When you get a chance to pitch against a first-place
team, you definitely want to go out and give your best’’
Bouknight said
Heralded Trenton starter Ian Kennedy worked just five innings,
giving up a run on three hits while throwing 91 pitches
Kennedy received a $2.25 million signing bonus as the 21st overall
selection in 2006, the fourth-most the Yankees have ever paid
for a draft pick
‘‘Even though he got a lot of us out, for the most part
it was on 2-2, 3-2 counts and a lot of foul balls’’
Walker said
McCutchen had three hits and drove in Walker in the fourth inning
to trim the Curve’s deficit to 2-1
‘‘Wins are big now, period’’ Leiper said
‘‘We prepared a lot for these guys and had a pretty
good game plan’’