The Result
Curve - 5 runs
to 4
The Curve - Year-to-Date
40 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
The Curve built a 5-1 lead and hung on to win,
5-4, to complete a sweep of the Trenton Thunder in a four-game
series at Blair County Ballpark
Yoslan Herrera (3-5) was tremendous for the Curve, earning the
win after turning in six innings and allowing just one run on
two hits
Things got more interesting following his departure
Chris Hernandez entered for Altoona and promptly gave up a lead
off double to Juan Miranda
Matt Carson followed with an RBI triple off the wall in right
field to cut the lead to 5-2
A batter later, P.J. Pilliterre lifted a sacrifice fly to left
field to score Carson and draw Trenton within two runs
The comeback continued against Hernandez in the eighth as Brett
Gardner singled with one out
Andy Cannizaro followed with a ground ball to first base which
was misplayed by Steven Pearce
The Curve called on closer Matt Peterson, but Cody Ehlers singled
in Gardner to cut the lead to one at 5-4
Peterson then hit Miranda to load the bases but struck out both
Carson and Colin Curtis to end the threat and preserve the lead
Peterson struck out two and retired the side in the ninth to earn
his league-leading 17th save of the season
The Curve got to Trenton starter Jeff Marquez in the second inning
Pearce was again the catalyst, leading off the inning with a single
He advanced to third on a double to left field by Adam Boeve and
scored the game's first run on an Andrew McCutchen infield single
Jason Delaney followed with a sacrifice fly to center field to
score Boeve for a 2-0 Curve lead
The Thunder got a run back in the fifth as Herrera walked Miranda
to lead off the inning
After Carson flew out to left field, Curtis singled to put runners
at the corners
Pilliterre followed with a sacrifice fly to right field to cut
the lead to 2-1
The Curve response came immediately in the bottom of the inning
With two outs, Neil Walker singled and Pearce followed with mammoth
blast to left field to stretch the lead to 4-1
Pearce accumulated seven RBI in the series and now has 34 in the
month of June
Marquez (8-5) allowed four earned runs in five innings to take
the loss for Trenton, who have now lost a season-high seven consecutive
games
With the win the Curve also laid claim to the season series with
Trenton, which will conclude with a three-game series in Trenton
beginning on Wednesday
The Curve will conclude their eight-game homestand with a four-game
series with the Bowie Baysox
The series will begin on Saturday night at 7.05pm
LHP Josh Shortslef (2-7, 4.13) will make the start for the Curve
against RHP Radhames Liz (5-4, 3.95) for Bowie
The BCB gates will open early for the ballgame at 5.30pm
Yoslan Herrera allowed one run over six innings
and got a two-run homer from Steven Pearce to lead Altoona to
a 5-4 win over the Thunder and a sweep of the four-game series
The loss was the seventh in a row for Trenton - their longest
loosing streak of the season
Altoona (40-37) took a 2-0 lead in the 2nd Inning off Trenton
starter Jeff Marquez on a infield RBI hit by CF Andrew McCutchen
and a sacrifice fly from DH Jason Delaney
They took a 4-0 lead in the 5th Inning on a two-run homer by Pearce,
his 11th with the Curve
Marquez (8-5) took the loss allowing four runs and nine hits over
five innings
He walked one and struck out one
Curve starter Yoslan Herrera kept Trenton off balance allowing
just one run over six innings for the win
Trenton (47-31) closed to within 5-3 in the 7th Inning on an RBI
triple by RF Matt Carson and the second sacrifice fly on the night
by C P.J. Pilittere
The Thunder then got an RBI single by 1B Cody Ehlers in the 8th
Inning to make it a 5-4 game
And Trenton loaded the bases later in the inning, but Curve closer
Matt Peterson struck out Carson and LF Colin Curtis to get out
of the jam
Peterson followed with a scoreless 9th Inning for his 17th save
Trenton heads home after theit 12-day road trip to begin a series
with Harrisburg on Saturday night
First pitch is at 7.05pm
Alan Horne (7-3, 2.39) starts for Trenton against Harrisburg's
Mike O'Connor (1-0, 3.38)
Notes
Ehlers extended his hitting streak to seven games and has reached
base in 18 straight games after his hit in the 8th Inning
Trenton has now lost eight straight games at Blair County Ballpark
over the last two years - the Thunder have lost 17 of 19 games
in Altoona since becoming a Yankees affiliate in 2003
Matt Peterson threw fastball after fastball
Friday night, wondering which one would be good enough to escape
a dangerous eighth inning
Five two-strike fastballs later, he finally found the one
Peterson struck out Colin Curtis to end a bases-loaded threat,
then pitched a flawless ninth inning to save a 5-4 win over Trenton
before 4,885 fans at Blair County Ballpark
Altoona swept the Thunder, the Eastern League’s best team,
and has won 17 of 19 against Trenton at BCB since 2003
The squad also improved to a season-best three games over .500
The Curve were 19-16 after winning the first game of a doubleheader
against Portland May 17, but lost the second game
Friday was the first time all season Altoona ended the night three
games over
Curtis worked a 2-2 count before fouling off four consecutive
heaters
The next pitch, though, nicked the outside corner and caught Curtis
looking
‘‘I needed to get him’’ Peterson said
‘‘We kept throwing fastballs away, fastballs in, and
he kept fouling them off
I guess he was maybe sitting on an off-speed pitch’’
Peterson relieved Chris Hernandez with one out but loaded the
bases on a single and hit by pitch
He tied Matt Carson up on a fastball on the inside corner, then
caught Curtis napping as he left the bases juiced
‘‘It was scary’’ Curve manager Tim Leiper
said of the threat
‘‘At the same time, you turn on the game, look at the
computer and feel pretty good about the result’’
Peterson pumped his fists, then enjoyed a smoother ninth inning
Pinch hitter Noah Hall flailed at a 67 mph curveball down and
away to finish off the Thunder
Peterson struck out four in 1-2/3 innings, saved his 17th game
and dipped his ERA to a dominating 1.16
Hernandez let Trenton back into the game with three runs - two
earned - in 1-1/3 innings to make it a 5-4 game
Yoslan Herrera turned in the fourth consecutive strong performance
from Curve starters
Herrera allowed only two hits and one run in his six innings,
and Altoona starters allowed only four runs in 25-2/3 frames against
Trenton in the series
The starters have also won three games in a row, remarkably, for
the first time all season
‘‘You realize we don’t have to be great to win
games’’ Leiper said
‘‘We just have to be good enough and keep the ball down
We’ve preached this all year long’’
Herrera, who threw 36 pitches and faced the minimum through four
innings Friday, has allowed five runs in 22 frames since skipping
a start
All three of his wins have come in that span
Equally impressive as Herrera’s pitching was left fielder
Vic Buttler’s defense
Buttler leaped above the wall to rob Andy Cannizaro of a homer
in the first inning, then made a jumping catch and crashed into
the wall to prevent Matt Carson from an extra-base hit in the
fifth
‘‘Sometimes you’re not going to be able to do it
on the offensive side of the ball’’ Buttler, 0-for-4,
said
‘‘You’ve got to do what it takes to win’’
Steven Pearce hit another homer, his 11th since joining the Curve
Pearce saw three fastballs on the inside corner in the first three
games of the series
He hit one over the fence, smoked another off the left-field wall
and flew out at the warning track
Thunder starter Jeff Marquez, apparently, didn’t take notice
He threw a heater on the inside corner, which Pearce promptly
turned on and smacked over the bleachers in left as Altoona took
a 4-1 lead in the fifth inning
‘‘I was a little bit surprised’’ Pearce said
‘‘I was also ready for it’’
Newcomer Jason Delaney had his first Double-A RBI - a sacrifice
fly to center field in the second inning that gave the Curve a
2-0 lead - and scored the eventual game-winning run
He walked in the sixth, then scored on shortstop Cannizaro’s
fielding error as Altoona went up, 5-1, in the sixth, before hanging
on for the sweep
Marquez (8-5) allowed four runs on nine hits in five innings