The Result
Baysox - 7 runs
to 2
The Curve - Year-to-Date
40 wins and 38
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
Bowie erased a 2-0 Curve lead with runs in
four consecutive innings and won going away, 7-2, in the opener
of a four-game series at Blair County Ballpark on Saturday night
8,545, the largest crowd of the season, watched as the Curve jumped
out to a 2-0 lead in the fifth inning
Bowie starter Radhames Liz had been cruising, but he walked both
Andrew McCutchen and Jason Delaney to start the inning
Dave Parrish sacrificed the runners to second and third and Taber
Lee broke a scoreless tie with a ground out to second base that
allowed McCutchen to score
Brandon Chaves followed with an RBI single to plate Delaney for
the 2-0 lead
Curve starter Josh Shortslef was tremendous for Altoona
Shortslef threw six innings and allowed just one run on four hits
That run was a sole home run for Matt Cepicky in the sixth that
cut the Curve lead to 2-1
Wardell Starling relieved Shortslef to begin the seventh inning
and promptly gave up the lead
Starling's first pitch was belted over the wall in left-center
field by Luis Jimenez to tie the game, 2-2
The go-ahead run also was charged to Starling as the Baysox went
ahead in the eighth
Paco Figueroa singled to start the inning and was sacrificed to
second
Starling departed in favor of Dave Davidson who allowed Figueroa
to swipe third base
He scored the eventual winning run from there on a sacrifice fly
to right field from Cepicky
Starling (2-6) was tagged with the loss after allowing two runs
in 1-1/3 innings of relief
Baysox reliever Nick McCurdy earned the win by tossing two scoreless
innings of relief in the seventh and eighth
Figueroa singled home two insurance runs in the top of the ninth
inning and Bryan Bass doubled home two more as the Baysox broke
open the once tight game and capped the scoring, 7-2
The loss snapped the Curve's four-game winning streak and marked
the eighth victory for Bowie in nine contests at Blair County
Ballpark in 2007
Game two of the series is scheduled for 6.05pm on Sunday night
RHP Justin Vaclavik (2-5, 8.62) will make the start for Altoona
against RHP Fredy Deza (3-5, 5.53) for Bowie
Bowie’s pitching staff accomplished something
the best in the Eastern League couldn’t
Baysox starter Radhames Liz held the Curve to four hits in six
innings, then Bowie scored five runs in the last two innings to
top Altoona, 7-2, Saturday at Blair County Ballpark
A season-best 8,545 fans watched the effort
Altoona swept Trenton and scored 22 runs in four games against
the best pitching staff in the circuit, but managed little against
Liz’s mid-90s fastball and filthy slider
If not for a shaky Curve bullpen, the exceptional start may not
have been enough
Altoona starter Josh Shortslef settled down to limit Bowie to
one run in six innings, and he left the game in the hands of the
relievers with a 2-1 lead
It took the bullpen all of one pitch to make that slight edge
disappear
Wardell Starling came on in the seventh and gave up a moon shot
to Luis Jimenez to left-center to tie the game at 2-2
Starling’s offering was belt-high, out over the plate, and
Jimenez hammered it opposite field for his eighth homer
‘‘Tip your hat to him’’ Starling said
‘‘He jumped on the first pitch
A lot of guys take the first one they see’’
Starling then threw a ball to Ryan Hubele, and having trouble
landing in front of the mound, pointed out the problem
After a brief meeting with home plate umpire Cory Blaser and manager
Tim Leiper, the grounds screw spent four minutes working on the
mound
‘‘I’m not going to say the mound was the reason
for the homer" Starling said
‘‘I wasn’t as balanced as I wanted to be
The pitch was up, and the mound could have been the result
I don’t know 100 percent’’
Starling (2-6) allowed two runs on two hits in 1-1/3 innings,
but the bullpen’s problems had only started
Dave Davidson followed and gave up three runs in 1-1/3 frames
to help Bowie take a 6-2 lead
The lefty retired the first two he faced in the ninth, when it
was still a 3-2 ballgame
But Bowie had back-to-back singles and a walk to load the bases
Enter Jason Roach
Bowie’s Paco Figueroa and Bryan Bass followed with consecutive
two-out, two-run singles to take a 7-2 lead amidst boo birds and
departures from the 11th-best crowd in franchise history
Roach was charged with one run in 1/3 of an inning
The final line for the bullpen - three innings, six hits and six
earned runs
Matt Peterson’s sparkling 1.16 ERA aside, no other reliever
is below 4.23
‘‘Somebody’s going to have to step up’’
Leiper said
‘‘We’ve got to get someone who can bridge us a
little bit to Chris Hernandez and Peterson
I’m sure that guy’s there’’
Bowie went up for good on Matt Cepicky’s sacrifice fly in
the eighth to take a 3-2 lead
Shortslef started rough, throwing seven of his first nine pitches
for balls to prompt pitching coach Ray Searage’s jog to the
mound
The lefty didn’t settle in immediately - he walked three
of his first seven - but settled into a nice groove
He allowed only two runners his final four innings
‘‘The last four innings was really the Shortslef that
we know’’ Leiper said
‘‘Hopefully he knows that and will come out the first
inning the next time and do the same thing’’
Shortslef worked aggressively and down in the zone, inducing 11
groundball outs to three outs in the air
‘‘That’s the guy that got himself where he is’’
Leiper said
Liz struck out six and was touched up for two runs
If not for several spectacular plays behind him, the damage would
have been worse
Bowie shortstop Blake Davis went behind second base to throw out
Adam Boeve and prevent Steven Pearce from scoring in the sixth
Cepicky, the left fielder, then dove to catch Andrew McCutchen’s
sinking liner to keep it a 2-1 game
Davis also came through big in the eighth, when Bowie led 3-2,
by making a diving catch over his shoulder in shallow left field
to rob Vic Buttler
‘‘Sometimes the ball just doesn’t fall the way
you want it to fall’’ Buttler said
‘‘They made some great defensive plays’’
Altoona’s runs scored on Taber Lee’s groundout and Brandon
Chaves’ single as the Curve took a 2-0 lead in the fifth
Baysox reliever Nick McCurdy (1-1) allowed only one hit and one
walk in three innings
Notes - Bowers okay
Curve second baseman Jason Bowers was scratched from the starting
lineup after walking into a Brandon Chaves swing during batting
practice Saturday
Bowers went to the hospital after walking off the field on his
own power
Bowers, who was cleared to play, was in the clubhouse after the
game
He’s sporting a nasty bruise and some swelling under his
eye