The Altoona Curve will begin a seven-game, six-day homestand on Tuesday, July 31st at 7.05pm
The homestand will open with a four-game series against Southern Division rival Reading and conclude with a three-game series against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats
The series against the Fisher Cats marks New Hampshire's only visit to Blair County Ballpark in 2007

---The homestand will open on Tuesday, July 31st at 7.05pm with the Curve's nationally renowned Awful Night
Awful Night V "Stick a Spork in it" will feature an awful giveaway to the first 555 fans and will highlight all things awful throughout the evening
The Curve have received recognition throughout minor league baseball for their innovation and creativity in the creation of Awful Nights I-IV

On Tuesday morning, the Curve will hold Breakfast at the Ballpark from 6.00am to 9.00am on the main ticket plaza at BCB
The breakfast, which will feature Uncle Charley's Sausage, is free and open to the public
Donations will be accepted to benefit the Mike Coolbaugh Memorial Fund, which has been established to benefit the family of former Tulsa Drillers coach Mike Coolbaugh, who was killed in a tragic on-field accident earlier this week

The Curve will also be accepting donations throughout the week at the Kinetico Customer Service Booth to benefit the Mike Coolbaugh Memorial Fund
Coolbaugh, 35, died last Sunday after he was struck in the head by a line-drive during the Drillers' game against the Arkansas Travelers
The Mike Coolbaugh Memorial Fund will benefit his surviving family, wife, Mandy, and two young sons, Joseph and Jacob
Mandy Coolbaugh is expecting a third child in early October

---On Wednesday, August 1st, the Curve will play a doubleheader against the Reading Phillies beginning at 6.05pm
The Curve will present the Curve Football Giveaway, with the first 2,000 fans of all ages receiving a Curve football
Fans will also have the chance to win great prizes by participating in Blair Candy Baseball Bingo

On Thursday, August 2nd, the Curve Idol Series presented by the New AT&T continues with an appearance by former "American Idol" star Kimberly Caldwell
Caldwell will be on hand to sing the national anthem, mingle with fans and sign autographs

The BCB gates will open early at 5.00pm as the Hotel Belmar presents Curve Happy Hour featuring live music and food specials on the Toyota Party Deck

---The three-game series against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats will feature two post-game Fireworks Spectaculars

The Tribune-Democrat will present post-game fireworks following the series opener on Friday, August 3rd
Friday's game will begin at 7.05pm

On Sunday, August 5th, the series and homestand will conclude with a 6.05pm start time
The Galliker Dairy Company will present post-game fireworks and all kids will also be invited to run the bases following the ballgame

---The middle game of the three-games series will be played Saturday, August 4th, at 7.05pm
One of the most popular traveling entertainment acts in minor league baseball, The Amazing Christopher, will entertain fans throughout the game
It will also be 70's Disco Night at BCB with themes from the 70's throughout the night

A note from Brett on Wednesday 18th July 2007
Is all good!
Every scan I have had has said that it's all okay and that I am okay to resume activity
I will start small and slow and hope to progress to swinging in about a week or so
The doctor said it is going to hurt - probably a lot - but it's not doing further damage
so try to swing through it
He is going to give me some painkillers and I am going to go from there
If after two to three weeks of trying to play and it's still being sore,
I will go to Pittsburgh to see another hand specialist for a second opinion
But as for today, I am starting to do things!!
About bloody time, huh!!

A note from Brett on Monday 23rd July 2007
Well, today went really good
A lot better than I thought it was going to be
I had fifteen dry swings with a fungo bat
and surprisingly had zero pain or discomfort
I also got to play catch as well
It all went really well!!
I am not sure of my plans tomorrow
but I am sure it will be a little more than today
Not bad for a start!!

A note from Brett on Thursday 26th July 2007
Tuesday I swung a fungo twenty times - with no problems
Wednesday I swung the fungo fifteen times and then a timber bat also fifteen times
and again, no worries at all
Today I am a little achy but I have to deal with a few niggles for a little while
I am not sure what my plan is for today but tomorrow I am hitting off the tee

A note from Brett on Saturday 28th July 2007
The last few days have been good for my hand
But my return to the roster has been pushed back to the first game in Portland,
which is on Tuesday 7th August
So I hope if all goes well, I will be in there then
Swinging a lot lately and it feels good - a lot better than I thought it was going to be

A note from Brett on Tuesday 31st July 2007
Coming off the Disabled List
I was pushed up to be activated on Wednesday 1st August
But then we got another player that they weren't sure if they were getting
Hopefully they will activate me soon!!
I am not sure what is going to happen - but I hope I get in there asap!!

Curve Game Day Notes on Tuesday 31st July 2007

The Result
Game One - Phillies - 4 runs to 3
Game Two - Phillies - 3 runs to 2

The Curve - Year-to-Date
56 wins and 52 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

Game One

The Curve erased a three-run deficit in game one of Wednesday's doubleheader, but ultimately fell to the Reading Phillies, 4-3

After the Curve had scored three times to climb out of 3-0 hole in the bottom of the fourth inning, the R-Phils collected the game-winner in the fifth
With one out in the inning, Curve starter Yoslan Herrera conceded three consecutive singles to Greg Golson, Mike Costanzo and Jason Hill
Hill's single, which plated Golson, was a low line-drive back to the mound that could have easily turned into a double play to end the inning
Instead, the ball deflected off the heel of Herrera's mitt and bounced away for the game-winning hit

R-Phils starter Patrick Overholt (4-5) earned the win working five innings and allowing three earned runs on four hits
Overholt did walk five in that span

All three of those earned runs scored in the fourth
With the Curve trailing 3-0, Andrew McCutchen led off and drew a walk
Brian Peterson struck out behind him, but the third strike was a wild pitch which went to the backstop and allowed Peterson to scamper all the way to second base while McCutchen took third
Peter Bergeron followed with an sacrifice fly to score McCutchen and Brandon Chaves singled home Peterson
Chaves scored to tie the game two batters later on a Vic Buttler RBI single

Reading had taken the lead early via the long ball
Golson hit a solo shot off of Herrera in the second and Hector Made homered with Peeter Ramos aboard in the fourth

Herrera (6-6) was tagged with the loss, ending a string of five straight wins for the right-hander

Chris Key worked a scoreless seventh inning to earn his 15 save of the season

Game Two

Following the same script as game one, the Curve fell behind early and came up just short in losing game two, 3-2, to Reading

Javier Guzman's error on a Michael Spidale ground ball to start the ballgame opened the door for a two-run Reading first inning
With Spidale aboard and one out, Mike Costanzo singled
Curve starter Kyle Bloom walked Jason Hill to load the bases and hit Shaun Boyd to bring home Spidale with the game's first run
The second scored on a Peeter Ramos sacrifice fly and the R-Phils led 2-0 on the strength of two unearned runs

Boyd clubbed a solo home run in the third inning to stretch the R-Phils lead to 3-0

Again the Curve would attempt a comeback

They got their first run off of R-Phils starter Chris Rojas in the fifth
With two outs in the inning, Jason Bowers doubled to the left field corner
He scored as Taber Lee followed with a double to the right field corner to cut the lead to 3-1

Andrew McCutchen made it a one-run game with a solo home run off of reliever Julio De La Cruz in the sixth inning, but that was as close as the Curve got

Chris Key returned after saving game one, to close game two with a scoreless seventh inning
Key earned his 16th save of the season

Rojas (6-3) earned the win by throwing 5-1/3 innings and allowing two runs on seven hits

Bloom (0-1) took the loss in his double-A debut, despite allowing just one earned run on two hits and striking out six in five innings

The series finale is scheduled for Thursday night at 7.05pm
RHP Kip Bouknight (9-3, 3.83) will make the start for the Curve against RHP Gary Knotts (0-0, 0.00) for the R-Phils

Jason Hill's RBI infield single in the fifth inning led the Reading Phillies to a 4-3 Eastern League over the Altoona Curve in game one of an Eastern League doubleheader Wednesday night at Blair County Ballpark

The Phillies (56-54) used the longball to take a 3-0 lead

Greg Golson's first Double-A homer, a solo shot in the third, made it 1-0

In the fourth, Hector Made, playing in his first Double-A game, slammed a two-run homer to left off Yoslan Herrera (6-6)

The Curve (56-51) scored three times in the fourth to tie the game

Golson started the Phillies in the fifth with a one-out bunt single
He went to third on Mike Costanzo's single and scored when Hill's line drive went off the glove of Herrera for a base hit

Patrick Overholt (4-5) walked five in five innings, but picked up the win

Jason Anderson threw a perfect sixth and Chris Key worked a scoreless seventh for his 15th save

Costanzo was 3-for-4 for the Phillies

Golson was 2-for-4 with two runs scored

Michael Spidale singled to extend a hitting streak to 12 games and Hill was 2-for-4 to run his hit streak to nine games

Shaun Boyd homered and knocked in two runs and Chris Key recorded his second save of the night as the Reading Phillies defeated the Altoona Curve 3-2 to sweep an Eastern League doubleheader at Blair County Ballpark Wednesday night

The Phillies (57-54) won the game two despite getting just two hits

Reading scored two unearned runs in the first against Kyle Bloom (0-1) who was making his Double-A debut
Boyd was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in the first run and Peeter Ramos hit a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0

Boyd's first hit in a Reading uniform was a solo homer in the third that extended the lead to 3-0
Boyd was hitless in his first eight R-Phils at-bats

The Curve (56-52) got on the board in the fifth on back-to-back doubles by Jason Bowers and Taber Lee

Andrew McCutchen's seventh homer of the year cut the Reading lead to 3-2 in the sixth

Key made a throwing error to allow Bowers aboard to start the seventh but the lefty got Lee to ground into a double play, the third turned by the Phillies in the game
Vic Buttler then bounced out to third to give Key his 16th save of the season

Chris Rojas (6-3) allowed two runs in 5-1/3 innings to pick up his fourth straight win

Kyle Bloom’s best efforts in game two couldn’t prevent the Curve from being swept on Wednesday night
Reading beat Altoona, 4-3 and 3-2, before 4,232 fans at Blair County Ballpark

‘‘It sucks, man’’ Jason Bowers said
‘‘We expect to win
Lose a doubleheader, there ain’t anything good out of that’’

Adding further frustration was Altoona dropping six games out of a playoff spot after Erie and Akron both won

The Curve squandered a spectacular spot start from Bloom, who held the R-Phils to just two hits and seven strikeouts in five innings
Not a bad Double-A debut

Reading did score three runs - one earned - off Bloom
Javier Guzman’s wide throw to first to lead off the game led to two unearned runs
Reading’s Shaun Boyd was hit by a pitch and Peeter Ramos lofted a sacrifice fly to left to stake the R-Phils to a 2-0 first-inning lead

‘‘Basically, I just tried to keep my jitters under control’’ Bloom said
‘‘I knew my surroundings, but the first inning I just wanted to take a breath and slow down
My body was going 100 mph’’

Bloom settled in after the first inning, relying on his curveball and change-up to hold Reading to Boyd’s solo homer and one walk over his final four frames

‘‘After the first inning, I was trying to get some composure and basically get a feel’’ Bloom said
‘‘Once I slowed the game down, I was fine after about the second inning’’

The lefty made 12 starts for Curve manager Tim Leiper when the two were at Single-A Lynchburg in 2005
Bloom has shortened his leg kick, which has allowed him to pitch with more control

‘‘He’s made unbelievable improvements’’ Leiper said before adding ‘‘He’s worked hard to be where he is now
It’s nice when you see guys make the adjustments they needed to make in order to move on and play at a higher level’’

Bloom joined the Curve from the Hillcats to become the fourth Single-A pitcher to make a spot start this season
Luis Munoz was temporarily assigned to the Hillcats’ roster, but he will be activated to make Saturday’s start

‘‘At least he put himself in a position to show he could pitch here’’ Leiper said of Bloom
‘‘If the need ever arises again, not only in our mind but in his, he showed he can have success at this level’’

The Curve’s lineup in game two lacked much firepower, as the eight position players carried a .256 batting average with just 24 combined homers
The team’s batting average was .268 entering the nightcap

Still, Altoona had its chances

Bowers reached to start the seventh on R-Phils closer Chris Key’s throwing error
Taber Lee then failed to get down a sacrifice bunt before grounding into a double play

‘‘Obviously, you want to get the bunt down’’ Leiper said
‘‘It’s one of those things that happens, and you need to move on and keep playing’’

Altoona had the tying run at scoring position in the sixth, but pinch hitter Brian Peterson grounded out to third

The Curve produced their runs on Lee’s RBI double in the fifth inning and Andrew McCutchen’s seventh homer of the season in the sixth

Yoslan Herrera’s first rocky start in two months helped Reading claim the first game
Herrera, who had a 2.42 ERA in his past eight starts, allowed nine hits and four runs in 4-1/3 innings

Reading scored the go-ahead run on Jason Hill’s infield single in the fifth to take a 4-3 lead

Heads-up baserunning by Peterson highlighted a three-run fourth
Peterson struck out on Patrick Overholt’s wild pitch that went to the backstop, and Peterson advanced to second base
Peter Bergeron’s sacrifice fly and RBI singles by Brandon Chaves and Vic Buttler tied the game at 3-3

Overholt (4-5) lasted five innings in the first game, pitching around four hits and five walks to yield three runs in five innings

Key worked a scoreless seventh inning in each game to record his 17th save of the season

Reading retired nine of 10 Altoona hitters to end the first game

Chris Rojas (6-3) won the nightcap, allowing two runs in 5-1/3 innings