The Curve tried to open the 2007 campaign with a series in Erie, but snow and cold on Lake Erie forced all three games to be rescheduled

The season finally got underway in Akron (still cold, but at least not on the lake) on April 9th, with a 6-1 loss to the Aeros, who had also been frozen out in their first scheduled series
Starter Josh Shortslef and reliever Kip Bouknight each gave up two-run homers
Shortslef pitched four innings and struck out eight batters to take the loss
The Curve were held to only four hits - Randy Ruiz scored the Curve’s only run on a solo homer, Brett Roneberg had two singles and Milver Reyes doubled
The Aeros held the Curve to five hits in the next game, a 9-0 loss for Altoona
Adam Boeve went 3-for-3, and Neil Walker and Alex Fernandez had the only other hits
Akron exploded in the third inning to score eight runs on five singles, four walks, a fielding error, and a wid pitch
Starter Wardell Starting took the loss
The Curve’s first victory of the season came in the final game of the series, and it took the Curve ten innings to win 4-3
The two teams took a 1-1 tie to the ninth inning
Randy Ruiz looked like he had the role of the hero, when he smacked a two-run homer in the top of the ninth
But Akron used a walk, two singles, and a fielding error to tie it up again in the bottom of the inning
Ruiz took another stab at the hero role in the top of the tenth inning, when he followed Walker’s double with his own RBI double, knocking in (again) the go-ahead run
Reliver Chris Hernandez held Akron in the bottom of the tenth, giving the Curve the victory
Curve starter Yoslan Herrera made his first pitching appearance in more than a year and his US debut, going five innings and allowing one run on four hits with two strikeouts

The Curve had an unfortunate piece of history as they returned to Altoona - they lost their home opener, 7-6, to the Reading Phillies, for the first time in the history of the franchise
Adam Boeve again had a three hit game and RBI singles by Brett Roneberg and Neil Walker kept the game close, and the Curve held a 5-4 lead going into the top of the eighth inning
A fielding error allowed a run to score, and then gave the R-Phils the opportunity to score a two-run homer for the win
The Curve bounced back the next night to win 8-3
Luis Munoz earned his first win, allowing two runs on four hits with five strikeouts in six innings pitched
Alay Soler collected his first save by pitching the last three innings and allowing one run
Andrew McCutchen had his first big game of the season with three hits (one double), and Neil Walker also had three hits
The Curve lost game three of the series 8-2, as the R-Phils put up fifteen hits and scored five runs in the first two innings
Walker doubled and Javier Guzman, Alex Fernandez, and Brandon Chaves had two hits each
Josh Shortslef, who took the loss, was shaky in those first two innings, allowing five runs on five hits
He gave up two more hits and hit a batter in the third inning, but a smart play by newy-turned-third-baseman Walker kept a run from scoring
The final game of the series was rained out, as was the first game of the next series

The series against Bowie started with the split of a double-header
Bowie took the first game in a 1-0 pitching duel
Wardell Starling went the full game (six innings) for Altoona and gave up only one run on six hits with three strikeouts, but was the hard-luck loser
Three Bowie pitchers combined to allow the Curve only three hits, all singles, and kept them from scoring
The closest the Curve came was in the sixth inning, when Vic Buttler walked, stole second base, and advanced to third base on a grounder, but was stranded there when the inning ended
The Curve put together a four run fifth and a three run sixth inning to take the nightcap 7-5
They were down by four runs going into the top of the fifth inning
Singles by Brett Roneberg, Alex Fernandez, and Taber Lee, a bases-loaded walk to Buttler, and a two-run single by Brandon Chaves tied the score
The Curve batted around for the second straight inning in the sixth, and Buttler worked his second bases-loaded walk in as many innings, while Chaves and Javier Guzman hit RBI singles
Romulo Sanchez earned his first win and Matt Peterson his first career save
Kip Bouknight was the star of the final game of the series
His outstanding start gave the Curve the 3-1 win, and a series win
Bouknight alowed only one hit over seven innings to earn his first win of the season
Dave Davidson earned his first save with a perfect eighth inning, and a scoreless ninth

The Curve hosted Harrisburg for the next series, and took three of the four games for their second series win of the season
In the first game, which the Curve won 4-2, and the second, which they lost 3-1, Curve batters were unable to get anything going against Harrisburg’s starting pitchers
Once the relief corps came into the game, the Curve were able to make progress at the plate
Andrew McCutchen contributed a two-run double and Neil Walker added an RBI on a sacrifice fly in the first game, and Adam Boeve supplied the RBI single for the Curve’s only run in the second game
Curve pitching did well in both games, with Luis Munoz, Chris Hernandez and Matt Peterson combining in the first game, and Josh Shortslef providing a strong start despite being charged with the loss in the second game
The third game featured twelve hits by the Curve, including three by Neil Walker, on a night when the give-away promotion was his own bobble-head figurine
Dave Parrish, Randy Ruiz, Brett Roneberg, and recent addition Chris Truby joined in the offensive joy, and Alay Soler picked up his first win of the season by pitching five hitless innings in a spot start
The final game of the series was an exiting 8-7 win for the Curve
Harrisburg batters collected thirteen hits to the Curve’s nine hits, as the lead was traded back and forth during the game
The Curve’s hits were supplemented by ten walks given up by Harrisburg pitchers, plus two Harrisburg errors
The Curve had a four run fourth inning, fueled by Taber Lee’s RBI single, Boeve’s double and a homer to Roneberg
The score was tied going into the bottom of the ninth inning
McCutchen doubled, and moved to third base on an error on a ball hit by Boeve
Roneberg hit a short dribbler right in front of the mound, and Harrisburg’s pitcher tried to scoop it up and throw out McCutchen at the plate, but McCutchen’s speed won out, and he came across the plate with the winning run

Bowie came to Altoona for the next series, and they took three of the four games from the Curve
The first game started with Bowie getting seven runs in the first two innings off starter Yoslan Herrera
Curve batters made a valiant effort at a comeback, with three hits each from Andrew McCutchen and Randy Ruiz, three RBI from Vic Buttler, and two RBI from Neil Walker and Ruiz
It wasn’t enough, though, as the Curve went down 8-7
It took eleven innings for Bowie to win 6-3 in the second game
Kip Bouknight gave the Curve another excellent start, allowing two runs on five hits with no walks and three strikeouts in seven innings
But Bowie’s starter also had a good outing, and the Curve were held to only six hits (after fifteen hits the previous night), with two hits for Brandon Chaves and a triple for Ruiz
The game was tied 2-2 going into the top of the eleventh inning, when Bowie touched Jason Roach for four runs
Ruiz tripled and scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the inning, but that was all the Curve could manage
The Curve came roaring back in the third game of the series, putting up a season-high sixteen hits as Luis Munoz pitched eight shutout innings, allowing Bowie only one hit
Munoz gave up a single and a double in the top of the ninth, for Bowie’s lone run
Chris Truby and Brandon Chaves each had three hits among the Curve’s sixteen
Bowie took the final game 7-2, and the Curve had nine hits in this game, pushing the total hits in the series to fourty-six
Chris Truby pushed his average to .333 with another three hit game (and was sent back to Indianapolis the next day)
David Parrish provided the Curve with their only two runs with his two-run homer
Alay Soler allowed two runs on six hits in his six innings
Bowie exploded for four runs in the top of the seventh inning, as Justin Vaclavik relieved Soler to start the inning, and that put the Curve away

The final series of April was played in Binghamton, where the Curve won only one of the three games
The first game was a pitching duel, with Binghamton’s starter holding the Curve to one run in six innings, while Curve starter Josh Shortslef matching the performance with one run on only three hits
Reliever Chris Hernandez took the 2-1 loss, though, when he walked the lead-off batter in the bottom of the ninth inning
The runner advanced on a sacrifice and then scored on a walk-off RBI single
The Curve’s .300+ hitters, Randy Ruiz and Adam Boeve, had two hits each in the game, while Ruiz recorded his team-leading seventeenth RBI
The Curve won the middle game 10-6, as they smacked sixteen hits and had back-to-back four run innings, and shook off a six run inning by Binghamton
Taber Lee went 3-for-3, and newly signed free agent infielder Jason Bowers had two hits and three RBI
Three singles and back-to-back triples by Andrew McCutchen and Brett Roneberg gave the Curve their first four run inning
Neil Walker’s homer and four more singles did the job in the next inning
Binghamton came back to win the final game of the series, 6-4
The Curve were held to six hits, though two of those were homers, by Walker and Roneberg
Yoslan Herrera endured another difficult start, allowing six runs on seven hits in five innings, including a four run fourth inning

The Curve finished the month with a 9-11 record, in fifth place in the Southern Division of the Eastern League

A few stats for April:-
Neil Walker - .284, 2 HR, 9 RBI
Randy Ruiz - .333, 5 2B, 18 RBI
Andrew McCutchen - .189, 2 3B, 7 RBI
Adam Boeve - .339, 3 2B, 4 RBI
Brett Roneberg - .227, 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 9 RBI
Kip Bouknight - 1-0 in 3 starts, 20 innings, 2.70 ERA, 14 H, 6 BB, 11 K
Wardell Starling - 0-2 in 4 starts, 17.1 innings, 7.79 ERA, 16 H, 12 BB, 11 K
Josh Shortslef - 0-3 in 4 starts, 21 innings, 3.86 ERA, 24 H, 7 BB, 18 K
Yoslan Herrera - 0-2 in 4 starts, 19 innings, 8.05 ERA, 28 H, 5 BB, 12 K

The Curve ended the month of April with a 9-11 record, in fifth place in the Southern Division of the Eastern League

May started off with some good news - 1B Steve Pearce was promoted to Altoona
Pearce had been on a tear in Lynchburg, hitting .347 with 11 HR and 24 RBI in 19 games, and eight of those homers occurred in the last week of April

May also started on the road, in Connecticut, where the Curve took two of the three games from the Defenders
Dave Parrish was the hero of the first game, as his three-run homer in the eighth inning put the game away for the Curve, 6-2
Kip Bouknight had another strong start, allowing only two runs on four hits in his six innings
Back-to-back doubles by Randy Ruiz and Neil Walker gave the Curve the early lead, which they never relinquished
Steve Pearce made his first AA start in the second game of the series - he had a pinch-hit appearance in the first game
He rose to the occasion, blasting the first pitch he saw out of the park
Walker followed with another homer - the Curve’s first back-to-back homers of the season
Pearce also sparked a two run rally in the fourth inning
Luis Munoz had his second brilliant outing in a row, taking the 5-4 win with two runs on four hits and three strikeouts over six innings
Matt Peterson held off the Defenders rally to earn the save
The Defenders took the last game of the series, 6-5 in eleven innings
The Curve took the early lead 2-0 on doubles by Jason Bowers and Pearce plus Walker’s sacrifice fly, and later tied it up again when Brandon Chaves’s double was combined with an error and a wild pitch
The tie held until the top of the tenth inning, when Walker’s two-run homer gave the Curve a 5-3 lead
Unfortunately, reliever Chris Hernandez could not hold the Defenders, who tied the score again in the bottom of the inning
Alay Soler took over the pitching duties in the eleventh inning, and he took the loss when a walk and a double scored the winning run

The Curve returned home to host Akron in the next series, and take two of the three games from the Aeros, lifting their season record to .500, as Andrew McCutchen showed signs of emerging from his month-long slump
In the first game, Wardell Starling led the Curve to a 3-2 win with an outstanding pitching performance, allowing only three hits for one run
Neil Walker, Steve Pearce, Randy Ruiz, and Adam Boeve led the offense, and the score was 3-1 going into the ninth inning
Akron scored once to bring their score within one run
With Matt Peterson on the mound, and two outs and a runner on third base, Brandon Chaves made a diving catch of a line drive that was about to head into left field, saving the game and giving Peterson the “official” save
The Aeros took the second game, 6-2, as they held the Curve to only five hits, while Curve pitching gave up eleven hits
Ruiz and McCutchen each had two hits, including McCutchen’s first homer of the season
In the next game, McCutchen came right back with his second homer, as the Curve took the series rubber game 5-1
Kip Bouknight pitched five no-hit innings, and finished his seven inning outing allowing only two hits - a single followed by an RBI double for Akron’s only run

Pitching was the theme of the series against Erie, which the Curve also won two games to one, keeping them just above the .500 mark, and in third place in their Division
Luis Munoz struck out ten batters in seven innings, while allowing only four scattered hits, and relievers Chris Hernandez and Matt Peterson each pitched a perfect inning to give the Curve the 2-0 win in the series opener
In the second game, Josh Shortslef had a tough third inning, allowing three runs on two hits and two walks, but pitched well in his other six innings
Relievers Dave Davidson and Peterson each pitched a scoreless inning, and Peterson earned his sixth save of the season
Adam Boeve supplied some of the Curve’s fire power with his first homer of the year, and the go-ahead run crossed the plate when Brandon Chaves, who also had two doubles, was walked with the bases loaded for the 4-3 win
In the finale, it was Erie pitchers who dominated, for the 5-1 win
They allowed the Curve only two hits - a solo homer by McCutchen and a single by Boeve
Reliever Chris Hernandez was promoted to AAA Indianapolis at the end of the series, and he pitched there for the remainder of the month

The next series, in Harrisburg, started off with a rain-out, followed by a 6-1 loss
The Curve out-hit the Senators 9-8, and four Curve batters doubled - Brett Roneberg, Neil Walker, Andrew McCutchen, and Steve Pearce - but only Adam Boeve’s home run scored a run
Yoslan Herrera held Harrisburg to one run on four hits with five strikeouts in his six innings, but things fell apart on Justin Vaclavik in the seventh and eighth innings, and he took the loss
The teams tried to make up the rain-out on the next day, but had to settle for only one game, and that came after a three hour delay
Kip Bouknight earned his fourth straight win as he held the Senators to one run on four hits with five strikeouts in six innings in the 8-2 win
The Curve had two four run innings, sparked by homers by Boeve and Pearce, and doubles by Pearce and Brian Peterson, who had recently arrived from Lynchburg
The doubleheader was finally played on the last day of the series, and the two teams split, with the Curve taking the first game 3-1, and Harrisburg getting the second, 4-2
Luis Munoz improved his record to 5-0 with his win in the first game, going 5.1 innings and allowing two hits, one a solo homer, with seven strikeouts
He was named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for his efforts
Matt Peterson picked up his seventh save
Homers by Randy Ruiz and Jason Bowers led the offense for the Curve
Josh Shortslef was the hard-luck loser in the night-cap, still winless for the season
The Curve came close to tying the game in the ninth, when a bases-loaded double play brought in one run but ended their hopes for a come-back

The Curve opened the next homestand with a 2-1 series win against Portland, and Neil Walker was the hero of the first game
He went 4-for-4, with a homer, a double, and a stolen base, to lead the charge, as the Curve put up eleven hits in the 6-2 win
Wardell Starling earned the win with six strong innings, including five strikeouts
Dave Davidson contributed two perfect innings, and Romulo Sanchez pitched a scoreless ninth inning to finish the game, as the Curve’s previous closer, Matt Peterson, was sent up to Indianapolis for a week
Rain prevailed the next day, prompting a double-header, which the teams split
The Curve won the first game 2-1, on Adam Boeve’s pinch-hit RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning
Brandon Chaves had the Curve’s first RBI
Yoslan Herrera didn’t figure into the decision, but pitched 5.1 strong innings, allowing only one run on six hits
Portland came roaring back in the night-cap, holding the Curve to five runs and three hits, while they pounced on starter Kip Bouknight and relievers Justin Vaclavik and Jason Roach to the tune of fifteen hits for fifteen runs
It got so out of control, that catcher Milver Reyes was brought in to relieve Roach in the seventh inning
He gave up a double which brought in Portland’s fifteenth run, and then induced a grounder back to himself to end the inning

Unfortunately for the Curve, that loss to Portland was the start of a long slide - a ten game losing streak that took them from a 19-17 record, tied for third place (and two games out of first place) down to a 19-26 record, to fifth place and eight games out

The Curve were swept by Bowie at home in a three game series, 3-1, 8-4, and 8-5
Once again, Josh Shortslef was the victim of a paucity of run support, as he allowed only one run on five hits in 6.2 innings, but still took the loss
The Curve were held to a mere three hits, and Adam Boeve’s homer was their only run
Luis Munoz suffered his first loss of the season in the second game
He gave up ten hits for six runs (five earned) as Bowie scored in every other inning
The Curve had ten hits, including two each by Randy Ruiz and Alex Fernandez - Ruiz had a homer and three RBI
The Curve got the third game off to a good start, scoring two runs in the first inning on two singles plus a two-RBI single by Steve Pearce
The score was tied 3-3 going into the seventh inning, when Mike Nannini started the inning in relief of Wardell Starling
Bowie exploded on Nannini for a five run inning, and the Curve couldn’t catch up, even with the help of Neil Walker’s two-run homer

The sadness continued as the Curve were swept in a four game series in Akron
The theme of this series was “Blowing the Early Lead”
The Curve had the lead in the first game of the series, as Brandon Chaves had three hits, Neil Walker had two hits, and Andrew McCutchen had an inside-the-park homer
But then Akron scored four runs off Alay Soler, Justin Vaclavik, and Dave Davidson for the 8-4 win
The Curve got the early lead again in the second game, on Randy Ruiz’s homer
Then Akron tagged Yoslan Herrera for a four run third inning plus one more run in the fifth
The Curve rallied twice, scoring two runs in the eighth on Andrew McCutchen’s two RBI double, and one in the ninth on Adam Boeve’s RBI single
The rallies were not enough, though, and Akron won 5-4
It was 6-2 in the next game, as the Curve again blew the early lead and Akron again tied the game and kept going for the 6-2 win
Adam Boeve hit his fifth homer of the season, giving the Curve their two runs
Kip Bouknight struggled in his five innings and took his second straight loss
Sure enough, the Curve had a three run lead in the final game of the series, until the eighth inning, when Akron tied it up
The Aeros won the game in the bottom of the tenth inning on a single, a hit batter, and an RBI single, all off reliever Justin Vaclavik, who took the loss

The Curve’s road trip continued in Bowie, and the losing streak also continued
Bowie didn’t have it as easy as they thought they might in the first game
They abused starter Luis Munoz for seven runs in the first inning, as Munoz left the game after only managing to record two outs
Bowie added another run in the second inning
The Curve didn’t give up - they chipped away at the lead, with a homer by Boeve, and two hits each by McCutchen and Fernandez
They came up short by one, though, losing 8-7
The losing streak extended to ten games on the next night, and tempers were short - starter Wardell Starling and Adam Boeve were both ejected from the game for arguing two different calls by the umpires, and the Curve lost 4-2
McCutchen and Chaves had two hits each, and Brian Peterson homered
Starling took the loss, despite being ejected, as he allowed three runs on six hits in 1.2 innings
Justin Vaclavik took over after the ejection, and he allowed one run on five hits in 4.1 innings, and Jason Roach finished the game
Finally, the losing streak came to an end in the third game of the series
Neil Walker was the hero, as he led the offense with two homers, and Chaves had the game-winning RBI in the tenth inning, giving the Curve a 7-6 win
McCutchen also had three hits, and Adam Boeve and Alex Fernandez had two hits each
Everyone was glad to have that losing streak end
The final game seemed almost like a rerun, as the Curve again won 7-6 in ten innings
The Curve had been leading 6-2, but a four run rally by Bowie in the ninth inning tied it up
Walker, who had three hits in the game including a homer, singled in the tenth inning, and scored on Chaves’s second game-winning RBI in as many days
Romulo Sanchez got the win, and Wardell Starling made his first relief appearance of his career, throwing a perfect bottom of the tenth inning and earning a save

The month ended with a series against Akron
The Curve lost the first game 6-4, but took the next two games 6-3 and 5-4
Josh Shortslef struggled in the first game, allowing five runs on ten hits in 5.1 innings
Randy Ruiz, Adam Boeve, and Alex Fernandez had two hits each, but it wasn’t enough to catch up to Akron
Luis Munoz got back on track after previous rough starts, allowing one unearned run on five hits in his 6.2 innings in the second game
The Curve took advantage of three Akron errors and RBI’s by Taber Lee and Neil Walker for the win
Homers by Jason Bowers and Steve Pearce got the Curve started in the final game of the series, but the winning run was scored without any power at all - a third-strike passed ball, a walk, and a fielding error loaded the bases, and Brian Peterson walked to force in the game-winning RBI
Jason Roach earned the win in relief, and Matt Peterson earned his eighth save with a perfect ninth inning

The Curve ended May with 14 wins and 16 losses (23-27 overall), in fifth place and six games out of first place

Prospect Andrew McCutchen, who had everyone worried by his slow start at the plate, appeared to be coming out of his slump
He had a ten game streak in which he hit .367 (16-for-44), and hit .308 in his last twelve games

Steve Pearce, who had arrived from Lynchburg at the beginning of the month, was settling in nicely

A few stats for May and the Season:-
Steve Pearce - .250, 7 2B, 3 HR, 14 RBI
McCutchen - .239, 3 2B, 4 HR, 20 RBI - .214 for the season
Neil Walker - .279, 6 2B, 7 HR, 28 RBI - .280 for the season
Randy Ruiz - .267, 4 2B, 3 HR, 30 RBI - .290 for the season
Adam Boeve - .258, 2 2B, 6 HR, 16 RBI - .290 for the season

June started with the Curve in fifth place, six games out of first place, with a 23-27 record

It also started with the loss of 1B/OF Randy Ruiz, who had been hitting .290 with 7 HR and 30 RBI
Ruiz was traded to the Phillies organization (for future considerations)
He played twenty-two games for the Phillies AA affiliate in Reading, hitting .378 with 3 HR and 12 RBI
That earned him a promotion to AAA Ottawa, where he also appeared in twenty-two games, hitting .215 with 4 HR and 11 RBI

When Ruiz was traded to Reading, he didn’t have far to travel - just across the field to the other clubhouse, as the R-Phils were in Altoona for a four game series
The Curve won the first three games of the series, and the fourth game was rained out
Ruiz made his R-Phils debut in style, going 4-for 6, including a homer off former (by a few hours) teammate Mike Nannini in the first game, and former Indy Indian (2004) Chris Coste went 3-for-6 in the game
The two teams combined for twenty-nine hits, and with all of the Curve position players plus reliever Dave Davidson getting hits
The R-Phils scored first and maintained the lead for most of the game
The Curve went ahead in the seventh inning, when they got four more runs, on three singles and doubles by Jason Bowers and Alex Fernandez, and that finally put the Curve on top, 10-8
Coste’s RBI single gave the R-Phils another run in the ninth inning, but reliever Chris Hernandez, just back from Indianapolis, came in
He gave up a single first, and then struck out Ruiz to end the game and give the Curve the 10-9 win
The Curve got the 4-1 win in the first game of the doubleheader the next day
McCutchen and Neil Walker had two hits each, while starter Kip Bouknight went all seven innings and allowed one run on six hits
R-Phils starter Landon Jacobsen also went seven innings in the loss - Jacobsen won fourteen games as a member of the Curve and also started two games in Indianapolis in 2006
The nightcap featured twelve hits for each team, as the Curve came from behind to win 6-5
Three of the hits belonged to McCutchen, whose batting average crept up to .234
Steve Pearce and Brett Roneberg, just off the disabled list, had two RBI each in the four run fourth inning, and the Curve added two more runs in the fifth inning on an RBI double by Adam Boeve and an RBI single by Taber Lee

The Curve went on the road for a three game series in New Britain
The Curve came from behind and scored two runs in the top of the ninth on Adam Boeve’s two-run homer, to win the first game 5-4
Both teams were hitting well, as the Curve put up eleven hits, including doubles by Neil Walker, Brian Peterson, and Steve Pearce
The Rock Cats had ten hits, including a double by Indianapolis area native Kyle Geiger
Geiger also had a double and two RBI in the Rock Cats’ explosion in the first inning of the second game
With two outs in the bottom of the first, Curve starter Wardell Starling fell apart, and New Britain scored seven runs before Justin Vaclavik relieved Starling
The Curve couldn’t catch up to that, despite a solo homer by Pearce and a 3-for-3 night by Walker, and New Britain won 8-2
The Curve came roaring back in the series finale, beating the Rock Cats 13-6 on nineteen hits
Pearce and Walker had four hits each, and Brandon Chaves had three hits and Pearce had five RBI
Josh Shortslef earned his first win of the season, going six innings, and allowing four runs on seven hits
Jason Roach earned his first save, allowing two runs on four hits in his three innings of work
Kyle Geiger had no hits but did hit a sacrifice fly for an RBI

The road trip continued on to Harrisburg, where the Curve won the first game 6-4, but then dropped the next two games
Kip Bouknight earned his sixth win by pitching seven innings and allowing three runs on seven hits, and he also contributed to the offensive attack with two singles and an RBI
Matt Peterson picked up his eleventh save
Harrisburg won the second game 9-6
The Curve took the lead with a five run top of the seventh inning, on a three-run homer by Brett Roneberg and Brian Peterson’s two-RBI double
But Harrisburg came back to get five runs of their own in the bottom of the inning at the expense of Dave Davidson and Romulo Sanchez
Harrisburg scored eight runs in the fifth inning of the series finale, to beat the Curve 12-4 and wn the series
Starter Luis Munoz, as well as Wardell Starling and Justin Vaclavik, were all treated roughly by the Harrisburg batters, and no Curve pitcher lasted as long as three innings
Neil Walker continued to be hot at the plate, with a homer and a single, and Milver Reyes also had two hits

The Curve returned to Altoona and started the homestand with a sweep of New Britain
The first game was a 13-3 hitfest interrupted by a rain delay and a power outage in the eighth inning
Yoslan Herrera earned his first professional game in the US with six shutout innings
The Curve did not suffer any loss of power - Brett Roneberg and Steve Pearce each had two homers and four RBI, including a back-to-back pair in the fourth inning
Curve batters totalled eighteen hits and scored in each of the first five innings except the second
Pearce continued his homer-hitting with a grand slam in the second game, as the Curve blasted to a 12-7 win
This game was also a hit-fest, and the Rock Cats out-hit the Curve 16-11
New Britain had the early lead off starter Josh Shortslef, but the Curve’s six run fourth inning put the Curve ahead and a five run eighth inning (including Pearce’s grand slam) sealed the deal
The final game to sweep the series was a 5-2 win
The Curve were again behind, 2-1, going into the bottom of the eighth inning, when they got to New Britain’s bullpen
A walk, a triple by Walker to tie the game, and a sacrifice fly by Adam Boeve gave the Curve the lead
Two more RBI’s by Brian Peterson and Brandon Chaves gave the Curve a total of five runs
Steve Pearce was hitless in the game, ending an eleven game hitting streak and an eighteen game on-base streak
During the hitting streak, hit was hitting .465 with twenty-one RBI

Connecticut came to town next, and the Curve did not fare as well, losing the series two games to one
The first game was completely under the control of Connecticut’s starter Dave McKae, who held the Curve to one unearned run on six hits in his eight innings
Luis Munoz allowed four runs on eight hits in seven innings, but took the loss
McKae was ultimately responsible for the Curve’s unearned run, since he made the throwing error that allowed Brian Peterson to reach first base safely on an infield grounder and then advance to third base on the throw
Brandon Chaves’s RBI single brought in the run
The Curve won the middle game 8-7
They had two four run innings, and Boeve led the attack with a three-run homer in the seventh inning
The newest member of the Curve, Dewon Brazelton, who had just signed a contract as a minor league free agent, started the game and pitched four scoreless innings
Jason Roach came in to relieve, and pitched three scoreless innings for the win
Connecticut gave the Curve a scare in the top of the ninth inning, when they scored five runs on five straight singles off Alay Soler, to bring them within one run of the Curve
Matt Peterson came in and finished things off to earn the save
In the final game, it was the Curve trying to come from behind from an eight run deficit, unsuccessfully, as Connecticut won 8-6
The Curve were held to three hits in the first six innings, and they entered the seventh inning behind 8-0
Pearce led off the seventh inning with a homer, and the Curve sent ten men to the plate as they scored six runs
Taber Lee and Andrew McCutchen each had two-RBI doubles
But the Connecticut bullpen regained control and the Curve didn’t score enough to tie it up

The Curve travelled to Erie, where the two teams continued to run afoul of foul weather
The series was to start with a double header, but that was rained out
They split a double header the next day, with the Curve taking the first game 4-1 and the Sea Wolves taking the nightcap 4-3
Josh Shortslef turned in a very good performance in the first game, allowing only one run on five hits in 6.2 innings
That lone run came in the top of the seventh inning, on a hit batter, two singles, and a throwing error
Matt Peterson came in to get the strikeout for the final out and his fourteenth save
The Curve jumped on Erie pitching with two singles and a three-run homer by Steve Pearce in the first inning, and added one more run in the fifth inning on two singles and two errors
Erie tied up the second game 3-3 with two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and then won the game in the eighth on three walks (two intentional), a passed ball, and a wild pitch by Jason Roach
Adam Boeve’s three-run homer was the Curve’s big offense
The next day brought another double header, which Erie swept 12-3 and 2-1
Detroit Tigers’ Nate Robertson, on a rehab start, kept the Curve hitless for six innings in the first game
The Curve were not about to be victims of a tag-team no-hitter, though
After Robertson reached his pre-set pitch count, reliever Danny Zell came in to pitch the seventh inning
Zell got the first two outs before Pearce doubled, Walker singled to score Pearce, and Boeve homered
Kip Bouknight took the loss, allowing two runs in the first inning and six runs without an out recorded in the third inning
Erie pitching also dominated in the nightcap, as the Curve were held to five hits for one run
Three of the hits came in the top of the seventh, when McCutchen singled and scored on Boeve’s double

The road trip continued in Reading, where the Curve and the R-Phils split a four game series
Brandon Chaves was the hero of the first game, with a two-RBI single to take the lead and another RBI single by Adam Boeve
Steve Pearce had a double, a triple, and an RBI
Luis Munoz earned his seventh win by allowing two runs on six hits in six innings in the 4-2 win
The second game went to Reading, 3-1
The Curve were held to four hits, and their only run came on a bases-loaded walk to Pearce
Dewon Brazelton made his second start for the Curve, but took the loss when he gave up three runs on four hits in four innings pitched
The Curve came back to win game three by a score of 5-4
Yoslan Herrera had a good outing, going five innings and allowing two runs on six hits
Matt Peterson continued to lead the league in saves, as he came in to earn his sixteenth save
Boeve had three hits, including a three-run double to lead the offense
The R-Phils led the whole way in the final game of the series, despite seven good innings by Curve starter Josh Shortslef, who allowed four runs on eight hits in seven innings
Former Indy Indian (2004) Chris Coste was responsible for two of the runs with a two-run homer
The score was 4-2 going into the ninth inning, when Boeve homered to bring the Curve within one run
They couldn’t keep the rally going, though, and the final score was 4-3

Trenton visited Altoona for the final series of the month, and the Curve earned a four game sweep
Neil Walker was the hero of the first game, as he hit the game-winning homer in the eighth inning for the 3-2 win
Walker had two hits and Andrew McCutchen put up three hits in the game
Kip Bouknight pitched 7.2 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits
A rain out the next day forced a make-up double header, and the Curve took both ends
Luis Munoz won the first game with a complete game (seven inning) 2-0 shutout, and Steve Pearce led the offense against future New York Yankee Joba Chamberlain, who struck out ten Curve batters, but still took the loss
The Curve brought out the firepower in the second game of the double header, as Pearce hit a two-run homer, and Walker had a grand slam
Jason Delaney in his first day with the Curve since being promoted from Lynchburg, had one hit in the first game and one hit and two walks in the second game
Dewon Brazelton earned his first win for the Curve with five strong innings of work
Yoslan Herrera earned the win in the 5-4 series final, allowing one run on only two hits in six innings of work
Matt Peterson continued pile up the saves, earning number seventeen
Boeve doubled and Pearce homered to lead the offense

The last game of the month was the start of a series against Bowie, and the Curve lost 7-2

Besides the arrival of Delaney from Lynchburg, three other roster moves finished out the month of June
Vic Buttler was activated from the Disabled List, where he’d been for about two months, Alay Soler was released by the Pirates, and Kip Bouknight was promoted to Indianapolis

The Curve finished the month with a 17-11 record for the month, and a 40-38 record for the season
The wins against Trenton lifted them to third place in the Southern Division of the Eastern League, eight games out of first place

A few stats for June and the Season:-
Neil Walker - June: .363, 12 2B, 3 HR - season: .308, 12 HR, 42 RBI
Steve Pearce - June: .404, 12 2B, 8 HR, 34 RBI - season: .327, 11 HR, 48 RBI
Andrew McCutchen - June: .266, 4 2B - season: .233, 16 2B, 4 HR
Adam Boeve - June: .293, 6 HR, 16 RBI - season: .291, 12 HR, 42 RBI
Brandon Chaves - June: .315, 3 2B, 14 RBI - season: .276, 12 2B, 32 RBI
Yoslan Herrera - June: 3-1, 3.60 ERA, 25 innings - season: 3-5, 5.09 ERA, 70.2 innings
Matt Peterson - June: 9 saves - season: 1.16 ERA, 17 saves
Luis Munoz - June: 1-2, 28 innings - season: 8-4 record, 3.36 ERA, 87.2 innings
Kip Bouknight - June: 3-1, 3.86 ERA, 31 innings - season: 7-3, 3.70 ERA, 87.2 innings
Josh Shortslef - June: 2-1, 4.20 ERA, 30 innings - season: 2-7, 3.95 ERA, 86.2 innings

The Curve ended June with a 40-38 record, in third place in the South Division of the Eastern League, eight games off the pace

June was a winning month, with a 17-11 record - the first winning month after two months with more losses than wins
The turning point for the Curve came in with two series sweeps - a four game sweep of the Reading Phils at the beginning of June, and a three game sweep of the New Britain Rock Cats in the middle of the month

As July started, the Curve found themselves without starting pitcher Kip Bouknight, who had been promoted to AAA-Indianapolis, and without pitcher Alay Soler, who had been released
They had added OF Jason Delaney from Lynchburg, and OF Vic Buttler had just returned from the Disabled List

The first few days of July brought two more departures
OF Adam Boeve was promoted to Indianapolis, and while he returned for about five days in the middle of the month, he was with Indy for the majority of the month
Starter Luis Munoz was promoted to Indy also, returned to Altoona a few days later, and then went back to Indy for a few more days at the end of the month

The first series of the month was a four game series with Bowie, which the teams split
Bowie took the first game (actually played on June 30th) 7-2
The Curve had a 2-0 lead, thanks to RBIs by Taber Lee and Brandon Chaves, and six, one run, four hit innings by starter Josh Shortslef
The bullpen couldn’t hold it, though, as Wardell Starling, Dave Davidson and Jason Roach all gave up runs to put Bowie ahead
The bullpen redeemed themselves in game two, with a 7-2 win
Justin Vaclavik made a spot start, and after a walk, a hit batter, and an RBI triple in the first inning, he threw two scoreless innings
Romulo Sanchez, Chris Hernandez, and Starling kept Bowie from scoring for the rest of the game
A four run third inning sparked by Chaves’s triple got the Curve’s offense started, and Steve Pearce had his second two hit night in a row
Pearce, Andrew McCutchen and Vic Buttler each had two RBI
Game three went to Bowie, with a 6-4 score, as Derek Hankins, recently promoted from Lynchburg, had a shaky first AA start
Bowie attacked with three runs in the first inning and three more in the third inning
The Curve made an effort to catch up, as Pearce had yet another two hit night (and was named Eastern League Player of the Week), Dave Parrish had two hits, and Buttler had three hits
Pearce’s RBI single in the eighth brought the Curve up to four runs, but they were not able to close the gap any further
Parrish was the hero in the bottom of the eleventh inning in game four
After Bowie tied the game 3-3 in the top of the ninth, and neither team could score in their next two chances
Pearce led off the home half of the eleventh by reaching second base on a throwing error
A sacrifice bunt by McCutchen moved Pearce to third base, and two intentional walks to Brian Peterson and Chaves loaded the bases for Parrish, whose sacrifice fly brought in Pearce from third base for the 4-3 win

Independence Day found the Curve beginning a series in Trenton with a very strange game
Trenton starter Brett Smith allowed seven walks, including three straight walks to load the bases in the top of the fifth inning, while striking out five batters and allowing no hits in five innings
A downpour in the fifth inning stopped the game in the middle of the frame - bad, because the Curve batters never had the chance to take advantage of Smith’s increasing base-on-balls issues and get some hits - good, because the Curve were already down 10-0 and the Trenton batters were having no trouble figuring out the Curve pitchers
The game went down as a no-hitter, though admittedly a cheap one
Rain delayed and then shortened the next day’s game, as well, as Trenton won 5-4 in eight innings
Vic Buttler, Dave Parrish and Jason Delaney led the offense with two two-run innings
But starter Yoslan Herrera allowed four runs and Wardell Starling gave up the game-winning RBI in the sixth inning to take the loss
Trenton finished the sweep with 3-2 win in the final game of the series
Josh Shortslef held Trenton batters to five hits, but their three run fifth inning was the difference
The Curve had two runs in the sixth, on four consecutive singles by Neil Walker, Steve Pearce, Andrew McCutchen and Jason Delaney
One bright spot to the series - Pearce was named the Eastern League’s Player of the Month for June

The last series before the All-Star break was in Bowie, and the Curve took two of the three games
Bowie won the first game, 8-5, in a game that featured a disastrous first inning
The bottom of the first started with a fielding error by Brandon Chaves, then a single, and with that pitch, starter Justin Vaclavik injured his knee and had to be removed from the game
He was later diagnosed with a torn ACL, and was on the disabled list for the rest of the season
Jason Roach came in to pitch for Vaclavik, and after a walk, two singles, a sacrifice fly, and two more fielding errors (another by Chaves), Bowie had five runs
Bowie added two more runs in the next inning and another in the ninth
Jason Delaney had a homer in the fourth inning and another RBI in the fifth inning, and Javier Guzman, fresh off the disabled list, had a two-run homer in the ninth
Delaney homered again in the second game, and that combined with seven shutout innings by Dewon Brazelton, gave the Curve a 3-0 win in the middle game of the series
Guzman, still happy to be off the DL, went 3-for-4 in the game
Chris Hernandez and Matt Peterson each contributed a scoreless inning, and Peterson picked up his eighteenth save (second in the Eastern League)
Peterson had only his third blown save of the season in the final game of the series
Bowie got the early lead, but the Curve caught up with two runs in the fourth, on Guzman’s RBI double and Brian Peterson’s RBI single
The Curve went ahead with a four run sixth inning that featured two singles, three walks, three wild pitches, a throwing error and a passed ball, giving them a 6-3 lead
Bowie added two more runs in the next inning, and then tied the game in the bottom of the ninth, as Matt Peterson gave up three singles for the blown save
In the top of the tenth inning, with reliever (and future Phoenix Desert Dog teammate) Bob McCrory on the mound, Neil Walker hit a three-RBI double to give the Curve the lead and the win

The Curve sent six players to the Eastern League All-Star team for the Southern Division - pitchers Luis Munoz, Dave Davidson, and Matt Peterson - infielders Steve Pearce and Neil Walker, and catcher Brian Peterson
Walker, Pearce, and Peterson were all in the starting lineup, and Walker had a single
The North and South Division teams had a 2-2 tie in the top of the third inning, when dense fog rolled into Dodd Stadium in Norwich, Connecticut, and the game had to be stopped

Pearce also participated in the Futures Game three days earlier
He had two plate appearances, a pop-up and a walk, as the World team beat the US team 7-2

The Curve got back to business by splitting a four game series with Akron at home
Akron jumped out to an early lead and didn’t look back in the first game, winning 10-4
Curve starter Josh Shortslef allowed six runs on seven hits in 5.2 innings, and Wardell Starling and Romulo Sanchez coming in relief could not help him much
The Curve got on the scoreboard in the sixth inning on Jason Bower’s three-run homer, and scored another run in the ninth courtesy of Adam Boeve’s RBI
Boeve went 3-for-4 in the game
Akron won the second game with pitching rather than hitting
They held the Curve to one run on six hits, including two hits each by Andrew McCutchen and Brian Peterson
Dewon Brazelton allowed two runs (one earned) on eight hits in his seven innings to take the loss
He was also responsible for the unearned run that was the difference in the game - his throwing error on a pickoff attempt in the sixth inning allowed the Akron baserunner to go from first to third base and so be in position to score on a following single
Luis Munoz was the winner in the Curve’s 3-2 victory in game three
He held Akron to one run on only four hits in six innings, and Matt Peterson held off Akron’s ninth inning rally to insure the win
The Curve scored on back-to-back singles and David Parrish’s RBI double, and then again on a sacrifice fly by Steve Pearce
The Curve had a hit-fest in the final game of the series, as they put up thirteen hits in the 10-4 win
All of the batters in the starting line-up had at least one hit - Jason Bowers and Vic Buttler had two hits each, and Neil Walker had three
Bowers and Parrish each had homers

The Curve continued their hitting attack in the next series against Bowie
The Curve took the first game, 10-5, with sixteen hits
Jason Delaney went 4-for-4 with two homers, Adam Boeve had two homers, and Vic Buttler had three hits, including a double and a triple
Both the Curve and the ballpark lost power in game two, which Bowie won 6-1
Neil Walker and Jason Bowers had two hits each, and Jason Delaney had the lone RBI
Steve Pearce did not have a hit, but he did work a walk, keeping his on-base streak going, now at twenty-seven games
Wardell Starling came in to replace Josh Shortslef after the delay due to the power outage, and Starling took the loss when Bowie had a five run fifth inning
The Curve’s power returned in the final game of the series, when they blasted twenty hits to beat Bowie 10-4 (that’s one hit less than the franchise record of twenty-one hits in a game)
The Curve scored early and often, with at least one hit in each inning
Delaney led the attack with five hits, while Bowers had four and Buttler had three, and Pearce homered

The Curve continued the momentum as they left home for a four game road trip, taking three out of four games from Harrisburg, and totalled fourty-seven hits in those four games
The Curve were behind in the first game until the ninth inning, when Jason Delaney had his third hit of the night, a bases-loaded single to start the scoring
Javier Guzman’s double brought in two runs, and Jason Bowers batted in two more to give the Curve the win
The Curve had twelve hits in the second game, but two four run innings boosted Harrisburg to the 12-6 win
Josh Shortslef took the loss, going only three innings, but allowing those eight runs
Bowers, Pearce, Delaney, and Walker each had two hits, and Pearce’s on-base streak extended to thirty-one games
Pearce added another game to the total in game three, with a hit, in a 5-1 win when the Curve had 'only' eight hits
Parrish’s three-RBI double was the difference in the game
Yoslan Herrera earned his fifth win in his last seven starts, giving up only one run in five innings
Pearce was the offensive hero in the final game of the series, putting up three hits and three RBI, and tying former Curve Ronny Paulino’s 2004 record thirty-three-game on-base streak
Kip Bouknight, just returned from Indianapolis, pitched seven strong innings and allowed two runs on five hits with seven strikeouts, earning his eighth win for the Curve

Pearce’s streak ended with the tie, though, as he went hitless and walk-less in the first game of the next series, against Binghamton
Neil Walker had three hits and Jason Delaney homered, but the Curve couldn’t catch up after Binghamton’s six run fourth inning, and they took the 10-2 loss
Meanwhile, Delaney had been working on an RBI streak, which increased to ten games (a team record) in the second game, which the Curve won 7-2
Pearce had four RBI with two doubles and Walker had two hits
Luis Munoz pitched six innings, allowing two runs on six hits for the win
A five run fourth inning lifted the B-Mets over the Curve 7-2 in the final game, winning the series two games to one
The bright spot in the game was Jason Delaney’s two hits, one a homer, extending his hit streak to thirteen games and his RBI streak to eleven games

The Curve travelled to Akron for the final series in July, taking three of four games from the Aeros
Steve Pearce got the series off to a great start with a two-run homer in the top of the first inning, sparking a five run inning
He added two more RBI later in the game, and Jason Delaney had a hit and an RBI to keep both his streaks alive
Yoslan Herrera allowed ten hits but only three runs in 6.2 innings for the 10-5 win
The Curve won the second game 8-6, and Pearce homered again, getting two hits and two RBI, and lifting his average to a league-leading .337
Unfortunately, both of Delaney’s streaks came to an end, as he went hitless and had no RBI
The RBI streak more than doubled the previous record, held by Pearce and former Curve Brad Eldred
The Curve took a third straight win with a 3-2 victory in game three
Dewon Brazelton allowed two runs on six hits in six innings, but the score was tied when he left the game
Dave Davidson picked up the win with two scoreless innings and Matt Peterson earned his twentieth save with a perfect ninth inning
Jason Bowers had three hits and one RBI in the game, Delaney and Parrish had two hits each, and Vic Buttler homered
Akron avoided a sweep with a 6-3 win in the final game of the series
Jason Roach had the loss as the Aeros had five runs over the first three innings, though only two of them were earned - Neil Walker and Brian Peterson had two errors each in the game
Javier Guzman had three hits and two RBI in the game

The Curve began a series against Reading on the last day of the month, winning 3-2

That gave the team a 16-12 record for the month and a 56-50 record overall
That put them in third place in the South Division of the Eastern League, 4.5 games out of first place

The month also ended with two promotions - Steve Pearce, leading the league with a .334 average, and Dave Parrish were promoted to AAA Indianapolis

A few stats for July and the Season:-
Steve Pearce - in Altoona: .334, 14 HR, 72 RBI - in July: .352, 8 2B, 3 HR, 24 RBI
Jason Delaney - in Altoona: .318, 5 2B, 7 HR 24 RBI - in July: .325, 4 2B, 7 HR
Neil Walker - July: .243, 4 2B 13 RBI - season: .290, 27 2B, 12 HR, 55 RBI
Andrew McCutchen - July: .309, 3 2B, 2 HR - season: .251, 19 2B, 6 HR, 42 RBI

The Curve started the month of August in third place in the South Division of the Eastern League, 4.5 games out of first place, with a 56-50 record
They held on to third place for almost two more weeks, then slid down to fourth place and even one day in fifth place, before rallying in the last week of the season to finish in third place

August began with the Curve losing 1B Steve Pearce and C Dave Parrish to AAA Indianapolis

Milver Reyes and Luis Munoz returned from Indy, and the Curve also added former Indy Indian (2004) Peter Bergeron, an outfielder who had spent 2006 in the Phillies system and the beginning of the 2007 season in York of the Atlantic League (Independent League)

August started with a split of a four game series with Reading.
The first game (on July 31st) went to the Curve 3-2
Josh Shortslef pitched seven innings, allowing only one run on four hits, and he also contributed to the offense with an RBI on a sacrifice fly
The R-Phils tied the game with a run off Chris Hernandez in the eighth inning, and Hernandez got the win in the bottom of the ninth when Brandon Chaves singled, stole second, and scored on Vic Buttler’s RBI single
Reading took both ends of the next day’s double-header, 4-3 and 3-2
In both games, Reading jumped out to an early lead, the Curve almost caught up, and Reading went on to win
Chaves, Buttler, and Peter Bergeron had RBI’s in the first game and Taber Lee’s RBI double and Andrew McCutchen’s homer provided the runs in the second game
Kip Bouknight earned his third straight win and his tenth game of the season with a beautiful 8.1 inning performance in the final game of the series, a 5-1 victory
He scattered seven hits and allowed one run, which came in the first inning
Matt Peterson earned his twenty-first save by coming in to finish the game in the ninth inning
Alex Fernandez and Brian Peterson each had two hits and two RBI to lead the Curve offense

The Curve saw New Hampshire for the first time in the season in the next series, and the Fisher Cats took two of the three games
In the first game, Brandon Chaves had three hits, and the Curve were ahead going into the ninth inning
New Hampshire hit lead off homers in the ninth and again in the tenth, to win 4-3
The Curve came back with sixteen hits to win the second game 7-3
Vic Buttler, Neil Walker, Andrew McCutchen and Peter Bergeron each had three hits
Of those sixteen hits, there was only one for extra bases - a homer by McCutchen
Starter Todd Redmond, who had been bouncing back and forth between Altoona and Lynchburg, earned his first win with the Curve
It was the Fisher Cats’ turn to blast the hits in the final game of the series, winning 10-5 on thirteen hits
Josh Shortslef took the loss, his twelfth of the season
The bright spot for the Curve was McCutchen’s second inside-the-park homer of the season

Next came the beginning of the Curve’s longest road trip of the season, a swing through the northeast
The first stop was Portland, where the Curve swept a three game series, by scores of 6-1, 4-3, and 10-7
In the first game, the Curve broke a 1-1 tie going in to the top of the ninth, scoring five runs when there were already two outs
Jason Delaney and Javier Guzman had two hits each and Brian Peterson had the game-winning RBI
Brett Roneberg, who had been on the Disabled List with a wrist injury for about six weeks, had the game-winning RBI double in the second game
Kip Bouknight won his fourth straight start, and Dave Davidson and Matt Peterson combined for three scoreless innings
Portland got the early lead off starter Dewon Brazelton in the final game of the series, but the Curve came back to get ten runs on twelve hits, assisted by ten walks by Portland pitching
Guzman led the offense with two hits, including a homer, and three RBI

The Curve continued on to New Hampshire, where they took two of the three games
The Curve had a four run first inning, courtesy of Neil Walker’s three-run homer and Javier Guzman’s sacrifice fly
Brian Peterson and Brett Roneberg teamed up for another run in the sixth inning
Starter Luis Munoz, back again from Indianapolis, could not hold off the Sea Dogs, though, and New Hampshire tied the score 5-5, and then scored the winning run in the tenth inning off Dave Davidson
The Curve took the next two games, 6-0 and 4-3
Josh Shortslef had some rare (for him) run support while he pitched seven stellar innings, allowing only five hits and two walks, while no New Hampshire base runners got past second base
Olivo Astacio, just promoted from Lynchburg, pitched two scoreless innings in his first AA game
The Curve batters got to New Hampshire starter and future Pirate Ty Taubenheim in the first inning, as Guzman again led the way with three hits and Bergeron and Roneberg had two hits each
Roneberg had the game tying RBI in the eighth inning in game three, and Jason Bowers added a solo homer to give the Curve the win
McCutchen and Bergeron had two hits each, as the Curve put up ten-plus hits in five straight games

The Curve swung “south” into Binghamton for the final series of the road trip, where they didn’t fare as well, winning only one game out of three
The first game went to Binghamton, 5-3, as the Curve were able to put runners on base but not move them along to score
A three run sixth inning off Kip Bouknight and Chris Hernandez gave the B-Mets the edge
Dewon Brazelton led the Curve to a 6-1 win in the middle game, with a complete game effort, allowing only four hits and one (unearned) run
Andrew McCutchen had two hits, including a homer, and two RBI, and Brett Roneberg brought in two runs with his triple
The B-Mets took the last game 7-3, thanks to a six run fifth inning off starter Luis Munoz
Neil Walker had a two-RBI single, and Peter Bergeron raised his average to .326 with a single and a double

The road trip ended with the news that Walker, McCutchen and Dave Davidson were being promoted to AAA Indianapolis, while Brandon Chaves was placed on the Disabled List with a finger injury
Adam Boeve and INF Russ Johnson were sent to Altoona from Indy

The Curve returned to Altoona to play a series against Erie, losing the first three games before the final game was suspended mid-game due to weather
Erie took the early lead in the first game, but the Curve came back to tie it up 4-4, sparked by a homer by Russ Johnson and a triple by Adam Boeve
But Matt Peterson gave up the game-winning hit in the tenth inning, for his first loss of the season
Erie took both ends of a double-header the next day, both low-scoring games: 2-1 and 3-0
Erie pitching dominated the Curve batters, who didn’t have a hit until the sixth inning of the first game, when Boeve homered and Brett Roneberg singled
Yoslan Herrera allowed two runs on five hits in his six inning, but took the loss
Jason Delaney had the Curve’s lone hit in the night cap
Starter Todd Redmond gave up a three-run homer in the first inning and took the loss

The anemic hitting continued on to the next series in Reading
The first game was shortened to eight innings by rain, and the Curve were held to four hits in a 10-0 shutout
Jason Bowers had two of the hits, and Javier Guzman and Jason Delaney had the other two
Kip Bouknight allowed four runs, but only one that was earned, and Jason Roach allowed six more runs in the loss
The Curve were no-hit in the rain-shortened second game (six innings) for the second time in the season, this time by R-Phils’ Carlos Carrasco
Dewon Brazelton allowed one run on seven hits in five innings, but took the loss
The Curve stopped their losing streak the next night, winning 5-2 in ten innings
Russ Johnson had two solo homers early in the game, and the score was tied a 2-2 after the sixth inning
Taber Lee led off the tenth inning with a single, and he took the lead on Vic Buttler’s RBI single
Jason Delaney’s two-run single gave the Curve some insurance for the win

Josh Sharpless started off the four game series with Harrisburg by earning his first home win of the season, 2-1
He allowed one run on five hits in six innings, with five strikeouts
Adam Boeve’s RBI single and Brian Peterson’s homer gave Sharpless all the runs he would need
Harrisburg’s two ninth inning homers off Matt Peterson gave the second game to Harrisburg, 6-5
Vic Buttler and Jason Delaney each had two hits and two RBI in that game
It was the Curve’s turn to come from behind the next night
Harrisburg led 6-2 when the Curve batters got started
They scored two runs in the seventh inning, when Buttler walked, took second base on a wild pitch, and scored when Harrisburg’s pitcher misplayed an infield grounder hit by Russ Johnson
Johnson then scored on Alex Fernandez’s sacrifice fly
Jason Bowers had a two-run single in the eighth inning, again aided by a Harrisburg error
Taber Lee’s third hit of the night, an RBI single in the ninth, gave the game to the Curve, 7-6
Harrisburg took the final game of the series 6-3, earning a series split
The Curve had the early lead on Johnson’s sacrifice fly, but Harrisburg got the lead back with a five run second inning
Johnson had another RBI single in the sixth inning, and Jason Delaney also knocked in a run

Reading came in for the last home series of August
Luis Munoz got the series off to a good start with a 3-0 shutout in game one, allowing five hits in his seven innings
Chris Hernandez added a scoreless eighth, and Matt Peterson earned his twenty-sixth save with two strikeouts in the ninth
Brad Corley, just promoted from Lynchburg, contributed a hit as the Curve scored one run in the sixth inning and Boeve’s homer added two more in the seventh inning
Corley added another hit and his first AA RBI in the second game
Russ Johnson, Jason Bowers, and Brett Roneberg each had two hits in the game, and Roneberg had a homer
Josh Shortslef earned his fifth win of the season with another strong outing, and Matt Peterson tied the Curve record for saves in a season by earning his twenty-seventh
The R-Phils took the last two games of the series, 8-2 and 6-2
They held the Curve to only five hits in game three - two hits from Bowers and one by Yoslan Herrera
Herrera struggled on the mound, though, and gave up a four run second inning to put the game away for Reading
Kip Bouknight also had a hit and an RBI in the final game of the series, and he struck out ten batters in seven innings, but a three-run homer in the third inning proved to be disastrous for him, as he took the loss

That loss mathematically ended the Curve’s chances of making the Eastern League playoffs

The final series of the season was a marathon with Erie, as the teams had some games to make up, and the games were critical for Erie’s place in the final standings
The two teams were scheduled to play seven games (three double headers) in four days
The first game on the 31st was the continuation of a suspended game on the 19th, and the Curve won 6-0, despite only putting up two hits
A walk to Peter Bergeron and a homer by Brett Roneberg got the Curve started
Walks, a wild pitch, and a fielding error got the Curve on the scoreboard again in the sixth inning, and Jason Delaney had the only other Curve hit in the game with a two-RBI single to give the team four more runs
Dewon Brazelton pitched a seven inning shutout, allowing three hits and striking out five batters
Three Curve pitchers combined for a near-perfect second game
Wardell Starling pitched four perfect innings, including two strikeouts, then departed in favor of Pat Bresnehan, who was recently promoted from Lynchburg
Bresnehan pitched two perfect innings, also getting two strikeouts
Matt Peterson took over for the seventh inning, and he set a new record for saves in a season with twenty-eight, but couldn’t maintain perfection, allowing a walk and two hits
The Curve did all their scoring in the first inning, on homers by Jason Bowers and Adam Boeve
Luis Munoz and newcomer Kyle Bloom were the winners as the Curve swept both ends of the second double-header the next day
Munoz pitched 6.2 innings, allowing two unearned runs on six hits with eight strikeouts, for his twelfth win of the season
Matt Peterson extended his save record to twenty-nine by striking out the last batter for the 6-2 win
Vic Buttler and Brett Roneberg each homered and Taber Lee and Brad Corley also had two hits each to lead the Curve’s offense
In the nightcap, Bloom pitched five scoreless innings and allowed only three hits to earn his first AA win, 4-1
Corley had three hits (two doubles) and three RBI
Jason Bowers had three hits, and Jason Delaney had the other RBI
Erie won the next game (a singleton) 7-0, holding the Curve to only four hits
Peter Bergeron had two of the hits, and Jason Delaney and Brett Roneberg had the other two
Erie got to starter Josh Shortsleff for seven runs on eleven hits, including a four run third inning, as he took the loss
The final day of the season was scheduled to have at least one game, and two if needed - meaning, if Erie lost the first game
But Erie won the first game 9-4, making a second game unnecessary
A five run sixth inning, including a grand slam, put the game away for Erie
Bowers homered, Delaney doubled, and Roneberg had two hits in the final game of the season

The Curve finished the season with a 73-68 record (.518), in third place and 8.5 games behind first place Erie
In August/September, their record was 17-18

Matt Peterson was the only member of the team named to the post-season Eastern League All-Star team, and he was the Curve’s Pitcher of the Year

Steve Pearce was the team MVP, Adam Boeve was the home run leader, and Brian Peterson was presented with the 'Unsung Hero Award'

A few stats for August and the Season:-
Neil Walker - August: .273, 2 2B, 1 HR - for Altoona: .288, 30 2B, 3 3B, 13 HR, 66 RBI; 25 errors, but it was his first season at third base
Andrew McCutchen - Aug: .304, 2 2B, 4 HR - for Altoona: .258, 20 2B, 3 3B, 10 RBI (2 inside the park), 48 RBI - his average gradually increased each month from April to July (.309)
Javier Guzman - season: .310, 13 2B, 2 HR, 25 RBI
Vic Buttler - season: .274, 7 2B, 4 3B, 3 HR, 24 RBI
Brian Peterson - Aug/Sept: .214, 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 10 RBI - Altoona: .272, 14 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 30 RBI
Jason Bowers - Aug/Sept: .290, 8 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 15 RBI - season: .272, 27 2B, 4 3B, 8 HR, 51 RBI
Adam Boeve - Aug/Sept: .153, 3 HR, 6 RBI - Altoona: .270, 14 2B, 2 3B, 17 HR, 53 RBI
Jason Delaney - Altoona: .265, 10 2B, 7 HR, 35 RBI
Brett Roneberg - .248, 10 2B, 3 3B, 8 HR, 35 RBI
Josh Shortslef - 3-15, 4.40 ERA, 149.1 innings, 59 BB, 85 K
Kip Bouknight - 11-6, 3.83 ERA, 138.2 innings, 36 BB, 83 K
Luis Munoz - 12-5, 3.63 ERA, 136.1 innings, 32 BB, 89 K
Yoslan Herrera - 6-9, 4.69 ERA, 128.2 innings, 38 BB, 70 K
Dewon Brazelton - 5-5, 3.53 ERA, 86.2 innings, 17 BB, 52 K
Wardell Starling - 3-8, 6.48 ERA, 84.2 innings, 32 BB, 51 K
Matt Peterson - 4-2, 29 saves, 1.98 ERA, 63.2 innings, 27 BB, 56 K
Dave Davidson - 3-1, 2 saves, 4.22 ERA, 59.2 innings, 30 BB, 55 K
Romulo Sanchez - 6-3, 1 save, 2.81 ERA, 57.2 innings, 17 BB, 52 K
Chris Hernandez - 6-1, 4 saves, 2.86 ERA, 56.2 innings, 20 BB, 55 K