Game report

Senators getting all kinds of help
Seems everyone these days wants to help the Senators overtake Reading to reach the Eastern League playoffs.

Mind you, most of that help over the last six weeks has come courtesy of those fumbling Phillies.

Last night, more help came from the clumsy Altoona Curve with a controversial assist from third-base umpire Scott Letendre.

The result: a 5-4 victory over the Curve before a crowd of 2,931 on City Island.

The immediate dividend: Harrisburg (74-61) finds itself tied with the Phillies (74-61) for the Southern Division's second and final playoff spot with one week left in the season.

The difference last night was Luis Figueroa's two-out single in the eighth inning off reliever Rick Palma (1-1) that scored Glenn Davis with the go-ahead run.
Davis started the eighth with a double to right-center and moved to third on Jason Fox's sacrifice bunt.
Palma then retired Scott Sandusky on a grounder before walking Albenis Machado, whose solo homer in the seventh off Adrian Burnside briefly gave the Senators a 4-3 lead.
After Machado's walk, Figueroa lined Palma's next pitch into left field, scoring Davis and moving the Senators within three outs of their eighth victory in 11 games.

Figueroa's hit -- only his fifth in 24 chances this month with runners in scoring position -- came after the Curve tied the score in the top of the eighth on Shaun Skrehot's two-out single off Ron Chiavacci.

Pat Collins (3-0) then worked out of Chiavacci's bases-loaded jam by striking out Kevin Sefcik with sliders.
"I felt good with that pitch," said Collins, whose biting slider has contributed to his team-high 11 wild pitches.
A 12th in that situation would have been costly.
"I thought if they're going to beat me," Collins said, "then beat me with me best pitch."
Collins was just as impressive in the ninth, striking out Rico Washington and J.J. Davis to start the inning before retiring Carlos Rivera on a grounder to Figueroa at shortstop to end the game and move the Senators into second place for the first time since April 13.

The grounder also eliminated the Curve (68-66) from the playoff race, given that Harrisburg and Reading still play each other four times.
Altoona actually eliminated itself with three errors, a balk and a passed ball, as well as a blown coverage of first base during the Senators' two-run third inning.

Two early gaffes helped the Senators take a 1-0 lead in the first inning off John Grabow.
First, right fielder J.J. Davis turned Brett Roneberg's double down the line into a triple as he ran around every member of the Senators' bullpen and their assorted lawn chairs before retrieving the ball.
Then, catcher J.R. House failed to handle Grabow's 1-2 pitch to Valentino Pascucci for a passed ball that scored Roneberg.

More mistakes in the third inning -- one by Grabow, the other by Letendre -- helped the Senators to a 3-0 lead.
Grabow started the problem with his late coverage of first base on Figueroa's one-out, broken-bat grounder to Rivera.
Josh McKinley followed with a single to right, moving Figueroa to second.
With the count 0-2 to Roneberg, Figueroa broke early -- way early -- for third base.
Grabow alertly threw to third, where Washington seemingly tagged out Figueroa.
Only Letendre, trailing the play, ruled Figueroa safe.
"I thought he got it right," Senators manager Dave Huppert said of Letendre.
Curve manager Dale Sveum did not, passionately arguing his point until Letendre dispassionately ejected him.
When play finally resumed, Roneberg lined Grabow's next pitch to right field for a single that scored Figueroa.
Grabow then walked Pascucci, setting up Jeremy Ware's RBI single that scored McKinley for a 3-0 lead.

Over the next five innings, the Curve would tie the score twice (3-3 and 4-4) before Figueroa would decide the game with his single off Palma.

"We're all even with seven games to go," Huppert said. "There ain't a team in the pennant race that has had more player moves -- and key player moves. This team, they've come to play."

......and an excerpt from another report

Brett Roneberg had two hits, including a triple, an RBI, drew a walk and scored for Harrisburg, which improved to 5-3 on its current homestand.

Email to Brett

Another top game by you!!!
Congrats,
and wish you heaps more success against the Aeros.
(building and adding another page tomorrow!!!)
From,
Me in this Room.