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Altoona Curve

Altoona Curve Game Information: September 1, 2014

September 1, 2014 - Eastern League (EL1)
Altoona Curve News Release


ABOUT YESTERDAY: A quartet of Curve players mashed home runs on Sunday afternoon but it still wasn't enough to take down the Baysox in an, 8-7, walk-off loss. The Curve carried a, 7-5, lead into the ninth inning before the Baysox sent eight men to the plate and scored three runs to complete the comeback and a walk-off win. Mike Ohlman de- livered the knockout blow with a single to left after the bases had been loaded by Collin Balester (1-4). Stetson Allie (21), Keon Broxton (15), Dan Gamache (6) and Ralph Henriquez (2) all homered in the loss for the Curve, which was their 38th by one run and 13th in walk-off fashion. Every member of the Curve starting lineup reached base safely in some way as the Curve racked up 10 hits and four walks in the one-run defeat.

CURVE/BAYSOX SERIES: Altoona concludes the 2014 season with a four-game series in Bowie. This season, the Curve hold a 10-8 record over the Baltimore Orioles' Double-A affiliate and successfully played the role of spoiler with the win on Saturday night. Because of the Curve's win on Saturday, Bowie was eliminated from playoff contention even if they win the last two games of the year and Akron falls. The 'Ducks hold the tiebreaker in the season-series.

FOR ALTOONA: Taking the ball in the final Curve game of the season will be LHP Joely Rodriguez, who's had an up and down year in his first season in Double-A. Rodriguez began the year in the starting rotation before being moved into the bullpen on July 17. He remained in the 'pen for nearly a month before rejoining the rotation two starts ago. Named to participate in the Arizona Fall League, Rodriguez allowed five runs on seven hits in 6+ innings in his last outing versus Richmond on the 27th of August. August has been a troubling month for the member of the Pirates' 40-man roster as he owns a 7.13 ERA in seven games (two starts). For more on Rodriguez, see page two.

FOR BOWIE: RHP Zach Davies gets another crack at the Curve when he makes the start on Monday afternoon to wrap up the season. Davies, 21, is 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA in two starts versus the Curve this season with the better of his two starts coming here at Prince George's Stadium (7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R on 7/24). In the second half of the season, Da- vies is 5-2 with a 3.13 ERA in eight starts and has struck out better than a batter an inning (47 K in 46.0 IP). Last time out, Davies was lit up for six runs (five earned) on eight hits in three innings on the road in Erie.

STEALING IS GOOD IN THIS CASE: Entering play on Monday, the Curve have stolen 159 bases as a team, which is now a franchise-best mark. The prior record of 155 was held by the 2005 Curve, who predominately had 90 of those steals come from two players in Rajai Davis (45) and Rich Thompson (45). This year's team leader is Drew Maggi, who has 37 entering play today. That mark is second-most in single-season history behind the aforementioned duo of Davis/Thompson with 45 each in 2005. This year's team has five players with 10+ steals and three with 20 or more.

UNFLATTERING RECORD: With the loss on Sunday afternoon, the Curve have set the franchise record for most losses (81) in a single season. The mark surpasses the 2009 club who finished 62-80 and features many players who went on to play in the big leagues including Pedro Alvarez, Jose Tabata and Jean Machi, among others.

BACK IN PLAQUES: Prior to Thursday's home finale, five Curve players were honored with the team's postseason awards. Leading the charge was Altoona's former catcher Elias Diaz, who was named the team MVP after hitting .328 as Altoona's everyday catcher. Joining Diaz is his current teammate in Triple-A Indianapolis Adrian Sampson, who was named the Pitcher of the Year after he went 10-5 with a 2.55 ERA. Sampson's ten wins were the most on the Curve and his 2.55 ERA ranks second in the league. Kenn Kasparek was named the Fireman of the Year after his fantastic season as the closer where he gathered a team-best 12 saves. Drew Maggi earned the "Unsung Hero" award after playing in six of the nine positions and has been a consistent threat in the lineup. Willy Garcia received the "Iron Man" award thanks to his year with the bat and his franchise-best 19 outfield assists. All five of the players honored were also named mid-season All-Stars.

FALLING FOR YOU: The rosters for the 2014 Arizona Fall League were announced late Tuesday afternoon and the Curve will be well represented in this year's offseason league. Of the eight Pirates prospects heading over to the Grand Canyon State, seven of them have put on a Curve uniform this season while four of them are still in Curve, Pa. Josh Bell, Elias Diaz, Dan Gamache, Tom Harlan, Nick Kingham, Joely Rodriguez and Adrian Sampson were all selected to go and will play for the Scottsdale Scorpions. Tyler Glasnow was the only member of the eight to not have played in Altoona during 2014. Pirates' bench coach Jeff Bannister will manage the Scottsdale club.

CLEAR THE DECK, CANNONBALL COMING: With the four homers smashed by the Curve in the loss on Sunday at Bowie, the Curve have now hit 123 homers, which leads the Eastern League. It's the first time since the 2007 season that the team has eclipsed the 100 home run mark. Currently, the 123 home runs are now fourth-most in a single season with the most being 141 from the '05 Curve. Additionally, this year's team currently has five players with double-digit home runs, which is the second time in franchise history that it's happened. The 2004 team had six players in double figures while the '05 team had four. Stetson Allie's 21 homers mark the first since 2005 that a Curve player hit 20 or more homers when both Jose Bautista and Josh Bonifay both eclipsed 20 HRs. This season's club still has a shot at a duo with 20 or more if Willy Garcia can hit a pair over the final game of the season.

BROXTON BOMBS: In 26 games (86 at bats) last month, Keon Broxton hit .349 with four doubles, three triples, four homers, 16 RBI and 17 runs scored. It's was second-best month this season only to May where he batted .374 in 31 games. Since the break, Broxton is hitting for a .313 clip and has eight homers in 131 AB (had seven in 272 AB before the break). The outfielder has reached base safely in 18 consecutive games after he was 2-for-4 with a homer and a single on Sunday. Earlier this week, Broxton was named the Eastern League Player of the Week for the first time this season.

BIG WILLY STYLE: Outfielder Willy Garcia has slugged 18 home runs this season, which ties his career high from when he was with West Virginia in 2012 and he leads the team in RBI with 63. Since June 1, Garcia has hit .299 (81-for-271) with 17 doubles, one triple, 11 home runs and 40 RBI. By throwing out Blake Miller at the plate to preserve the one-run lead on Tuesday night, Willy Garcia notched his 19th outfield assist of the season to take claim of the franchise record. Current Pirates outfielder and 2011 Eastern League Rookie of the Year Starling Marte held the record previously with 18. Garcia's career-high in outfield assists in a single season in 20, set last year in Bradenton.

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