EL1 Altoona Curve

Altoona Curve Game Information: August 2, 2014 vs. Richmond

Published on August 2, 2014 under Eastern League (EL1)
Altoona Curve News Release


ABOUT YESTERDAY: The Curve won their third straight game thanks to a 7-3 win over the Richmond Flying Squir- rels on Friday night at Peoples Natural Gas Field. With the Curve already leading 1-0, starting pitcher Pat Ludwig helped his own cause when he barrelled a 2-2 pitch from Richmond's Ty Blach to right center which scored a pair of runs. The two-out hit led to another run in the inning when Gift Ngoepe drove home Ludwig. Willy Garcia also had a huge day at the plate when he went 3-for-4 with two doubles (including a two-run double in the fifth). His big night extended his hit streak to a season-best 12 games. To cap off his night, the left fielder annihilated a home run to left.

CURVE/SQUIRRELS SERIES: It's been a good nearly two months since the division rival Richmond Flying Squirrels have locked horns with the Curve and much has changed since that time. The first place Squirrels enter this series with 10 wins in the 15 games played so far versus Altoona. However, four of the five Curve wins in the season-series have come here at Peoples Natural Gas Field and the Curve have won each of the first two games in this series. With the win last night for Altoona, they lead the all-time series versus Richmond 51-49.

FOR ALTOONA: RHP Adrian Sampson will take the hill for the Curve in game three of the series versus the Squirrels. The 22-year-old All-Star is 9-5 with a 2.69 ERA in 22 starts with Altoona this year. In his last start, Sampson spun his team-best 15th quality start of the year when he went six innings and gave up three runs to the Erie SeaWolves but received a no-decision. Sampson has gone six innings in each of his last nine starts dating back to June 11. The Seattle, Washington native was drafted by the Pirates in the fifth round of the 2012 MLB Draft from Bellevue Com- munity College. For more on Sampson, see page two.

FOR RICHMOND: The Squirrels will toss LHP Jack Snodgrass in game three of the series. Snodgrass is 9-4 with a 3.14 ERA this year and is coming off another good outing. When he faced off against Erie on July 27, the Kentucky native tossed seven innings and allowed only four runs but took the loss despite six strikeouts. Much like Adrian Sampson, Snodgrass has been consistently going deep into games lately and has not thrown less than seven innings in each of his last six starts. Snodgrass has made two starts against the Curve this season and has yet to allow an earned run. The southpaw was drafted by the Giants in the 27th round of the 2011 MLB Draft from Austin Peay State University.

BIG WILLY STYLE: On the offensive side of the diamond, Willy Garcia has been no slouch since the All-Star Break. After winning the Ghostman Games for the West as part of the E.L. All-Star Stop, Garcia has gone on a tear in the first 16 games of the unofficial second half. In those 16 games, Garcia is hitting .419 (26-for-62) with seven doubles, four homers, 13 RBI and 12 runs scored. Since June 1, Garcia has hit .326 (59-for-181) with 24 extra-base hits (14 doubles, one triple and nine home runs). He's riding a season-best, 12-game hit streak into today's game. It's only the second time this season that a Curve player has had a hit streak of 10 or more games this season.

FOUR ON THE FLOOR?: With a victory in the series finale on Wednesday, the Curve have won three straight series for the first time all season and for the first time since June 12-20, 2013 when they won three straight series at New Britain, vs. Trenton and vs. New Hampshire. With a win tonight, Altoona can win their fourth straight series. The last time the Curve won four straight series was at the end of the 2012 season when the Curve won 13 of their final 16 games and took series wins over Trenton, Richmond, Akron, and Erie.

HERE TO STAY: Josh Bell got off to a slow start after he was promoted to the Curve in the middle of July with a .111 batting average through his first five games. Since then, Bell has hit safely in ten of his 11 games and is currently riding a seven-game hit streak. During his current hit streak, Bell is hitting .387 (12-for-31). All told, Bell is hitting .270 with five RBIs through 16 games with the Curve.

POINT BREAK: The Curve are 11-5 in their 16 games played since the All-Star break entering play tonight. In those 16 games, the Curve have hit .301 as a team with Willy Garcia (.419, 16 G), Gift Ngoepe (.364, 13 G), and Dan Gamache (.325, 11 G) leading the charge. The team ERA during the stretch is 3.17.

THE BRAHMA BULL(PEN): A large part for the success of the Curve since the break has been the bullpen, who have a collective ERA o f 1.80 in the 16 games since the break. They've given up fewer than a hit an inning (34 hits in 48.0 IP) and opposing hitters have hit .192

off them in the 16 games. Ryan Beckman (six games), Jeff Inman (five games) and Kenn Kasparek (seven games) all have not yielded a run in that time frame. Another major factor from that bullpen has been in late-game situations. After a blown save on July 17 in the first game after the All-Star break, the Curve 'pen hasn't blown any saves in seven opportunities.

HE'S SMART: Friday night's starting pitcher Pat Ludwig put up his third quality start of the season after he went six innings and gave up just three runs (two earned). While his outing has been about the average from him during his month with Altoona, it was his bat that made his night a memorable one for the Yale alum. He hit a 2-2 double to right center which was his first professional hit and it brought home two runs. Ludwig's two RBIs is the most by any Curve pitcher this year.

WILLY BREAK IT?: Curve outfielder Willy Garcia notched his 17th outfield assist of the season in the loss on Tuesday night to Erie when he hosed Dixon Machado at second base trying to stretch a single into a double. Gar- cia's 17 outfield assists are the most in the Eastern League. The 21-year-old is just one shy of matching Starling Marte's franchise record of 18 set back in the 2011 season.

TEN FEET TALL: All-Star closer Kenn Kasparek has been a rock at the back end of the Curve bullpen since re-joining the team from Triple-A in early June. In 20 games total this season in Double-A, Kasparek is 1-0 with nine saves in nine opportunities while boasting a 0.67 ERA. He's whiffed 24 in 27.0 innings while opponents bat just .156 off him. The unorthodox-sling- ing righty stands at 6-feet-10-inches tall and was acquired by the Pirates as a minor league free agent on May 28, 2012.

#WINNING: July was the best month for the Curve in the past two seasons. In the 31 games played, the Curve went 18-13 and batted .294 as a team, which was the best average in the league that month. With the win on Mon- day, the Curve clinched a winning month for the first time this season and the first time since July of 2013 (15-11). The 18 wins in a month is also the most for a Curve team in the Carlos Garcia era, which began in 2013. The last time the Curve won more than 18 games in a month was back in the 2010 season when the Curve won 20 games in August and 19 that May.

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