EL1 Altoona Curve

Altoona Curve Game Information: July 13, 2014

Published on July 13, 2014 under Eastern League (EL1)
Altoona Curve News Release


ABOUT YESTERDAY: Altoona split the doubleheader against the Harrisburg Senators with a win in game one 9-1 but dropped their first game against the Senators since April 14 in the second game. Altoona got off to a fast start on offense in the first match with a pair of one-out walks which led to an Andy Vasquez single that scored Drew Maggi, followed by a two-run double from Keon Broxton. In the fourth, Alen Hanson clubbed his second home run in as many games that made it 5-0 and that was more than enough for Adrian Sampson, who spun a complete game in the first game of the doubleheader. The right hander allowed only one run on four hits with three walks and six hits. Game two saw runs come at a premium and the Curve ultimately lost 3-2. Altoona got the first run of the game with an RBI single in the fourth thanks to Dan Gamache. In the bottom half, Curve starter Joely Rodriguez surrendered three runs including a two-run blast by Matt Skole. The southpaw ultimately settled down and retired eight of his last nine batters. With the Curve up to the plate in the seventh, they began a comeback that saw Gamache hit a double and he scored on a double down the line in right by Keon Broxton. With the center fielder on second, Altoona missed their opportunity to tie the game.

CURVE/SENATORS SERIES: The Curve will play game four against the Senators in the final series today between Altoona and Harrisburg tonight at Metro Bank Park. Altoona has had phenomenal success against the Double-A affili- ate of the Washington Nationals this season. The Curve are 10-2 against them which includes seven wins at Peoples Natural Gas Field, plus three wins in Harrisburg. The Curve also lead the all-time series against the Senators 158- 129. As a team, the Curve are batting .307 against Harrisburg and are averaging 6.8 runs against the Senators this season. The Senators are batting .249 against the Curve while tallying an average of 3.8 runs per game.

FOR ALTOONA: LHP Zack Dodson will start for the Curve in the fourth game of the series on Sunday afternoon at Metro Bank Park. The 23-year-old has stumbled in his last couple starts by failing to get past the fourth inning. He surrendered 11 runs over his last 7.1 innings and has a 9.45 ERA over his last three starts. The southpaw has ap- peared in two games when the Curve have played an afternoon game and owns a 7.20 ERA in the two games. The left hander is looknig for his first wni since June 23. Dodson was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 4th round of the 2009 MLB Draft from Medina Valley High School. For more on Dodson, see page two.

FOR HARRISBURG: RHP James Simmons will take the bump for Harrisburg. The 28-year-old is 1-0 with a 4.99 ERA in 11 games (five starts) with the Senators. Simmons tossed six shutout innings in his last start on July 8 versus Bowie where he picked up his first, and only win, of the season. He began the year as a member of the 'Sens bullpen in May and was convereted into a starter full time on May 31. The righty also appeared in three games with the Syra- cuse Chiefs and went 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA but went six innings in each of his three starts. Simmons was drafted by the Oakland A's with the 26th overall selection of the 2007 MLB Draft and was released following last year and had his contract purchase by Washington from the Camden RiverSharks in the Atlantic League.

ALL-STARS ANNOUNCED: Seven players from the Altoona Curve have been named to the Eastern League All-Star team. Starting pitcher Adrian Sampson and relievers Ryan Beckman and Kenn Kasparek are the three pitchers who will represent the Curve at the Eastern League All-Star Stop presented by UPMC Health Plan. They are joined by catcher Elias Diaz, outfielder Willy Garcia, shortstop Alen Hanson, and utility player Drew Maggi. Sampson has been the staff ace this season and ranks fourth in the league with a 2.79 ERA, though he will not play in the mid-summer classic. Beckman has allowed only five earned runs since June 1. Diaz has a .311 average which is the best among active catchers in the league, Garcia has 34 extra-base hits this season, and Maggi leads the Curve with 21 steals and has consistently reached base (.398 OBP). All the aforementioned players are participating in their first career All-Star game while Hanson and Kasparek gets the nod for his third All-Star nomination. The Curve shortstop is bat- ting .279 this year with an Eastern League best seven triples. Kasparek has been incredible with the Curve and holds a 0.96 ERA. The Eastern League All-Star Stop will be July 15-16 at Peoples Natural Gas Field with the All-Star Clash between the East and West occuring on July 16 at 7 p.m. The seven All-Stars are the most in Curve franchise history, surpassing the 2006 and 2007 teams.

LEVEL COMPLETED: Adrian Sampson and Joely Rodriguez spun back-to-back complete games in Saturday's doubleheader against the Harrisburg Senators. The back-to-back doubleheaders was the first time that the Curve have accomplished this feat during the 2014 season. As a whole, Altoona has only thrown three complete games this year with all three coming in a double header. Rodriguez' also owns the third complete game and did it in a losing effort on June 21 in Portland.

BASH BROS: The Curve hit six home runs in their win over Harrisburg on Friday night. Drew Maggi, Andy Vasquez, Stetson Allie, Keon Broxton, Alen Hanson, and Jarek Cunningham each hit a solo blast in that game that Altoona won 13-12. The six home runs are the most in franchse history, surpassing the previous record of five that was set four times and most recently on June 2, 2013 in Portland.

RECORD, OVERLOAD: Friday's victory saw the Curve establish several team offensive highs for the season. Those include runs (13), hits (19), home runs (6), extra-base hits (7), and game time (4:35). Individually, Drew Maggi matched career highs in runs (3) and hits (4).

ON THE BUTTON: Altoona center fielder Keon Broxton has been able to get on-base with a lot of consistency lately. Broxton has reached base safely in 15 straight games, which surpassed the previous high of 14 that was held by Mel Rojas, Jr. Broxton's streak began on June 30 and during that time is batting .326 during that time.

IT'S A LONG WAY BACK: Through 14 games this month, the Curve are 8-6 and are batting .297 as a team. Altoona is just two wins shy of matching the most wins in any month this season. The last time Altoona had a month where they finished above .500 was last July where the 2013 Curve finished 15-11.

Check out the Altoona Curve Statistics

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