Altoona Curve Game Information: July 20, 2014 vs. Bowie
Published on July 20, 2014 under Eastern League (EL1)
Altoona Curve News Release
ABOUT YESTERDAY: Drew Maggi went 4-for-4 and drove home the go-ahead run in the seventh inning that staked the Curve to a, 4-3, win versus Bowie in front of 5,882 at Peoples Natural Gas Field. Maggi started off the game with a single in the first and later scored in the inning on a wild pitch by Baysox starter Zach Davies (5-6). That was just the beginning to his day as he helped pilot the Curve to a second-straight win versus Bowie. On the bump, Jhonathan Ramos made the start (his second in a row and first in Curve, Pa.) and lasted 4.2 innings while allowing three runs on seven hits. Keon Broxton smashed his ninth home run of the season in the victory while Carlos Paulino drove in the other run for the Curve on Saturday. Jeff Inman, Nate Baker (1-0) and Kenn Kasparek combined for 4.1 innings of scoreless relief with Kasparek securing a two-inning save (0 H, 3 K).
CURVE/BAYSOX SERIES: The Bowie Baysox return to Curve, Pa. for the final time in 2014 for this four-game series Thursday-Sunday. Altoona has had mixed against the Baysox this season, going 4-2 here in the home confines while splitting a four-game set just before the Fourth of July in Bowie. All told, the Curve are 6-4 in ten games with the Orioles Double-A affiliate this season.
FOR ALTOONA: To the hill on Sunday night for the Curve in the series finale will be LHP Tom Harlan, who will be making his third start in Double-A since being promoted High-A Bradenton. Harlan, 24, last pitched on the Monday before the All-Star break and gave up three runs (two earned) on five hits while whiffing three in Harrisburg. In his lone start here, Harlan allowed one unearned run in five innings in the back end of a doubleheader with Erie on July 8. Prior to his promotion to Double-A, Harlan was a reliever for the Marauders and had appeared in 21 games with a 3-3 record. He had a 2.49 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 50.2 innings pitched. For more on Harlan, see page two.
FOR BOWIE: All-Star Tim Berry will end his six-day stay in Curve, Pa. tonight with a start in the series finale for Bow- ie. Berry, who tossed an inning in the All-Star Clash on Wednesday, has been solid for the Baysox all season long. The San Diego native, who was drafted in the 50th round of the 2009 draft, entered the season as the sixth-best prospect in Baltimore's system according to Baseball America and hasn't disappointed. In his first full season at Double-A, Berry has an ERA under four through 18 starts and this month is 0-1 with a 3.18 ERA in three starts. He's made two starts against the Curve so far in 2014 and is 0-0 with a 3.48 ERA (6 R, 4 ER, 10.1 IP, 13 K).
A TURN HERE, WEDGE THERE: Altoona first baseman Stetson Allie has made a slight change in his batting stance over the last two weeks and in the early goings it seems to be paying off. Allie has hit in four straight games entering play tonight and has driven in three runs in the last four games. If you look at Allie's numbers since June 1, he's been quite good. In 30 combined games, Allie is hitting .290 (29/100) with four doubles, four homers, 16 RBI and 14 walks.
TEN FEET TALL: Well, he's 6 feet, 10 inches tall, but regardless, 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 14 games total this season in Double-A, Kasparek is 1-0 with five saves in five opportunities while boasting a 0.87 ERA. He's whiffed 22 in 20.2 innings while opponents bat just .195 off him. On Saturday night, Kasparek earned a two-out save after inheriting two runners from Nate Baker in the eighth with no one out. He did not allow a hit in his two innings.
THE GODFATHER: All-Star Drew Maggi changed one of his at bat songs on Saturday night to the theme song from the film "The Godfather" and subsequently went 4-for-4 with a run scored while also driving in the game-winning run in the seventh inning. With the perfect day at the plate, Maggi has upped his average to .295 for the first time since May 31. He's also riding a four-game hit streak and has driven in a run in two straight games. This month, the Arizona native is hitting .318 in 18 games with eight steals.
HALFSIES: The unofficial second half of the season in the Eastern League began Thursday and the are 2-1 so far since the second half began. Last season's team under Carlos Garcia played particularly well during this stretch of the season, going on to win 15 games in the month of July and a total of 30 through June and July.
ONE-HITTER ON 100: Adrian Sampson nearly accomplished the first ever complete-game no-hitter in Altoona franchise history on Friday night against Bowie in Altoona's 100th game of the year. He went 8.1 hitless innings before Mike Yastrzemski broke it up with one out in the ninth with a double to left. The last Curve player to throw a nine-inning complete game shutout was Brad Lincoln on May 21, 2009 against the Baysox. In that outing, Lincoln surrendered just two hits. Of the now 15 nine-inning complete game shutout victories in franchise history, only three players have surrendered two hits or less. Along with Lincoln in 2009, Altoona's MVP of the 2003 season Sean Bur- nett tossed a two-hitter on June 18 against Trenton. Sampson's is the only player in Altoona franchise history to throw a one-hitter.
FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS: The bell has rung for Pirates outfield prospect Josh Bell, who joined the Curve Thursday night and picked up his first Double-A hit on Friday night. Bell has batted third in the Curve lineup and is 1-for-10 with a single, two walks, and a run scored with the Curve. Bell, 21, entered the 2014 season as the seventh-best prospect in the Pirates organization according to Baseball America and has lived up to the billing. In 84 games for High-A Bradenton, Bell was hitting .335 with 20 doubles, four triples, nine home runs and 53 RBI. More impressively, he only struck out 43 times in 84 games with Bra- denton. He was named a Florida State League mid-season All-Star (his sec- ond overall mid-season All-Star nod of his career) and is fresh off playing in the SiriusXM Futures Game in Minnesota on Sunday. The Texas native was taken in the second round of the 2011 draft in the same draft that produced former Curve RHP Gerrit Cole. At the time of his departure, Bell was among the FSL leaders in average (.335, 2nd), RBI (53, 5th), hits (111, 3rd), slug- ging percentage (.502, 1st), extra-base hits (33, 4th) and total bases (1st).
IT'S A LONG WAY BACK: Through 19 games this month, the Curve are 10-9 and are batting .290 as a team. However, the staff ERA is 4.95, the highest in the league. With the win on Saturday, the team has won ten games this month, which is tied for the highest total of 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.
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