EL1 Altoona Curve

Altoona Curve Game Information: July 9, 2014 vs. Erie

Published on July 9, 2014 under Eastern League (EL1)
Altoona Curve News Release


ABOUT YESTERDAY: Altoona saw their streak of eight straight wins end after they were swept in both games of the doubleheader by the Erie SeaWolves on Tuesday night at Peoples Natural Gas Field. The Curve dropped the first game of the twinbill 8-4. Zack Dodson suffered the loss in the first game of the doubleheader after he got off to a slow start after the 94 minute rain delay, allowing four runs in the first inning. However, the Curve managed to tie the game by getting four across in the bottom of the third which included runs by Keon Broxton, Willy Garcia, Gift Ngoepe, and Alen Hanson. After the game was tied, Dodson surrendered four more in the fourth and the Curve failed to rally back. In game two, southpaw Thomas Harlan pitched effectively by hurling five innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on seven hits in his Double-A debut. The Curve who at one point in the game led 4-2 relinquished their lead and then some late in the game. After Erie got three across in the sixth to take a 5-2 lead, Andy Vasquez tied the game with an RBI single in the bottom of the frame, but Yao-Hsun Yang surrendered six runs in the seventh thanks to three walks and three wild pitches with a runner at third.

CURVE/SEAWOLVES SERIES: Altoona continues the five-game series against the Erie SeaWolves with game four tonight. Tonight's game marks the 15th meeting between the two clubs this season with the Curve winning five of the games so far. Prior to this series, the two teams last met at Jerry Uht Park in Erie with the Curve losing three of the five games played. The Curve and SeaWolves have played 316 games against each other since 1999 and the Curve trail the all-time series with a record of 157-159. FOR ALTOONA: RHP Pat Ludwig will start game four of the series between the Curve and Wolves. In his last start, Ludwig put up his first Double-A quality start after he held the Harrisburg Senators to just a run over six innings of work and also earned his first victory in the Eastern League in the process. Ludwig was promoted to Altoona in the middle of June from the Bradenton Marauders and is 1-3 with a 6.14 ERA. Ludwig was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 10th round of the 2012 MLB Draft from Yale University.

FOR ERIE: The SeaWolves will use RHP Jeff Ferrell who is 5-6 with a 5.14 ERA this season for Erie. The 23-year-old is coming off an outing where he struck out eight batters but lasted only 5.2 innings and gave up four runs on the road in Binghamton on July 4. Ferrell previously started a game against the Curve on May 24 in the first game of the twinbill in Erie and he suffered the loss after the Curve showed a lot of patience at the plate by drawing five walks. However, Ferrell managed to work out of a lot of trouble in that game and only allowed two runs in a game Altoona won 2-0. Ferrell was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 26th round of the 2010 MLB Draft from Pitt Community Col- lege in Winterville, North Carolina.

ALL-STARS ANNOUNCED: Six players from the Altoona Curve have been named to the Eastern League All-Star team. Last night's starting pitcher Adrian Sampson and reliever Ryan Beckman are the two pitchers who will repre- sent the Curve at the Eastern League All-Star Stop presented by UPMC Health Plan and 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 third in the league with a 2.89 ERA while Beckman has allowed only two earned runs since June 1. Diaz has a .323 average which is the best among active catchers in the league, Garcia has 34 extra-base hits this season, and Maggi continues to get on base in several different ways and leads the Curve with a .386 OBP. All the aforementioned players are participating in their first career All-Star game while Hanson gets the nod for his third All-Star nomination. The Curve shortstop is batting .275 this year with an Eastern League best seven triples. The Eastern League All-Star Stop will be from 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 six All-Stars are tied for the most in Curve franchise history, matching the 2006 and 2007 teams.

HARDY, HAR-HARLAN: The Curve dropped the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader to Erie 11-5 but that score didn't reflect the great debut of LHP Thomas Harlan. The southpaw was called up to Altoona from Bradenton in be- tween the two games and was marvelous in his first ever game in the Eastern League. Harlan went a career-most five innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on seven hits. Throughout his career, Harlan has been primarily a reliever and his start with the Curve on Tuesday was only his second as a professional.

STREAK SNAPPED: Altoona saw their season-best six game winning streak snapped after they lost the first game of the doubleheader against Erie on Tuesday night at Peoples Natural Gas Field.. During their win streak, they defeated the Bowie Baysox twice, swept the three game set against Harrisburg, and won yesterday's game versus Erie. During the current streak, the Curve are averaging 5.3 runs per game while the staff ERA is 2.78 (17 ER/55.0 IP). In this current homestand, the Curve are 4-2 and are batting .298 as a team while capitalizing with runners in scoring posi- tion (.353).

KING OF SWING: Altoona's All-Star catcher Elias Diaz is back among the league leaders in hitting. The catcher is hitting .323 which ranks sixth in the league and ranks third among active players in the league. Diaz has al- ready matched his career high with five home runs this season. The catcher is hitting .429 in six games this month and recently saw his season-best seven game hit streak end in game one of Tuesday's doubleheader.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: The Curve have struggled this season in doubleheaders in the 12 total games that they've played. Altoona is 2-10 with the majority of those losses coming against the Erie SeaWolves. The two teams have played four doubleheaders against each other and the Curve are 2-6 in the twinbills. The Curve won't have to wait long before their next doubleheader as they'll play two in Harrisburg this Saturday.

ARM-AGEDDON: Altoona's bullpen has made big improvements as the season has gone on and plenty of arms have posted incredible numbers recently. Ryan Beckman has an 1.47 ERA in his last 13 games while sub- mariner Kenn Kasparek has allowed only one earned run this season (0.63 ERA). With his success, Kasparek has turned into the Curve's late-inning, go-to guy. Emmanuel de Leon has a 2.70 ERA in 26 games and ranks third in the league with eight holds.

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