EL1 Altoona Curve

Altoona Curve Game Information: June 27, 2014 vs. Binghamton

Published on June 27, 2014 under Eastern League (EL1)
Altoona Curve News Release


ABOUT YESTERDAY: Joely Rodriguez put up one of the sharpest outings of his career in Altoona's 3-1 victory over the Binghamton Mets last night at Peoples Natural Gas Field. The 22-year-old tossed seven innings and just one hit, an infield single to Darrell Ceciliani that brought in a run, and retired 11 in a row from the fourth inning on to earn his fourth win of the year. The Curve got a run in the first on an RBI single by Elias Diaz but Binghamton tied it in the next inning. Altoona got their final two runs of the game in the fifth thanks to two-out RBIs by Keon Broxton and Willy Garcia. After Rodriguez exited the game, Emmanuel de Leon worked a scoreless eighth and Kenn Kasparek shut the door in the ninth to rack up his second save of the season.

CURVE/B-METS SERIES: Altoona will conclude the season series against the Binghamton Mets with a four-game se- ries at Peoples Natural Gas Field. So far, the Curve hold a 4-3 record against the B-Mets with the home team winning each series this year. When the Curve were in Binghamton in mid-May, the B-Mets took two out of three at NYSEG Stadium. When Binghamton came to Altoona earlier this month, the Curve dropped the first game of the series but took the next two to win the series two games to one. Altoona holds a slim lead in the all-time series against the New York Mets Double-A affiliate with a 69-67 record.

FOR ALTOONA: RHP Adrian Sampson gets the nod in game two of the series against the Binghamton Mets. The 22-year-old has been one of the most dominant pitchers in the Eastern League in his first year at the Double-A level with a 2.39 ERA, good for second in the league. In his last start on June 22, Sampson went seven innings again but surrendered four runs on eight hits which denied him his tenth quality start of the season but he still picked up the win in Portland. Sampson was drafted by the Pirates in the 5th round of the 2012 MLB Draft from Bellevue Com- munity College. For more on Sampson see page two.

FOR BINGHAMTON: RHP Tyler Pill was scheduled to start Binghamton's game Wednesday against Reading but be- cause their game was postponed, his start was rescheduled to yesterday. However, because of an illness, he was un- able to compete. Pill is 5-5 with a 4.11 ERA in 13 games (12 starts). The Covina, Calif. native got off to a slow start this season with five consecutive losses and a 6.38 ERA through those five starts. Since May 11, Pill has pitched very well with only one start where he allowed more than three runs. The right hander faced Altoona previously on June 3 and allowed three runs over six innings while whiffing six in a win. Pill was drafted by the New York Mets in the 4th round of the 2011 MLB Draft from Cal State Fullerton.

ONE-HIT WONDERS: Joely Rodriguez' one-hit outing on Thursday versus Binghamton was the fewest hits a Curve pitcher has allowed in any start this season. As a whole, the Curve pitching staff in that game surrendered just three hits. The three hits was not the fewest that Altoona allowed this season. On May 6 in Harrisburg, Altoona surrendered just two hits in their 3-1 win over the Senators. The Curve also allowed only two hits in their wins on May 12 versus Richmond and on June 24 in New Britain.

I THINK THIS MIGHT BE SOME KIND OF A RECORD: OF Willy Garcia racked up a pair of outfield assists in the first game of Saturday night's twinbill with Portland to run his season total to 12. That mark is six shy of the franchise- record for outfield assists set by Starling Marte (18) back in 2011. Last season, Garcia led the Florida State League with 20 and set the Marauders franchise-record with that total.

EVERY DAY DE LEON: RHP Emmanuel de Leon has been a productive arm from the Curve bullpen this season and picked up his team-high eighth hold of the season on Thursday night. The 23-year-old's eight holds are tied for sec- ond in the Eastern League behind just Richmond's Edwin Quirarte who has ten. De Leon is 1-1 with a 2.65 ERA in 24 relief outings this season for the Curve and has the best ERA among bullpen arms that have appeared in at least ten games.

I AM TITANIUM: Curve catcher Elias Diaz is enjoying a breakout season in 2014 as he continues to play well both offensively and defensively. At the plate, Diaz is hitting .308 in 57 games as the Curve's everyday catcher this season to go along with four homers and 29 RBI. Behind the dish, Diaz has committed just three miscues this season and has shown a decent arm when throwing out potential base stealers. In five games from the last road trip, Diaz was 8-for-22 (.364) with a homer and three RBI and went 2-for-3 in Thursday's win over Binghamton.

M-A-G-G-I PUT MY NAME IS BOLD: Curve utility player Drew Maggi has hit safely in six straight games and is riding the longest active hit streak for the Altoona Curve. His six-game hit streak is the longest that the Arizona State product has had this season.

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY: After being assigned to Altoona on Wednesday, RHP John Holdzkom made his Double-A and Pirates organizational debut in the loss in New Britain. Holdzkom tossed two hitless innings with three strikeouts and a pair of walks. The 26-year-old had his contract purchased by the Pirates on June 21 from the Amarillo Sox of the American Associa- tion. The 6-foot-9-inch reliever was originally drafted by the New York Mets in the 4th round of the 2006 MLB Draft and also spent part of a season in the Reds farm system.

THE HIGH NOTES: The Curve pitching staff has done a nice job all season long of keeping the ball from leaving the ballpark. Entering play today, the Curve pitching staff has allowed 40 home runs in 666.0 innings so far this season. That's second-fewest in the league only to Portland's 36.

Check out the Altoona Curve Statistics

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