EL1 Altoona Curve

Altoona Curve Game Information: May 5, 2014

Published on May 5, 2014 under Eastern League (EL1)
Altoona Curve News Release


ABOUT YESTERDAY: Altoona was swept by the Akron RubberDucks in the four-game series and have now lost five straight after a 5-4 loss on Sunday afternoon at Peoples Natural Gas Field. Akron struck first in the second inning on an RBI single off the bat of Jordan Smith and they added three more runs in the third to take a 4-0 lead. The Curve cut the lead down to three in the fifth when Keon Broxton hit his first home run of the season to right with one out and two innings later, Drew Maggi hit a three-run blast to left that tied the game at four. In Akron's next turn at bat, they took the final lead of the game thanks to a two-out double from Ronny Rodriguez off reliever Joan Montero who suffered the loss. Nick Kingham started and received a no-decision after the right hander allowed four runs (two earned) over six innings with five strikeouts and only two walks.

CURVE/BAYSOX SERIES: Tonight's game marks the first of 19 games played between the Curve and the Baysox this season and the first of seven to be played in Curve, Pa. Last season, Altoona and Bowie met six total times with one series played at Peoples Natural Gas Field and the other at Prince George's Stadium. The Baysox beat the Curve last year in five of the six games played and hold an all-time record of 127-123 record against Altoona. After this series, the Curve will see the Baltimore Orioles' affiliate next from June 30 to July 3 in Bowie.

FOR ALTOONA: Tonight the Curve will sent RHP A.J. Morris to open the series against the Baysox. This year, Morris is 1-0 with a 1.47 ERA has made two starts this season for the Curve. The Humble, Texas native started on April 5 against Erie (2) and more recently on April 26 in Akron and holds a 1.13 ERA through those two games (8 IP, 1 ER).

Morris last appeared on May 1 in relief and notched his first victory thanks to 2.2 scoreless frames. The 27-year-old was acquired in the offseason by the Pirates in the Rule 5 Draft from the Chicago Cubs organization.

FOR AKRON: Former Major Leaguer Anthony Vasquez will make his debut with the Bowie Baysox tonight against the Curve after being transferred from Triple-A Norfolk. This season with the Tides, Vasquez was 0-1 with an 8.44 ERA through two games (one start). Vasquez was acquired by the Baltimore Orioles on April 8 after being released by the Seattle Mariners shortly before the start of the season. The southpaw was in The Show with the Mariners in 2011 and went 1-6 with an 8.90 ERA in seven starts. The Texas native was originally drafted in the 18th round of the 2009 draft from USC.

FIRST TIMERS: In Sunday's loss to Akron, Drew Maggi and Keon Broxton each had their first home runs of the season. Maggi's three-run blast was his first since his only home run in 2013 on June 23 against Akron and the sixth home run in his professional career. For Broxton, his solo blast was his first home run as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization and his 51st career home run after hitting eight last season with the Mobile BayBears. Despite the team struggles, the Curve left fielder had a tremendous series against the 'Ducks by going 7-for-12 with a triple, and a pair of doubles. Broxton saw his average jump from .136 to .232 and is currently on a four-game hitting streak.

THE GENERAL'S OUT: In the third inning of Sunday's loss to Akron, Altoona manager Carlos Garcia was ejected by home plate umpire Jansen Visconti for arguing balls and strikes. The ejection was the second that has happened to a member of the Curve, with Elias Diaz being the other one on April 14 in Harrisburg.

CAN'T HOLD US: A host of Altoona Curve players rank among the league leaders in a host of categories. Adrian Sampson is the current Eastern League leader in ERA at 1.53. Elias Diaz' hot bat has given him sixth place in the league with a .352 average. Stetson Allie is tied for second in the league with six home runs, Alen Hanson's four triples is tied for the league-lead, and Gift Ngoepe has walked 19 times which ranks second.

DEFENSIVE WOES: The Curve defense has committed a league-most 39 errors this season and rank in 11th in the Eastern League with a .962 fielding percentage. In the series against the Akron RubberDucks, Altoona committed seven errors with at least one in every game. Shortstop Alen Hanson has committed a team-high nine errors while third baseman Jarek Cunningham has seven. Last year, the Curve were one of the better defensive teams in the league with only 121 miscues during the season and held the fourth-best fielding percentage in the league. This season, the Curve have made at least one error in 20 games.

SPRINTING OUT THE GATES: Getting off to a fast offensive start has helped the Curve tremendously this season. Of the 120 total runs that the Curve has plated this season, 27 have come in the first inning. This season when Altoona strikes first, they hold an 11-8 record, compared to a winless mark (0-9) when an opponent strikes first.

ROJAS STREAK SNAPPED: Curve center fielder Mel Rojas Jr., saw his 14-game on base streak end on Sunday with an 0-for-4 game against the 'Ducks. Rojas' streak began on April 19 and was the longest that any Curve player has had this year, with the previous high from first baseman S tetson Allie who reached base safely in 13 straight games from April 10 to April 25.

ARMED AND DANGEROUS: Willy Garcia tallied his third outfield assist of the season in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader, gunning out Bryson Myles trying to score from second base. Last season, Garcia led all Pittsburgh Pirates minor leaguers with 20 outfield assists during his stay with the Bradenton Marauders. The 20 assists were also the most in the Florida State League.

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