The Result
Mets - 2 runs to 1

The Curve - Year-to-Date
8 wins and 10 losses

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
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Playing -
Batting - #

Brett's at-bats
First plate appearance

Second plate appearance

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At the end of the Game
0 hit from 0 at-bats

Heard during the game

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Game Reports

The Curve got a great pitching performance from starter Josh Shortslef, but not enough offense, as Binghamton took game one of a three-game series and snapped a seven-game losing streak with a walk-off single in the ninth, 2-1

Shortslef was tremendous through six innings, yielding just one earned run to the B-Mets on three hits, but he was matched every step of the way by mound counter-part Michael Devaney
Devaney, who was the 2006 minor league pitcher of the year in the Mets organization, also held the Curve to a lone run in six innings
Neither received a decision as they departed with the game tied 1-1

In the ninth, Curve reliever Chris Hernandez walked the lead off man Fernando Martinez
Mark Kiger successfully sacrificed Martinez to second with a bunt up the first base line
With one out, Hernandez induced a tapper back to the mound from Miguel Negron which allowed Hernandez to look back the runner to second and record the second out of the inning at first
Altoona then elected to walk the left-handed batting Mike Carp to put runners at first and second, and pitch to Caleb Stewart
Stewart singled to left, easily scoring Fernandez for the 2-1 win

With the win, the B-Mets ended a seven-game losing streak and improved to 4-11 on the season

Reliever Ricardo Morales was the winner for Binghamton, shutting down Altoona's offense for the final three innings of the ballgame on just one hit
Morales faced the minimum of nine batters over that period to improve to (2-1) on the year

Hernandez took the loss, despite not pitching badly
Hernandez (1-1) allowed only the game-winning hit and run in 1-2/3 innings out of the bullpen

Romulo Sanchez also threw well before him, retiring the side in order in the seventh inning

The Curve had taken the lead in the first, when Neil Walker doubled off of Devaney with two outs and advanced to third on a wild pitch
Randy Ruiz recorded his 17th RBI of the year with a single for a 1-0 score

The B-Mets tied it in the second with back-to-back singles to lead off the inning, and an RBI sacrifice fly for Jose Reyes

The game was just the fourth played at NYSEG Stadium this season
Due to in climate weather, Binghamton had five of their first eight scheduled games postponed

Game two of the series is tomorrow at 1.05pm
Right-hander Wardell Starling (0-2, 6.92) for the Curve will go against right-hander Salvador Aguilar (0-1, 9.53) for the B-Mets

Caleb Stewart delivered an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Binghamton a 2-1 win over Altoona on Friday night at NYSEG Stadium

Curve reliever Chris Hernandez (1-1) walked Fernando Martinez to begin the bottom of the ninth before Mark Kiger sacrificed
After Hernandez intentionally walked Mike Carp, Stewart sent a ground ball to left field to score Martinez and snap the Mets' seven-game losing streak

Binghamton reliever Ricardo Morales (2-1) gave up one hit and struck out two over three scoreless innings for the win

Starter Michael Devaney, the New York Mets 2006 Minor League Pitcher of the Year, yielded a run on five hits and two walks while fanning five over six innings

The Mets (4-11) trailed, 1-0, when Carp led off the second with a single and scored on Jose Reyes' sacrifice fly

Hernandez (1-1) gave up a run on one hit and two walks with one strikeout in 1-2/3 innings

Josh Shortslef yielded one run on four hits and two walks while striking out six over six innings in his fourth start for the Curve (8-10)

Randy Ruiz and Adam Boeve each had two hits for Altoona

Neil Walker doubled with two outs in the opening frame and Ruiz followed with an RBI single for the Curve's only run

Caleb Stewart’s base hit scored Fernando Martinez in the bottom of the ninth, giving the Binghamton Mets a 2-1 win over the Altoona Curve at NYSEG Stadium Friday

The victory snaps Binghamton’s season-high seven-game losing streak

Altoona (8-10) went ahead with a run in the first
After Michael Devaney struck out the first two hitters, Neil Walker doubled and moved to third on a wild pitch before Randy Ruiz singled off the glove of third-baseman Corey Ragsdale, scoring Walker

Binghamton (4-11) rallied to tie in the bottom of the second
Mike Carp led off the inning with a single and advanced to third on Stewart’s hit before Jose Reyes brought him in with a sacrifice fly to center

Those were the only runs scored off the starting pitchers as both Devaney and Altoona’s Josh Shortslef lasted six innings

Devaney struck out five

Martinez led off the ninth by working out a walk against reliever Chris Hernandez
After Mark Kiger bunted Martinez to second and Miguel Negron grounded out, Hernandez (1-1) intentionally walked Carp
That brought up Stewart, who lined a 1-2 pitch to leftfield for the game-winner

Ricardo Morales (2-1) tossed three shutout innings for the win

Saturday, the B-Mets play the second game of their three-game series against the Altoona Curve
Salvador Aguilar (0-1, 9.53) gets the start for the B-Mets against Wardell Starling (0-2, 6.92) of Altoona
Game time is 1.05pm from NYSEG Stadium with the radio broadcast starting at 12:50 on Newsradio 1290 WNBF

Notes
Stewart was the only B-Met with a multi-hit game tonight, extending his hit streak to seven games
Binghamton’s last walk-off win was 7/26/06 v NH, when Kevin Rios singled home Ambiorix Concepcion
The B-Mets had two walk-off losses on their just-concluded road trip
Morales faced the minimum nine over his three innings, allowing only a Jason Bowers single before he was erased in a double play
Shortslef is from Sterling, NY, 112 miles north of Binghamton

Josh Shortslef had left the Curve to attend the funeral of a relative, but when he came back Friday night against Binghamton, he showed no signs of being rusty after a layoff
In fact, he turned in his best pitching performance of the season
The Curve, however, didn’t provide any offensive support

Shortslef, who lives in Sterling, N.Y., and B-Mets starter Michael Devaney dueled for six innings in a 1-1 game before 2,152 fans at a damp NYSEG Stadium
They were both gone after the sixth inning

The B-Mets snapped a seven-game losing streak when Caleb Stewart swatted a Chris Hernandez two-out offering for a double to left field that scored Fernando Martinez for a 2-1 win

The Curve, who opened a six-game road trip against the B-Mets, have lost four of their last five games and are in next-to-last place in the Eastern League Southern Division with an 8-10 record

They were without manager Tim Leiper, who left the team to attend to a family matter------(see below)
Tony Beasley, who managed the Curve to playoff appearances in 2004 and 2005 and is now a roving infield instructor for the Pirates, will join the team on Saturday

The Curve scored in the first inning when Neil Walker laced a two-out double to right, went to third on a Michael Devaney wild pitch and scored on Randy Ruiz’s infield single

Ruiz had seen his 16-game on-base streak snapped Thursday against Bowie

That was all Devaney and reliever Ricardo Morales would give up the rest of the way
Between them, they would give up only six hits to the Curve

Morales pitched three innings, gave up one hit, struck out two, walked none and faced the minimum amount of batters

The Mets drew even in the second when Mike Carp singled, reached third on a Stewart single and scored on Jose Reyes’ sacrifice fly
Stewart was erased when he was caught in a rundown on his single

Shortslef, who was 0-3 with a 4.80 earned run average going into the game, appears to be improving on the mound
After giving up 15 hits and seven runs in his first two outings, Shortslef has yielded only eight hits and four runs in his last two appearances
Friday night, he tossed a three-hitter, struck out six, walked two and at one point retired nine batters in a row

Hernandez (1-1) walked Martinez in the bottom of the ninth and intentionally walked Carp
Stewart then finished the two-hour, eleven-minute game with his double

The loss dropped the Curve to 8-10 in the South Division, four games ahead of last-place Harrisburg
The B-Mets are 4-11 and in last place in the North Division

The Curve will send Wardell Starling to the mound today for a 1.05pm start in Binghamton
Starling is 0-2 with a 6.92 ERA
The B-Mets will respond with Salvador Aguilar, who is 0-1 with a 9.53 ERA

Curve manager Tim Leiper has taken a leave of absence from the team for undisclosed personal reasons, though he’s expected to return in a few days

Leiper, who didn’t return a phone message from the Mirror on Friday, had planned to drive separate from the team to Binghamton yesterday
A Curve spokesman said Leiper instead went home to Ottawa to attend to a personal matter

‘‘He just went home for a couple of days - it’s a family situation’’ Pirates farm director Brian Graham said
‘‘No emergency
He just had to go home to take care of some personal business’’

Hitting coach Brandon Moore served as interim manager during the Curve’s game Friday night at Binghamton
Former Curve manager Tony Beasley will take over as interim manager today and stay in that role until Leiper returns

Beasley, now the Pirates’ roving infield coordinator, was in Altoona evaluating the club during the Curve’s homestand this week
‘‘I was going to be in Binghamton for Friday’s game, but I’ve had problems getting out of Richmond Va’’ Beasley said
‘‘We’ve got weather here in the airport
I should join the team on Saturday’’

Asked how long he expects to be the Curve’s interim manager, Beasley said, ‘‘I have no idea. I was told it’s very temporary, very temporary’’

Leiper had been in good spirits during the Curve’s recent homestand and showed no signs of wrestling with any personal problems