The Result
Baysox - 8 runs to 4

The Curve - Year-to-Date
19 wins and 19 losses

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Game Reports

Curve starter Luis Munoz suffered his first defeat of the season and Altoona dropped a season-high third straight game, 8-4, to the Bowie Baysox Saturday night at Blair County Ballpark

Munoz, the reigning Eastern League Pitcher of the Week, entered Saturday's start with a perfect 5-0 record, leaving him just one win shy of joining Wilson Guzman (2000) as the only pitchers in Curve history to win each of their first six decisions in a season
However, the right-hander was touched up for six runs - five earned - on 10 hits over seven innings to take the loss against a Bowie club, which he dominated over 8-1/3 innings in a win on April 25
Munoz (5-1) walked one and struck out three

Bowie built a 6-0 lead against Munoz into the sixth inning, including a three-run fourth which featured an RBI double by Val Majewski and a two-run triple off the bat of catcher Eli Whiteside
In the sixth, Jeff Fiorentino tripled over the head of Curve right-fielder Adam Boeve and scored the Baysox' sixth run as the relay throw to third base sailed into the dugout

Fiorentino went a perfect 3-for-3 with a walk and four runs scored to lead the Bowie 12-hit attack

Meanwhile, Baysox starter Beau Hale enjoyed the 6-0 lead until Altoona's offense came to life in the bottom of the sixth
After an infield single by Andrew McCutchen, Randy Ruiz drilled a Hale fastball off the scoreboard in deep left-center to get the Curve on the board at 6-2
The longball was Ruiz's team-leading sixth of the season
The Curve added one more in the sixth off Hale (5-2), who then departed after six innings
The right-hander, who had an 18-2/3 consecutive scoreless innings streak against Curve batters over the past two seasons end on Ruiz's homer, won his second straight start

Altoona came one run closer in the seventh inning when Ruiz plated his third run of the game with an RBI ground out, but any designs the Curve had on coming back in the game ended when Oscar Alvarez touched up reliever Dave Davidson for a two-run home run in the top of the eighth

Offensively, Altoona produced 10 hits in the game, including two each by Ruiz and Alex Fernandez

Boeve singled in the fifth inning to extend his team-high hitting and on-base streaks to 11 and 20 games, respectively

The Curve will look to avoid the three-game sweep against Bowie and a fourth consecutive loss in the series finale Sunday afternoon at 3.05pm
Right-hander Wardell Starling (2-3, 5.30) will take the mound for Altoona against Baysox' lefty Craig Anderson (3-1, 4.37)
First pitch is set for 3.05pm

The bright light under the error category on the scoreboard read 1, but that figure surely would have been higher if the number reflected mental errors and other blunders by the Curve on Saturday
Several lapses, both physical and mental, doomed Altoona in an 8-4 loss to Bowie before a season-high crowd of 6,736 at Blair County Ballpark

The home team’s miscues included:-
(1) A high flyball by Bowie’s Val Majewski hung in the air a very long time, but neither center fielder Andrew McCutchen nor right fielder Adam Boeve took charge as it dropped and scored a run in the fourth inning
(2) Eli Whiteside followed with a deep flyball to right-center, but the ball dropped out of Boeve’s glove and rolled to the fence for a two-run triple that made it 5-0
It was ruled a hit but easily could have been an error
(3) Boeve’s questionable route to Jeff Fiorentino’s single allowed the ball to bounce to the warning track for a leadoff triple in the sixth
Fiorentino scored when second baseman Taber Lee threw the ball into Bowie’s dugout
Lee was charged with the only official error of the game on the play

‘‘You saw the game’’ Curve manager Tim Leiper said when asked about his defense
‘‘The game speaks for itself
There were a lot of iffy things going on, and we need to take care of that’’

The mishaps prevented Altoona starter Luis Munoz from improving to 6-0
Munoz, to his credit, turned in seven workmanlike innings
He was charged with six runs - five earned - and his 10 hits allowed were one more than he had given up in his past three starts combined
‘‘Munoz showed me as much tonight as he did in the five games he won and cruised’’ Leiper said
‘‘He battled”

Saturday’s dud of a game for the Curve came on the heels of a 15-3 loss to Portland on Thursday and a 3-1 setback to the Baysox on Friday

‘‘You can withstand frustration for a little bit, but then you lose them like we did Saturday, the frustration goes overboard’’ Curve third baseman Neil Walker said

Several instances Saturday reflected the team’s frustration:-
(1) Walker responded to his inning-ending strikeout in the seventh with a runner on third and trailing, 6-4, by hurling his bat and batting gloves
As he met Lee near the foul line, Walker slapped at his glove and disgustedly plucked at the infield grass on his way back to third
(2) Boeve, picked off first base to end the fifth inning with Bowie leading 5-0, jawed with first base umpire Mark Buchanon
(3) Steven Pearce stomped on home plate and argued with the umpire after striking out looking

Leiper said at the onset of the homestand it was important for his squad to get over the hump of playing around .500
But entering today’s series finale, the team once again is at .500, and the best it can do is split the six-game homestand
‘‘We’re not as close of a team as we should be’’ Leiper said before citing Munoz’s performance as a potential rallying point
‘‘Those are the kind of outings that bring you closer as a team and grow character’’

Randy Ruiz, whose two-run homer off the scoreboard made the score 6-2, hopes the recent skid can be a learning experience
‘‘You can’t always be on top’’ he said
‘‘Sometimes you have to struggle to bounce back’’

Leiper argued with Buchanon in the fifth inning after Boeve was picked off, and the first base umpire ejected the manager from across the diamond with the Curve hitting in the seventh
Leiper was upset that Bowie first baseman Luis Jimenez consistently pulls his foot off the bag well early on close plays, and he wanted Buchanon to pay closer attention to it
‘‘Jimenez cheats over there way too much’’ Leiper said
‘‘It’s Little League stuff for an umpire to let a player get away with it that much’’

Bowie scored twice in the second inning off Munoz, getting a hit-and-run RBI single from Oscar Salazar
The liner was nearly caught by Lee at second, but foreshadowing the rest of the game, it didn’t go the Curve’s way
‘‘If he catches it, it’s a triple play’’ Leiper said
‘‘Again, nothing went right
Everything went right for them
Everything that could’ve went wrong for us went wrong’’

Bowie starter Beau Hale (5-2) gave up three runs on 10 hits over six innings for the win

McCutchen, who has hit leadoff or second all season, batted in the No. 3 hole for the first time Saturday and went 1-for-4

Oscar Salazar and Eli Whiteside had three RBIs apiece to lead visiting Bowie past Altoona, 8-4, on Saturday
Salazar, a 28-year-old designated hitter, went 3-for-4 with a homer and two runs scored

The Baysox scored twice in the second inning, three times in the fourth and once in the sixth off Altoona's Luis Munoz, who lost for the first time in five starts

Salazar and Whiteside each drove in a run in the second before Whiteside's two-run triple gave Bowie (21-20) a 5-0 lead in the fourth

Salazar hit a two-run blast, his fourth of the season, in the eighth to make it 8-4

Randy Ruiz got the Curve (19-19) on the board in the sixth with a two-run blast, his sixth

Beau Hale (5-2) got the win after allowing three runs on 10 hits with a walk and a strikeout in six innings

Felix Romero and Jim Miller combined to allow one run over the final three frames as the Baysox won their third straight

Munoz (5-1) went seven innings but surrendered six runs - five earned - on 10 hits and a walk while fanning three

Justin Vaclavik, who had 18 saves for Class A Hickory last season, struck out one in a scoreless ninth after allowing nine runs over his previous 2-1/3 innings

The Baysox were in need of a win today to move one game above .500 on the season, and early runs in the second and fourth innings helped the cause as the Baysox topped the Curve for the second straight night, 8-4

Baysox starter Beau Hale, entered the night tossing an impressive 13 and two-thirds innings against the Curve dating back to last season and had another impressive outing picking up his fifth win of the season, going six innings, giving up 10 hits and three runs, walking only one, while fanning one

Oscar Salazar put the Baysox on the board first in the top of the second, hitting a line single into center field, scoring Luis Jimenez from third, putting the Baysox up, 1-0
Eli Whiteside would plate the second run of the inning, hitting into a sacrifice double play, scoring Jeff Fiorentino, giving the Baysox a 2-0 lead

The Baysox would strike again in the top of the fourth
With one out in the frame, Jeff Fiorentino would double to left, then be followed up by Oscar Salazar who put Fiorentino at third with a single through the hole at second
Val Majewski would then double to right, scoring Fiorentino, giving the Baysox a 3-0 lead
Eli Whiteside would then continue the hit parade with a triple, plating Salazar and Majewski for a 5-0 Baysox lead

Jeff Fiorentino would come around to score again in the top of the sixth with a lead-off triple and come around to score on a Taber Lee throwing error trying for the out at third
Fiorentino would cross the plate for a 6-0 Baysox lead

The Curve would mount a slight comeback in the bottom of the sixth, when Andrew McCutchen would lead the inning off singling to shallow left off of Hale
Hale would then give up a two-run home run to Randy Ruiz in the next at bat, cutting the Baysox lead to 6-2
Neil Walker would then reach on a single in the next at bat and move to third on a Steve Pearce double
Alex Fernandez would then ground out for the first out of the inning, bringing Walker across from third to cut the Baysox lead to 6-3
Hale would survive the inning with no further damage, getting Taber Lee and Milver Reyes to ground in consecutive at-bats

Felix Romero would come in to spell Hale from the game in the seventh, and walk the first two batters he faced in the inning
Randy Ruiz would plate Adam Boeve on a ground out, narrowing the Baysox lead to two, 6-4
Altoona Manager Tim Leaper would then get tossed from the game following the out call at first, for arguing with First Base Umpire, Mark Buchanon
Romero would survive the inning, getting Neil Walker striking out swinging ending the threat

The Baysox hot hitting would continue and put the game out of reach, when Oscar Salazar hit a two-run home run to deep left, his fourth of the season, pushing the Baysox lead to 8-4

Jim Miller put the game away, pitching the final two innings, giving up no hits, while walking two and striking out three, securing the win for the Baysox, 8-4

Curve starter, Luis Munoz suffered his first loss of the year, dropping to 5-1

Salazar and Fiorentino led the Baysox 12-hit attack, with three hits apiece

With the win the Baysox moved to 21-20 on the season, while the Curve dropped to fifth place with the loss, moving to 19-19 on the season

Following the game, Baysox Manager Bien Figueroa said, "Hale pitched very well tonight
That is what we need out of our starter, to get six or seven innings and preserve our bullpen
This series against Altoona has been big, these wins are critical to get this time of year"

The Baysox wrap up their three game series with the Curve on Sunday at 3.05pm, before heading back to Bowie on Monday for an eight-game homestand
LHP Craig Anderson (3-1, 4.37) will take the hill for the Baysox on Sunday, facing off against RHP Wardell Starling (2-3, 5.30) for the Curve