The Result
Thunder - 3 runs
to 2
The Curve - Year-to-Date
42 wins and 42
losses
Brett's Position and
the Batting Order
Did Not Play
Playing
Batting - #
Brett's at-bats
First plate appearance
Second plate appearance
Third plate appearance
Fourth plate appearance
At the end of the Game
0 hit from 0 at-bats
Heard during the game
Email from Brett
Game Reports
The Trenton Thunder plated three runs in the
bottom of the fifth inning and those runs provided the difference
as Thunder completed a three-game sweep of the Curve with a 3-2
win Friday night at Waterfront Park in Trenton, NJ
Trenton, the Eastern League's top team at 54-31, including an
impressive 35-12 record at home, avenged a four-game sweep at
the hands of the Curve last week at Blair County Ballpark, and
won their seventh game in a row
Altoona (42-42) has lost the first three games of their six-game,
pre-All-Star Break road trip, which will continue Saturday night
in Bowie
Josh Shortslef (2-8) started for the Curve pitched well, but was
tagged with his eighth loss in ten decisions
The left-hander allowed three runs and five hits over 6-1/3 innings,
walking two and striking out seven
Thunder starter Alan Horne (9-3), an Eastern League All-Star Game
selection, earned his ninth victory after holding the Curve to
two runs - one earned - over six strong innings
Horne struck out seven batters to increase his season total to
113 in 99-2/3 innings
He ranks second among E.L. hurlers in strike outs
The Curve scored their only two runs in the top of the sixth inning,
stringing together four consecutive singles after outs in the
frame
Neil Walker and Steven Pearce started the rally and each scored
on subsequent run-scoring hits from Andrew McCutchen and Jason
Delaney
Altoona failed to score over the game's final three innings against
Trenton relievers Michael Gardner and Tim Lavigne and dropped
their second consecutive one-run game to the Thunder
The Curve will send right-hander Justin Vaclavik (2-5, 8.13) to
the mound for the series opener against Bowie, while the Baysox
will counter with righty Beau Hale (5-3, 4.14)
First pitch from Prince George's Stadium is set for 7.05pm
Game Notes
Earlier in the day, Curve first baseman Steven Pearce was named
the Eastern League's Player of the Month for the month of June
- Pearce hit .404 (40-for-99) with eight home runs and 34 RBI
in 27 games during the month - the Curve will be without the services
of Pearce during their three-game series at Bowie because of his
participation in the MLB Futures Game on Sunday in San Francisco
Left-handed reliever Dave Davidson has been named as a replacement
on the Southern Division roster for the Eastern League All-Star
Game, which will take place on Wednesday at Dodd Stadium in Norwich,
CT, home of the Connecticut Defenders
Luis Munoz, who returned to the Curve roster on Thursday after
making a spot start at Triple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday, will
not be available to pitch at the E.L. All-Star Game because he
is scheduled to start Monday's game at Bowie
The Curve whiffed on their first prime scoring
opportunity on Friday
Trenton didn’t
The Thunder scored three runs in the fifth inning before sweeping
Altoona, 3-2, at Waterfront Park
Trenton finished off the sweep largely due to starter Alan Horne
and center fielder Brett Gardner
Horne tossed six strong innings, while Gardner chipped in a two-run
double during the fifth to give his team a 2-0 lead
The Thunder tacked on their third run in the fifth on a sacrifice
fly
Altoona had its chances in the top half of the inning, as Jason
Delaney and Andrew McCutchen reached second and third with one
out
Dave Parrish then popped up to second, and Taber Lee followed
by grounding out to third to end the threat
Horne (9-3), who struck out the side in the first inning, finished
the night with seven strikeouts in six innings
He gave up just two runs - one earned - and dropped his ERA to
2.26
The Curve cut the deficit to 3-2 with two runs in the sixth on
RBI singles from Andrew McCutchen and Jason Delaney
Altoona couldn’t capitalize on another scoring chance in
the seventh, as Brandon Chaves’ flyout and Vic Buttler’s
groundout failed to chase Parrish home from second
Curve starter Josh Shortslef tossed 6-1/3 innings, allowing three
runs on five hits
Shortslef (2-8) also struck out seven, one behind his season-best,
and limited the Thunder to just one hit over his first four innings
Altoona went down quietly in the last three innings, as Parrish’s
ninth-inning single was all the offense could muster
Michael Gardner pitched two perfect innings to bridge the lead
to closer Tim Lavigne, who saved his fifth game of the season
Steven Pearce and McCutchen both went 2-for-4 for the Curve
Alan Horne allowed two runs (one earned) over
six innings and Brett Gardner added an RBI double to lead the
Trenton Thunder to a 3-2 win over Altoona on Friday night
The win give Trenton a sweep of the seven-game homestand against
Harrisburg and the Curve
It is the first time since becoming a N.Y. Yankees affilaite that
Trenton had swept a homestand of at least seven games
The night started out as a pitcher's duel between Horne and Altoona's
Josh Shortslef
But the Thunder (54-31) finally broke through in the 5th Inning
After a double and a bunt hit to start the inning, Gardner doubled
to left with one out scoring a pair of runs for the lead
With Gardner at 3rd Base, SS Alberto Gonzalez delivered a sacrifice
fly for a 3-0 advantage
The Curve came back with two runs in the 6th Inning on RBI singles
by CF Adnrew McCutchen and LF Jason Delaney
Horne (9-3) finished the night giving up seven hits over six innings
for the win
He walked one and struck out seven
Shortslef (2-8) took the loss allowing three runs on five hits
in 6-1/3 innings
He walked two and struck out four
Altoona (42-42) got a runner to 3rd Base in the 6th Inning, but
reliever Michael Gardner got out of the jam
He tossed two shutout innings of relief followed by a scoreless
9th Inning from Tim Lavigne for his 5th save