EASTERN LEAGUE CHAMPIONS DIVISION CHAMPIONS PLAYOFF APPEARANCES PLAYERS TO MLB 2010, 2017 2004, 2010, 2017, 2018 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 170 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 August 1, 2019 -- Game #108, Second Half Game #40, Road Game #54 Altoona Curve (54-53, 18-21) vs. Trenton Thunder (57-50, 19-22) RHP Pedro Vasquez (6-2, 2.81) vs. RHP Brian Keller (2-1, 2.78) RHP Beau Sulser (7-1, 2.42) vs. RHP Shawn Semple (0-1, 6.00) 5 p.m. | ARM & HAMMER Park | Trenton, N.J. Radio -- WRTA 98.5 FM & Curve Radio Network | TV -- MiLB.TV UPCOMING GAMES & PITCHING PROBABLES Fri., August 2 at Reading 7:10 p.m. LHP Sean Brady (3-9, 4.85) vs. RHP Spencer Howard (0-0, 1.93) Sat., August 3 at Reading 6:45 p.m. RHP Cody Bolton (1-1, 4.91) vs. LHP David Parkinson (7-7, 3.31) Sun., August 4 at Reading 5:15 p.m. LHP Domingo Robles (2-5, 5.06) vs. RHP Adonis Medina (6-5, 4.57) Mon., August 5 Richmond 6:30 p.m. TBD vs. RHP Nick Economos (0-2, 9.00) THE LAST TIME OUT: The Curve were upended, 7-2, by the Thunder after seven runs scored against Nick Economos 2019 E.L. WESTERN STANDINGS in his second Double-A start. After the Curve scored first in the third on a wild pitch by Nick Green, Trenton put up four in the third and three more runs in the fourth before cruising to a second straight win. The seven runs and nine Team 2nd Half Overall GB Today hits allowed by Economos were both season highs. Nick Green started the day with an 8.78 ERA but held the Curve Erie 30-11 61-46 -- @ BNG to one score over 5.2 innings. Arden Pabst tripled in the seventh and was scored on a sacrifice fly byJared Oliva for Bowie 29-11 59-49 0.5 vs. REA the final score of the night.Angel German and Austin Coley combined for 4.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen. x-Harrisburg 18-20 60-48 10.5 vs. HFD TODAY'S GAME: The Curve play the final two games of their nine-game season series versus the Trenton Thunder, Altoona 18-21 54-53 11.0 @ TRN Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. Trenton clinched the season series with Wednesday's victory, making it Richmond 16-23 39-67 13.0 vs. POR the fifth straight year the Curve without a winning record over the Thunder. Akron 14-26 48-61 15.5 vs. NHM THE CURVE: The Curve have lost 8 of 9 and 4-14 since July 14. The club is in danger of falling below .500 for the 2019 E.L. EASTERN STANDINGS first time since the club was 29-30 after a pair of wins in a double-header over Akron on June 8. Altoona went 25-10 from June 3-July 13 to climb from a season-low five games under .500 (24-29) to a season-best 10 games above Team 2nd Half Overall GB Today (49-39). In July, the team went 11-16 and ended the third losing July in club history and the first time since 2011. Reading 25-18 64-46 -- @ BOW The Curve have reached the E.L. Playoffs in each of the last four seasons, the longest active streak in the league Binghamton 21-22 56-51 4.0 vs. ERI and tied for the longest run in franchise history (2003-06). Altoona reached the postseason in 2018 by making up a Portland 19-21 46-61 4.5 @ POR seven-game lead held by Akron at the start of August. x-Trenton 19-22 57-50 5.0 vs. ALT THE THUNDER: First-Half Eastern Division Champs went 12-17 in July, the first losing month for the Thunder since Hartford 16-23 53-53 7.0 @ HBG August 2015 (12-16). Trenton is also 19-22 since they punched their ticket to the postseason for the fourth consecu- New Hamp. 17-24 48-60 7.0 @ AKR tive season. Trenton has the best home winning percentage in the league and are 35-19 at ARM & HAMMER Park in 2019. Trenton's offense is ranked ninth in the league with 3.9 runs per game, sixth with a .241 team batting average, 2019 CURVE AT A GLANCE fourth with a .256 average with runners in scoring position, sixth with 76 homers and steal the fourth-most bases in Overall Record ........................................54-53 the league at 87. The club's 3.72 ERA is also ninth in the league with the third-most strikeouts per nine innings (9.2) ........................................36-32 and second-most walks per nine innings (3.9) First Half Second Half ....................................18-21 FOR ALTOONA: Right-hander Pedro Vasquez will make his 18th outing and 20th overall between Double-A and Home ............................................... 27-27 Triple-A. He has made two outings since the All-Star Break, limited to six innings and was removed due to elbow Road ................................................ 27-26 discomfort in the third inning on July 15 against the Thunder. Most recently, Vasquez took just his second loss of Place (E.L. Western) .................................. 4th the year when two runs passed in 3.2 innings against Richmond on July 25. Vasquez pitched a 1-2-3 third inning in Games Ahead/Behind ............................. -11.0 the Eastern League All-Star Game in Richmond to aid a 5-0 victory for the Western Divison over the Eastern Divison Streak .............................................................L2 on July 10. The right-hander from Santo Domingo was originally signed by Seattle as an international free agent in ............................................................ 1-4 2015 and was acquired by the Pirates in a trade on September 1, 2016 as a player-to-be-named later for RHP Arqui- Last 5 medes Caminero...For more on Vasquez, see page two. Last 10 ......................................................... 2-8 All-Time Record ............................1,488-1,441 Right-hander Beau Sulser will make his third Double-A start and 27th appearance of the season. Another 2019 Eastern League All-Star, Sulser has worked multiple innings 23 times with scoreless relief 17 times. A native of 2019 vs. Trenton ........................................ 2-5 Escondido, Calif., Sulser started 21 games at Dartmouth College and was the Ivy League Pitcher of the Year as a at Altoona .......................................... 1-2 senior in 2017 when he went 6-1 with a 1.40 ERA over seven starts. Sulser was drafted by the Pirates in the 10th at Trenton ......................................... 1-3 round of the 2017 draft...For more on Sulser, see page three. All-time vs. Trenton ...............................92-99 FOR TRENTON: Brian Keller, a 25-year-old right-hander, makes the game one start and his seventh overall for Tren- at Altoona ....................................... 57-44 ton. He has thrown three straight quality starts since the All-Star Break, going 2-1 with a 2.25 ERA (5 ER/20 IP) that at Trenton ......................................35-55 included a three-run, six-inning effort in his last start versus Akron on July 24. Keller did not debut this year until a June 17 tune-up for short-season Staten Island with six scoreless innings and reported to Trenton on June 23. ‘19 Home Attendance ........................ 222,193 He spent all of 2018 with the Thunder and went 10-9 with a 3.74 ERA over 22 outings. A Germantown, Wisc. native, Home Openings ............................................50 Keller was drafted by the Yankees in the 39th round in 2016 out of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Average Attendance ............................... 4,444 Right-hander Shawn Semple gets the ball in the second contest, his second career outing at Double-A. He last threw on July 27 at Erie, his Double-A debut, and took a loss after four runs scored over six innings of a 4-2 defeat. Semple CURVE LEAGUE RANKINGS has pitched at four levels in the Yankees system this year, starting at Class A Charleston, going 2-0 with a 1.71 ERA, Runs Per Game ................................3.96 (8th) before moving up to A-Adv. Tampa in May and went 1-4 with a 4.32 ERA over 13 starts. He also made a spot-start for Average ............................................ .243 (5th) Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on May 25 at Syracuse and allowed eight runs over 3.1 innings. Pitching in his third RISP. ................................................. .250 (6th) pro season, Semple was born in nearby Voorhees, N.J. and attended the University of New Orleans. The Yankees Home Runs .....................................63 (T-11th) drafted Semple in the 11th round in 2017. Stolen Bases ....................................... 74 (8th) YEAR OF THE PITCHER: Eastern League pitchers in 2019 have handcuffed hitters to a .239 league-wide batting average with teams scoring 3.99 runs per game. The last season the league average finished below .240 and and ERA... .................................................3.66 (8th) fewer than 4.0 runs were scored per game was in 1971 (.234/3.57). The league average has finished under .240 Starter ERA ......................................4.04 (9th) just five times since becoming a Double-A league in 1963: 1971 (.234), 1968 (.219), 1967 (.228), 1966 (.234) and Reliever ERA ....................................3.13 (7th) 1965 (.236). Seven no-hitters have been thrown in the league in 2019, the most since a league record nine no-nos Strikeouts/9 IP................................ 7.3 (12th) occurred in 1967. Strikeouts have also spiked up to 8.7 SO/9 IP, the highest ratio in league history going back to the Walks/9 IP .........................................2.9 (3rd) earliest data available in 1965.