2021 GAME NOTES 1000 PARK AVENUE, ALTOONA, PA 16602 814.283.3180 ALTOONACURVEBASEBALL ALTOONACURVE @ALTOONACURVE ALTOONA_CURVE EASTERN LEAGUE CHAMPIONS DIVISION CHAMPIONS PLAYOFF APPEARANCES PLAYERS TO MLB 2010, 2017 2004, 2010, 2017, 2018 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 172 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 June 4, 2021 -- Game #27, Road Game #16 Richmond Flying Squirrels (15-12) vs. Altoona Curve (17-9) RHP Sean Hjelle (1-0, 3.63) vs. LHP Trey McGough (AA Debut) 6:35 p.m. | The Diamond | Richmond, VA Radio -- WRTA 98.5 FM & Curve Radio Network | TV -- MiLB.TV THE LAST TIME OUT: Arden Pabst scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in the seventh inning and Deon Stafford SOUTHWEST DIVISION STANDINGS smashed a pinch-hit home run in the ninth to lead Altoona to a 4-2 win over the Richmond Flying Squirrels on Thursday Team W-L GB Today night at The Diamond. With the score tied at two, the Curve loaded the bases against Richmond right-hander Ronnie Wil- Bowie 20-5 -- @ HFD liams with a pair of walks and a base hit. Williams’ 1-1 offering to Brendt Citta, skipped away from catcher Ronnie Freeman which allowed Pabst to score the third run of the game for Altoona. Ji-Hwan Bae attempted to score as well on the wild Erie 17-8 3.0 @ AKR pitch, but was tagged out at home plate to end the inning. Left-hander Oddy Nunez delivered three scoreless innings of Akron 16-8 3.5 vs ERI relief, his longest outing of the season, to earn the victory. Stafford pinch-hit for Nunez to begin the ninth inning and blasted Altoona 17-9 3.5 @ RIC a 1-1 offering over the wall in left-center, his second home run of the season made it 4-2. Richmond 15-12 6.0 vs ALT Harrisburg 8-18 12.5 vs POR TODAY'S GAME: The Curve look to secure a series victory over Richmond tonight at The Diamond. NORTHEAST DIVISION STANDINGS HE STRUCK HIM OUT!!: The Curve struck out 17 batters on Opening Day, the most in a 9-inning game in franchise history. It Team W-L GB Today surpassed the previous record of 16 which stood since May 9, 2010 vs. Erie. Roansy Contreras struck out a career-high 11 Somerset 18-7 -- vs REA batters in the loss, Jeff Passantino struck out four and Yerry De Los Santos struck out two. In 26 games this season, Curve Portland 17-10 2.0 @ HBG pitching has struck out 10 or more batters 16 times (62%). Altoona pitching struck out nine batters in both ends of their New Hamp. 9-17 9.5 vs BING 7-inning doubleheader on 5/29 vs. Erie. Binghamton 7-19 11.5 @ NH THIS IS THE WAY: Altoona starters are first in the AA Northeast League in WHIP (1.00) and have issued the second-fewest Hartford 7-20 12.0 vs BOW walks (32). The Curve are one of 3 teams in MiLB with a WHIP of 1.00 or lower, (Frisco, 0.75 and Aberdeen 0.93) and have Reading 4-22 14.5 @ SOM issued the 8th fewest walks among starting pitchers. 2021 CURVE AT A GLANCE Overall Record .......................................... 17-9 IT'S GETTING HOT: SS Oneil Cruz has started to find his stride at the plate. In the midst of a 8-game hit streak, Cruz is bat- ................................................... 5-6 ting .343 (12-for-35) with 1 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 10 RBI with 5 SB and has raised his batting average from .226 to .283. Cruz has a Home hit in 18-of-23 games played this season and had a season-high 4 hits and 3 SB in Altoona's 9-4 win at Richmond on 6/2. Road .................................................. 12-3 Place (S'East Div) ....................................... 4th BACK-TO-BACK JACKS: The Curve homered back-to-back times in game two of their doubleheader on Saturday night with Games Ahead/Behind ............................... -3.5 Erie when Oneil Cruz and Mason Martin sluggled solo homers off RHP Gerson Moreno in the sixth inning. It marked the Streak ........................................................... W3 48th time in franchise history that the Curve hit back-to-back homers and first tie since Hunter Owen and Bligh Madris went Last 5............................................................ 3-2 back-to-back on June 3, 2019 at Erie. Last 10 ......................................................... 7-3 All-Time Record ............................1,520-1,468 THE FLYING SQUIRRELS: Richmond got off to a strong start this season with a 15-9 record entering this week's series against the Curve. Flying Squirrels manager José Alguacil is taking an absence from his position in Richmond to manage 2021 vs. Richmond .................................... 3-0 the Venezuelan national team for the WBSC Baseball Americas Olympic Qualifier at Clover Park in St. Lucie, Fla. and The at Altoona ........................................... 0-0 Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Fla. Venezuela is playing in Group B with Canada, Colombia and Cuba. at Richmond ....................................... 3-0 Jason Wood is managing the Flying Squirrels during this week’s series. He spent the last 10 seasons as a manager in the All-time vs. Richmond .........................114-89 Texas Rangers organization. He was with High-A Myrtle Beach from 2011-2013, Double-A Frisco in 2014, Triple-A Round at Altoona .............................. 68-40 Rock from 2015-2018 and Triple-A Nashville in 2019. Wood is currently the Giants’ Coordinator of Infield Instruction. Catcher at Richmond ...................................46-49 Andres Angulo is also away from the team, heading down to Florida to play for his home country, Colombia, in the Qualifi- .......................... 26,370 erThe Flying Squirrels have four players included in Baseball America’s Top-30 Giants prospects: Heliot Ramos (3), Tristan ‘21 Home Attendance Beck (12), Sean Hjelle (13) and Jose Marte (30). Ramos is also rated by Baseball America as the No. 83 overall prospect. Home Openings ............................................10 Average Attendance ............................... 2,637 FOR ALTOONA: LHP Trey McGough makes his Double-A debut on Friday night after making six appearances and one start for High-A Greensboro to begin the season... For more on McGough, see page two. CURVE LEAGUE RANKINGS FOR RICHMOND: RHP Sean Hjelle makes his sixth start of the season for the Flying Squirrels tonight. He last started in the Runs Scored ......................................7th (120) second game of the doubleheader on Saturday night at Reading and earned his second win of the season after allowing four Average .............................................8th (.233) runs, three earned in 5.0 innings. Hjelle stands 6'11'' tall and hails from Fridley, MN, he was drafted by the Giants in the 2nd RISP. ..................................................5th (.247) round (45th overall) in 2018 after a three-year career at the University of Kentucky. At Kentucky he was named the SEC's Home Runs .......................................... 6th (25) Pitcher of the Year as a sophomore in 2017. Hjelle first joined the Flying Squirrels in August of 2019 when he, Heliot Ramos Stolen Bases .......................................3rd (27) and Joey Bart were all promoted to Richmond on the same day from High-A San Jose. ERA... .................................................5th (3.69) PROSPECT WATCH: The Curve active roster features eight of the top-30 prospects in the Pirates organization according to Starter ERA ......................................3rd (3.34) Baseball America. INF Oneil Cruz (No. 2 Pirates, No. 50 overall), INF Ji-Hwan Bae (No. 9), INF Mason Martin (No. 16), OF Cal ....................................7th (4.03) (No. 19), (No. 22), and RHP (No. 28) are all ranked by BA. Reliever ERA Mitchell Rodolfo Castro Travis MacGregor Strikeouts/9 IP..............................4th (10.82) Walks/9 IP .......................................6th (3.69) BROADCAST INFORMATION Home Runs Allowed .......................T-2nd (19) TODAY IN CURVE HISTORY ON THE ROAD TRIP Record .......................................................... 3-0 2000 - Almost one year after Bronson Arroyo threw the first complete- Average ...................................... .245 (25-102) Jon Mozes and Preston Shoemaker will call game shutout in team history, Stephen Sparks spins a four-hit shutout at Runs/Runs Per Game .......................... 17/5.6 the action of the 2021 season on the flagship Harrisburg (win 7-0). Struck out seven and walked two. Home Runs ......................................................3 of the Curve, Talk Radio 98.5 FM/1240 AM RISP. ............................................... .250 (8-32) WRTA in Altoona. Pregame coverage begins 2005 - Jose Bautista leads a 16-hit barrage for the Curve with a 4-5 per- Errors ...............................................................2 15 min. before all games. formance with 4 RBI and a solo homer. Curve won 10-8. The Curve can also be heard on the following ERA... .................................2.00 (6 ER/27.0 IP) affiliate stations for selected games: Starter W-L ................................................. 2-0 - WPHB 1260 AM in Centre County Starter ERA ......................1.69 (3 ER/16.0 IP) - Online streaming at AltoonaCurve.com, WRTA.com, and Reliever W-L ............................................... 1-0 the MiLB First Pitch App Reliever ERA ....................2.70 (3 ER/10.0 IP) Saves/Opps ................................................. 2-2 UPCOMING GAMES & PROBABLE PITCHERS Saturday June 5 @ Richmond 6:05 p.m. RHP Osvaldo Bido (0-0, 2.70) vs. LHP Phil Pfeifer (AA Debut) Sunday June 6 @ Richmond 1:00 p.m. RHP Jeff Passantino (0-1, 3.00) vs. RHP Gerson Garabito (0-2, 5.49) Tuesday June 8 Akron 6:30 p.m. RHP Roansy Contreras