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 18, 2019 -- Game #125, Second Half Game #57, Home Game #64 Bowie Baysox (68-56, 38-18) vs. Altoona Curve (61-63, 25-31) LHP Alex Wells (8-3, 2.31) vs. LHP Sean Brady (3-12, 4.79) 6 p.m. | Peoples Natural Gas Field | Altoona, Pa. Radio -- WRTA 98.5 FM & Curve Radio Network | TV -- MiLB.TV UPCOMING GAMES & PITCHING PROBABLES Mon., August 19 Hartford 6:30 p.m. RHP Antonio Santos (1-2, 5.96) vs. LHP Cam Vieaux (2-3, 2.56) Tues., August 20 Hartford 6:30 p.m. LHP Matt Whitehouse (4-3, 5.30) vs. RHP Beau Sulser (8-1, 2.56) Wed., August 21 Hartford 6:30 p.m. RHP Matt Dennis (4-2, 3.34) vs. LHP Domingo Robles (2-6, 4.83) Thurs., August 22 at Bowie 7:05 p.m. RHP Pedro Vasquez (7-3, 2.69) vs. TBD THE LAST TIME OUT: The Curve were led by eight scoreless innings from Pedro Vasquez in a 5-0 shutout victory over 2019 E.L. WESTERN STANDINGS Bowie on Saturday. The eight innings was the longest start by a Curve pitcher in 2019 and the longest outing for Vasquez since 2016. Matt Eckelman closed out the shutout with a scoreless ninth. Offensively, three extra-base hits by Chris Team 2nd Half Overall GB Today Sharpe, Jared Oliva and Logan Hill led to three runs in the third. In the eighth, the Hill added a two-run homer. Saturday's Erie 40-16 71-51 -- vs. AKR scoreless effort was the 14th shutout win for the Curve, two shy of the team record of 16 during the 2015 campaign. Bowie 38-18 68-56 2.0 @ ALT TODAY'S GAME: The penultimate homestand continues for the Curve with rubber match of their three-game series against Altoona 25-31 61-63 15.0 vs. BOW the Bowie Baysox, Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Bowie has won each of the previous two series played be- x-Harrisburg 23-28 65-56 15.0 @ RIC tween the two ballclubs, including taking 2 of 3 in Altoona on May 6-8 and 3 of 4 in Bowie on July 18-21, and have outscored Akron 22-33 56-68 17.5 @ ERI the Curve 49-32. The Curve play four more games at Prince George's Stadium on their next road trip on August 22-25. Richmond 22-34 45-78 18.0 vs. HBG Altoona is in the homestretch of the season with 16 games remaining over the next 16 days. 2019 E.L. EASTERN STANDINGS RYAN'S REIGN: Indiana, Pa. native Michael Ryan tied the franchise record for managerial wins with his 213th victory on Saturday. With the next win for the Curve, Ryan would surpass Dale Sveum (2001-03) and Tim Leiper (2006-08) as the Team 2nd Half Overall GB Today winningest manager in Curve history. Ryan currently holds a 213-189 record as Altoona's manager and his .521 winning Reading 33-24 72-52 -- vs. TRN percentage is the third-highest in club history behind Tony Beasley (2004-05; 161-122) and Joey Cora (2016; 76-64). He was x-Trenton 29-28 67-56 4.0 @ REA fastest Curve manager to reach the 200-win milestone in his 365th game on July 12 in Erie. Over his seven-year manage- rial career, Ryan is a two-time league champion, which included the 2017 Eastern League Championship with the Curve, Portland 28-28 55-68 4.5 @ NMB and has a career record of 493-458. Hartford 27-28 64-58 5.0 @ BNG Binghamton 25-34 60-63 9.0 vs. HFD THE CURVE: The Curve have won four games over their last nine contests, all via the shutout. Since the July 8-10 break, New Hamp. 24-33 55-69 9.0 vs. POR the Curve are 13-25, have won just one series and have been outscored 177-135 while batting .234 (284/1212), the second- lowest average in the league over that stretch. Altoona went 25-10 from June 3-July 13, including wins in 7 of 8 entering 2019 CURVE AT A GLANCE the All-Star Break, to climb from a season-low five games under .500 (24-29) to a season-best 10 games over (49-39). The Curve have reached the E.L. Playoffs in each of the last four seasons, the longest active streak in the league and tied for Overall Record ........................................61-63 the longest run in franchise history (2003-06). First Half ........................................36-32 Second Half ....................................25-31 THE BAYSOX: Bowie was 7-23 when the club last visited Altoona and have gone a league-best 61-33 since that date, includ- Home ...............................................32-31 ing 20 wins in each June and July. Bowie is armed with the best pitching staff in the Eastern League, holding a 3.22 ERA Road ................................................29-32 overall with the second-best starter ERA (3.32) and fourth-best bullpen (3.06). Offensively, Bowie leads the league in the .............................. T-3rd clutch by batting .265 with runners in scoring position. The Baysox score runs at the third-highest rate in the league (4.15 Place (E.L. Western) per game), rank third in overall team batting average (.244) and have hit the sixth-most homers (84) in the E.L. Games Ahead/Behind ............................. -15.0 Streak ........................................................... W1 FOR ALTOONA: Left-handed pitcher Sean Brady will make his 19th start for the Curve and 24th overall in 2019. In his last Last 5............................................................ 2-3 start, he allowed six runs on 12 hits on August 12 in Harrisburg. Brady has shouldered a losing decision in each of his last Last 10 ......................................................... 4-6 four starts with a 5.01 ERA (13 ER/23.1 IP) and has been handed the loss in his last five decisions spanning seven starts All-Time Record ............................1,495-1,451 since the All-Star Break. Brady faces the Baysox for the fourth time this year, including his Pirates organization debut on May 8 at PNG Field. He spent the first six years of his professional career in the Indians organization and was released by Cleveland on May 1 and signed with the Pirates on May 6. He was originally drafted by the Indians in the fifth round of the 2019 vs. Bowie ........................................... 3-6 2013 draft out of high school...For more on Brady, see page two. at Altoona ........................................... 2-3 at Bowie .............................................. 1-3 FOR BOWIE: Left-hander Alex Wells takes the hill for his 21st start of the year. Wells last pitched on August 13 versus Rich- All-time vs. Bowie ..............................164-171 mond and allowed four runs over six innings for his third loss of the season. The 22-year-old has faced the Curve two times at Altoona .......................................81-86 in 2019 and has 1.64 ERA (2 ER/11 IP) versus Altoona that included six scoreless in Bowie on July 20 along with a winning at Bowie ..........................................83-85 decision on May 8 at PNG Field. Wells ranks second in the E.L. with a 2.31 ERA, third with a 1.04 WHIP, seventh with a .228 batting average against and ninth with 116.2 innings pitched. The Newcastle, Australia native was signed by the Orioles as a free agent on August 29, 2015 and has a twin brother, Lachlan, who is a left-handed pitcher in the Twins system. He is ‘19 Home Attendance ........................ 273,614 also a four-time Mid-Season All-Star, including this year in the E.L., and is ranked as Baltimore's No. 20 prospect, according Home Openings ............................................59 to MLB.com. Average Attendance ............................... 4,638 BRAKE MEN: A number of relievers have been reliable options out of the Curve bullpen. Blake Cederlind has a 1.40 ERA CURVE LEAGUE RANKINGS (4 ER/25.2 IP) with 26 strikeouts in his last 19 games since June 14. Matt Eckelman is the ninth player in club history to record 20 saves in a single season while his 32 career saves with Altoona are second-most in franchise history. Eckelman Runs Per Game ................................3.90 (8th) has allowed just five earned runs, seven total, with 30 strikeouts in 27 games since the start of June for a 1.55 ERA (5 Average ......................................... .242 (T-4th) ER/29 IP). During his last 24 games since May 19, Angel German has yanked his ERA down from 7.07 to 3.75 with 19 score- RISP. ................................................. .249 (6th) less outings, allowing just 17 hits, struck out 35 and has a 2.31 ERA (9 ER/35 IP). In parts of two seasons with the Curve, Home Runs ........................................77 (11th) Jesus Liranzo has allowed just one earned run over 34.2 innings. Stolen Bases ....................................... 77 (9th) YEAR OF THE PITCHER: Eastern League pitchers in 2019 have handcuffed hitters to a .239 league-wide batting average with teams scoring 3.94 runs per game. The last time the league average finished below .240 and fewer than 4.0 runs were ERA... ............................................3.76 (T-10th) scored per game was in 1971 (.234/3.57). The league average has finished under .240 just five times since becoming a Starter ERA ......................................4.02 (9th) Double-A league in 1963: 1971 (.234), 1968 (.219), 1967 (.228), 1966 (.234) and 1965 (.236). The circuit has witnessed eight Reliever ERA ....................................3.39 (9th) no-hitters in 2019 (two against Altoona), the most since a league-record nine no-nos were thrown in 1967.