EASTERN LEAGUE CHAMPIONS DIVISION CHAMPIONS PLAYOFF APPEARANCES PLAYERS TO MLB 2010, 2017 2004, 2010, 2017, 2018 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 162 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 April 24, 2019 -- Games #19, Road Games #13 Altoona Curve (8-10) vs. Harrisburg Senators (16-2) RHP Scooter Hightower (0-2, 5.02) vs. RHP Sterling Sharp (2-1, 3.71) Noon | FNB Field | Harrisburg, Pa. Radio -- WKMC 96.1 FM & Curve Radio Network | TV -- MiLB.TV UPCOMING GAMES & PITCHING PROBABLES Thurs., April 25 OFF DAY Fri., April 26 Richmond 6 p.m. TBD vs. RHP James Marvel (2-1, 1.99) Sat., April 27 Richmond 4 p.m. TBD vs. RHP Pedro Vasquez (1-0, 1.59) Sun., April 28 Richmond 2 p.m. TBD vs. RHP Dario Agrazal (1-1, 3.60) YESTERDAY: The Curve and Senators were tied entering the bottom of the eighth for the second straight day before 2019 E.L. WESTERN STANDINGS Harrisburg scored the winning run. Adrian Sanchez plugged the left-center gap for a lead-off triple off Jake Brentz and Drew Ward knocked him home two batters later to lift the Senators to a 5-4 win. The Curve scored first with Team W-L PCT GB Today a solo homer by Hunter Owen in the second and added another run in the third. Harrisburg plated four in the fifth Harrisburg 16-2 .889 -- vs. ALT against Cam Vieaux, including a go-ahead, three-run homer by Ian Sagdal. The Curve used single runs in the sixth Erie 8-7 .533 6.5 vs. BOW and eighth to equal the score. Harrisburg starting pitcher Erick Fedde fanned 11 Curve hitters while the bullpen Altoona 8-10 .444 8.0 @ HBG whiffed five more for a season-high total of 16 strikeouts by Altoona batters. Richmond 7-9 .438 8.0 vs. REA TONIGHT: The 21st season of Altoona Curve Baseball continues as the Curve play the final contest of a three-game Akron 7-11 .389 9.0 vs. BIN set against the Harrisburg Senators, Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. For the second straight series Bowie 4-14 .222 12.0 @ ERI against the Senators, the Curve will look to avoid the sweep. 2019 E.L. EASTERN STANDINGS THE CURVE: After a franchise record-matching 5-0 start to the season, the Curve have lost 10 of their last 13. Over the last 10 games, Altoona has been outscored 39-21 while hitting .216 (63/291). Entering 2019, the Curve own the Team W-L PCT GB Today Eastern League's longest active streak for reaching the postseason while their four straight playoff appearances are Binghamton 9-4 .692 -- @ AKR tied for a franchise record (2003-06). Over that four-year period, the Curve have the best record (302-258) among Trenton 10-6 .625 0.5 @ NHM Western Division teams while the only teams in the league with better records are Trenton (329-235) and Reading Reading 8-7 .533 2.0 @ RIC (305-254). New Hamp. 9-9 .500 2.5 vs. TRN THE SENATORS: Harrisburg owns the best record in Minor League Baseball and have won their last seven games, Hartford 9-10 .474 3.0 @ POR including a three-game sweep in Altoona last week and the first two of the current series. Harrisburg's pitching staff Portland 4-10 .286 5.5 vs. HFD has the lowest team ERA at 2.19 and batting average against at .194. Offensively, they lead the circuit with 23 hom- ers while ranking fourth with a .246 team average and third with 77 runs scored. Despite those top marks, the Sena- tors' offense is 11th in the E.L. with a .211 batting average with runners in scoring position. Harrsiburg is managed 2019 CURVE AT A GLANCE by Matt LeCroy, one of four returning managers in the league from 2018 (Altoona's Michael Ryan, Hartford's Warren Overall Record .......................................... 8-10 Schaeffer and Richmond's Willie Harris). The Senators currently carry seven of the Nationals' Top 30 prospects, Home ................................................... 1-5 according to MLB.com: INF Luis Garcia (No. 3), RHP Wil Crowe (No. 5), RHP Sterling Sharp (No. 9), RHP James .................................................... 7-5 Bourque (No. 18), C Tres Barrera (No. 21), LHP Taylor Guilbeau (No. 24) and LHP Ben Braymer (No. 25). Garcia is Road also ranked by MLB. com as baseball's No. 73 overall prospect. Place (E.L. Western) .............................. T-3rd Games Ahead/Behind ............................... -8.0 FOR ALTOONA: Right-handed pitcher Scooter Hightower is slated to face the Senators for the first time this season Streak .............................................................L2 in his fifth outing and fourth start. In his previous outing, Hightower allowed five runs, four earned, over four innings in Richmond last Thursday for his second consecutive losing decision. He has pitched against Harrisburg one other Last 5............................................................ 2-3 time in his career on August 2, 2018 at FNB Field and allowed two unearned runs during a four-inning start. The Last 10 ......................................................... 2-8 righty from Clarskville, Tenn. made 11 appearances for Altoona in 2018, including seven starts, and turned in a 2-1 record with a 2.41 ERA. Hightower was drafted by the Pirates in the 15th round during the 2015 draft out of Colum- 2019 vs. Harrisburg .................................. 0-5 bia State Community College....For more on Hightower, see page two. at Altoona .......................................... 0-3 FOR HARRISBURG: Right-hander Sterling Sharp gets the ball for the Senators for his fourth starting nod of the year at Harrisburg .................................... 0-2 and his second straight appearance against the Curve. In his last start, Sharp picked up his second straight win and All-time vs. Harrisburg .....................196-171 needed just 67 pitches to silence the Curve over seven innings at PNG Field. In three career starts against Altoona, Sharp is 2-1 with a 3.45 ERA (6 ER/15.2 IP). The 23-year-old was promoted to Double-A for the first time with Har- at Altoona .....................................110-69 risburg in late-June 2018 and went 6-3 with a 4.33 ERA. He was a 2018 Carolina League Mid-Season All-Star with at Harrisburg ...............................86-102 A-Adv. Potomac and compiled a 5-3, 3.16 ERA ledger. The righty was a 22nd round pick by the Nationals in 2014 out of Drury University and is Washington's No. 8 prospect, according to MLB.com. ‘19 Home Attendance ...........................17,779 GOTTA START SOMEWHERE: Over the Curve's last four games, Altoona starting pitchers tossed 24.1 straight score- Home Openings ..............................................5 less innings until Harrisburg pitcher Erick Fedde knocked in a run with a single against Cam Vieaux with one out in Average Attendance ............................... 3,556 the fifth on Tuesday. Curve starters have held hitters to a .118 average (10/85), walked four and struck out 16 in 25 innings. CURVE COMMAND: Altoona pitchers have issued 37 walks through 18 games, the fewest free passes in all of Minor League Baseball. The starting rotation has limited their walks to 14 on the campaign, which is lowest total at Double-A through 98.2 innings and the third-fewest in the minors behind starting pitchers for Dunedin (A-Adv. Blue Jays) with 11 walks in 87.2 innings and Hickory (Single-A Rangers) with 13 over 86.2 innings. SITUATIONAL SLUMP: As a team with runners in scoring position, the Curve hit .321 in the clutch over the first seven games of the season before stumbling to a .143 (10/70) mark over their previous 11 games. Altoona's offense has bounced into a league-high 15 double plays and has struck out at the highest rate among teams in the league. The Curve offense has tallied double-digit strikeouts in 10 of the first 18 games of the year, including a season-high 16 punch outs on Tuesday which was one shy of tying a club record. BROADCAST INFORMATION STEPHEN UP: Shortstop Stephen Alemais has hit safely in seven of his last nine games with three multi-hit perfor- mances. Over the recent stretch, Baseball America's No. 26 Pirates prospect is hitting .286 average (10/35) while batting in the leadoff, second and third spots in the lineup. Alemais hit .310 through his first 15 games in 2018 and would have finished last season with a .298 average if not for an 0-for-26 slide that he experienced from May 5-18. BLIGH GUY: OutfielderBligh Madris has broke out of a 1-for-14 funk with back-to-back two-hit games in the series with Harrisburg. The Las Vegas native has hit safely in three of his last four and has recovered his average to Garett Mansfield and Michael Marcantonini .290 after a short slump to .267. With a team-high 20 hits, Madris is tied for second in the Eastern League in that will call the action of the 2018 season on category. the flagship of the Curve, Talk Radio 98.5 BOUNTY HUNTER: Third baseman Hunter Owen has supplied plenty of pow- FM/1240 AM WRTA in Altoona. Pregame er in the middle of the Curve lineup during his first few weeks in Dobule-A. coverage begins 15 min. before all games. ON THE ROAD TRIP He sits third on the E.L. leaderboard with four homers and 13 RBIs while his Games .....................................................................5 11 runs are tied for fourth. Additionally, Owen's .576 slugging percentage is The Curve can also be heard on the following ninth-best in the league. Owen finished second in the Pirates organization affiliate stations for selected games: Record ................................................................