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 July 28, 2019 -- Game #104, Second Half Game #37, Home Game #54 Richmond Flying Squirrels (39-64, 16-20) vs. Altoona Curve (52-51, 17-19) RHP Logan Webb (1-2, 2.00) vs. RHP Cody Bolton (0-1, 5.79) 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., July 29 OFF DAY Tues., July 30 at Trenton 5 p.m. TBD vs. TBD Wed., July 31 at Trenton 7 p.m. TBD vs. RHP Janson Junk (0-1, 7.71) Thurs., August 1 at Trenton 5 p.m. TBD vs. RHP Nick Nelson (5-2, 2.91) THE LAST TIME OUT: The Curve fell in 11 innings, 6-5, to Richmond for the club's sixth straight loss. It matches the 2019 E.L. WESTERN STANDINGS longest losing streak of the season for the Curve and clinched just the sixth series win of the year for the Flying Squirrels. Altoona led, 3-2, after eight innings before Richmond rallied to take the lead in the ninth, 10th and 11th Team 2nd Half Overall GB Today innings with the Curve matching the score twice. Matt Eckelman suffered his first blown save of the year and broke Erie 27-10 58-45 -- vs. TRN a strand of 26 consecutive saves converted with Altoona dating back to the 2018 season. The Curve were 41-0 when Bowie 26-10 56-48 0.5 @ BNG leading after eight innings. Altoona 17-19 52-51 9.5 vs. RIC x-Harrisburg 16-19 58-47 10.0 @ POR TODAY'S GAME: The Curve look to avoid a sweep to the Richmond Flying Squirrels, Double-A affiliate of the San Richmond 16-20 39-64 10.5 @ ALT Francisco Giants, in the finale of a four-game series and eight-game homestand. The Curve have been swept in two three-game series in 2019 while Richmond seeks their second series sweep (June 21-23 at Binghamton) and first Akron 13-24 47-59 14.0 @ HFD four-game sweep. Altoona and Richmond will complete their 23-game season series when the Curve return home 2019 E.L. EASTERN STANDINGS on August 5 for a four-game series. Today's game ends a stretch of 19 games in 18 days stretch after the All-Star Break before an off day on Monday. The Curve will play 35 games in the final 35 days of the regular season starting Team 2nd Half Overall GB Today on Tuesday in Trenton. Reading 23-16 62-44 -- @ NHM Binghamton 20-19 55-48 3.0 vs. BOW THE CURVE: The Curve have lost six in a row, matching their longest losing streak of the season from April 12-18. Portland 17-20 44-60 5.0 vs. HBG The longest losing streak during Michael Ryan's three seasons as manager was in 2017 when the club lost seven x-Trenton 17-21 55-48 5.5 @ ERI straight from June 26-July 2. Altoona has been outscored 28-17 over their last six games while each contest has been decided by three runs or fewer. The team is 5-13 since the All-Star Break, the worst record in the league, and Hartford 15-21 52-51 6.5 vs. AKR have not won a series after going 23-9 with one series loss between June 3-July 7 entering the break. The Curve New Hamp. 15-23 46-59 7.5 vs. REA have reached the E.L. Playoffs in each of the last four seasons, the longest active streak in the league and tied for the longest run in franchise history (2003-06). Altoona reached the postseason in 2018 by chasing down Akron, who 2019 CURVE AT A GLANCE held a seven-game lead at the start of August. Overall Record ........................................52-51 First Half ........................................35-32 THE FLYING SQUIRRELS: Richmond is one game from matching a season-high winning streak of four. The Flying Second Half .................................... 17-19 Squirrels' .379 winning percentage is the lowest at Double-A. Richmond pitchers hold a 3.83 ERA, second-highest in Home ...............................................26-27 the E.L. Richmond has been outscored by 121 runs in 2019, the highest run differential in the league with the next Road ................................................26-24 closest team standing at -20. The Squirrels' offense scores the fewest runs per game (3.3), has the lowest team bat- Place (E.L. Western) ..................................3rd ting average (.219) and hit the fewest homers (61). Games Ahead/Behind ............................... -9.5 Streak .............................................................L6 FOR ALTOONA: Right-hander Cody Bolton makes his sixth Double-A start and second versus Richmond. The Last 5............................................................ 0-5 21-year-old was limited to three innings and three runs allowed in his last appearance on Tuesday due to a long Last 10 ......................................................... 2-8 rain delay against Erie. He made his Double-A debut at The Diamond in Richmond on June 26 and faced the mini- ............................1,486-1,439 mum through four before the Squirrels scored four in the fifth. Bolton was a 2019 Florida State League All-Star for All-Time Record A-Adv. Bradenton and led the FSL with a 1.61 ERA over his 12 starts at the time of his promotion on June 26. He leads the Pirates system with a 0.95 WHIP and ranks fifth with a 2.75 ERA between both levels. Pittsburgh drafted 2019 vs. Richmond .................................... 9-7 Bolton out of Tracy (Calif.) High School in the sixth round of the 2017 draft and is ranked by Baseball America as the at Altoona .......................................... 2-4 Pirates' No. 21 prospect while MLB.com ranks the righty at No. 13 in the system...For more on Bolton, see page two. at Richmond ...................................... 7-3 All-time vs. Richmond .........................107-88 FOR RICHMOND: Right-hander Logan Webb returns to the mound for his sixth Double-A start. The 22-year-old made at Altoona .......................................63-39 five starts and held a 2.00 ERA through the month of April and was hit with an 80-game suspension for testing posi- at Richmond ...................................44-49 tive for a banned performance-enhancing substance. Over the last two weeks, Webb has made three rehab outings, one in the Arizona Rookie League and two for Class A Augusta, allowing a total of two runs over 15 innings. The ‘19 Home Attendance ........................ 217,405 Giants drafted Webb in the fourth round in 2014 out of Rocklin (Calif.) High School and is in his sixth pro season. He Home Openings ............................................49 was a 2018 California League All-Star with A-Adv. San Jose in 2018, holding a 1.82 ERA before he made his Double- Average Attendance ............................... 4,437 A debut for Richmond last August. Sunday is his first career start against Altoona. CURVE LEAGUE RANKINGS YEAR OF THE PITCHER: The Eastern League has witnessed seven no-hitters in 2019, the most since a record nine Runs Per Game ................................3.98 (7th) no-nos were thrown in 1967. The league-wide batting average stands at .239 with teams scoring 3.99 runs per ......................................... .243 (T-4th) game. The last time the league average finished under .250 and 4.0 runs per game was in 1989 (.249/3.95) while Average 1971 (.234/3.57) was the last season below .240 and fewer than 4.0 runs per game. The league batting average has RISP. ................................................. .251 (6th) finished under .240 just five times since becoming a Double-A league in 1963: 1971 (.234), 1968 (.219), 1967 (.228), Home Runs ........................................63 (11th) 1966 (.234) and 1965 (.236). Pitchers are also recording 8.7 SO/9 IP, the highest ratio in league history going back to Stolen Bases ....................................... 72 (6th) the earliest data available in 1965. The E.L.'s average nine-inning game time of 2:37:37 is the fastest in baseball. ERA... .................................................3.67 (8th) GLOVE TRAIN: The Curve defense is one of the best untils in the Minors but has committed 12 errors in their last Starter ERA ......................................3.99 (7th) nine games. The club's .983 fielding percentage, 63 errors and 99 double plays all rank third at Double-A. The Curve Reliever ERA ....................................3.24 (8th) have set the franchise record for highest team fielding percentage in each of the last three seasons, which was .980 Strikeouts/9 IP................................ 7.3 (12th) in 2016 and 2017 before the 2018 club held a .985 mark. Walks/9 IP .........................................2.9 (3rd) Home Runs Allowed .........................89 (11th) OLIVA COMING ALIVE: Jared Oliva has hit safely in 13 of 15 while batting .338 (22/65) since July 13. The top hitter in the Eastern League since early June, Oliva has been on base in 43 of his last 49 games with a .420 on-base per- ON THE HOMESTAND centage and hitting .344 (63/183), both the highest rates in the league since June 3, to go with 15 doubles, 36 runs, ...............................................................7 21 steals and 63 hits. His batting average has risen from a season-low .193 to .279, ninth-best in the E.L. and third Games in Pittsburgh's system. In the Second-Half, Oliva leads the E.L. with a .364 batting average, .434 on-base percentage, Record .......................................................... 1-6 .969 OPS and 47 hits. He ranks second on the E.L. circuit and first in the Pirates system with 29 steals for the year.