EASTERN LEAGUE CHAMPIONS DIVISION CHAMPIONS PLAYOFF APPEARANCES PLAYERS TO MLB 2010, 2017 2004, 2010, 2017 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 146 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017 BATTING AVG.: .250 (4th) May 5, 2018 -- Games 26 & 27, Home Games 14 & 15 BATTING AVG.: .235 (T-9th) TEAM HR: 10 (12th) TEAM HR: 12 (11th) WALKS: 86 (8th) Erie SeaWolves (9-17) vs. Altoona Curve (14-11) WALKS: 80 (10th) STRIKEOUTS: 255 (1st) RHP Beau Burrows (2-2, 3.68) vs. RHP J.T. Brubaker (2-1, 1.45) STRIKEOUTS: 186 (11th) TEAM ERA: 4.18 (10th) TEAM ERA: 3.23 (3rd) WALKS: 93 (5th) 3 p.m. | Peoples Natural Gas Field | Altoona, Pa. WALKS: 83 (9th) STRIKEOUTS: 225 (3rd) STRIKEOUTS: 206 (T-8th) () -- EL Rank Radio -- WKMC 1370 AM & Curve Radio Network | TV -- MiLB.TV () -- EL Rank UPCOMING GAMES & PITCHING PROBABLES Sun., May 6 Erie 2 p.m. RHP Sandy Baez (0-2, 4.88) vs. RHP Joe Musgrove (MLB Rehab) Mon., May 7 Bowie 6 p.m. LHP Jayson Aquino (1-2, 4.26 with Triple-A Norfolk) vs. LHP Brandon Waddell (0-0, 1.74) Tues., May 8 Bowie 6 p.m. TBD vs. RHP Mitch Keller (3-1, 2.73) Wed., May 9 Bowie 10:30 a.m. RHP Hunter Harvey (0-1, 3.65) vs. LHP Taylor Hearn (0-3, 5.81) YESTERDAY: The Curve dropped the first game of the double-header, 6-1, to end their five-game winning streak. Taylor Hearn struck out seven batters through three scoreless innings to start the night, but ran into trouble in the fourth. He finished his 2018 E.L. WESTERN STANDINGS game with six innings pitched and allowed four earned runs with two walks and nine strikeouts. The Curve scored their lone run on a solo homer by Wyatt Mathisen in the fourth. The second game of the night was suspended due to rain in the bottom Team W-L PCT GB Today of the third with the Curve lead, 3-1. Akron 16-11 .593 -- @ BOW Altoona 14-11 .560 1.0 vs. ERI TONIGHT: The 20th Season of Altoona Curve Baseball, presented by Stuckey Subaru, continues at PNG Field as the Curve Richmond 14-12 .538 1.5 @ REA host the Erie SeaWolves, Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, with the completion of Friday's rain-suspended game, fol- Bowie 13-13 .500 2.5 vs. AKR lowed by the night's regularly-scheduled game. Harrisburg 10-16 .385 5.5 @ TRN Erie 9-17 .346 6.5 @ ALT THE CURVE: After opening the season with a 6-2 record, Altoona lost eight of the last 11 games before winning five of the last six. Their five-game winning streak was snapped with a loss on Friday night to the SeaWolves. The Curve enter play 2018 E.L. EASTERN STANDINGS tonight in second place in the division, one game behind Akron. Team W-L PCT GB Today New Hamp. 15-9 .625 -- @ BIN THE SEAWOLVES: After opening the season 3-0, Erie lost six straight games from April 8-14. Over their most recent six- Trenton 16-10 .615 -- vs. HAR game homestand heading into this series, the SeaWolves lost five of six games against Binghamton and Bowie. Overall, they Hartford 15-12 .556 1.5 vs. POR have lost 10 of the last 14 games. The Erie pitching staff has combined for a 4.18 ERA, the third-highest in the league. They Binghamton 13-11 .542 2.0 @ NH have the fourth-ranked offense in the league with a .250 average, but have hit the fewest home runs hit (10) and have the Reading 10-14 .417 5.0 vs. RIC most strikeouts (255) in the Eastern League. Portland 7-16 .304 7.5 @ HFD FOR ALTOONA: Right-hander J.T. Brubaker makes his sixth start of the season for the Curve. Last time out, he worked a 2018 CURVE AT A GLANCE career-high eight innings and allowed one run with seven strikeouts to pick up a win at Richmond, his second straight. Over Overall Record ........................................14-11 his last two starts, Brubaker is 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA (1 ER/15.0 IP). He faced the SeaWolves on April 23 and threw seven Home ................................................... 7-6 scoreless inning with six strikeouts. He is currently ranked fourth in the Eastern League with a 1.45 ERA and third with 34 strikeouts. Dating back to July 13, 2017, Brubaker is 5-3 with a 2.80 ERA (28 ER/90.0 IP) in his last 16 starts after going 4-4 Road .................................................... 7-5 with a 5.22 ERA through his first 15 Double-A outings. A native of Springfield Ohio, Brubaker was drafted by the Pirates in the sixth round in 2015 out of the University of Akron. For more on Brubaker, see page three. Place (E.L. Western) ..................................2nd Games Ahead/Behind ........................... -1.0 FOR ERIE: Right-hander Beau Burrows makes his fifth start of the season and second against the Curve. Last time out, he worked six innings and allowed two earned runs with six strikeouts in a win over Bowie. He faced the Curve on April 23 at Streak ...............................................................L1 PNG Field and allowed a season-high four earned runs and picked up the loss. Burrows was drafted by the Tigers in the Last 5 ............................................................. 4-1 first round (22nd overall) in 2015 and is currently ranked as the Tigers' No. 4 prospect by MLB.com and the No. 76 overall Last 10 ........................................................... 6-4 prosect. 2018 vs. Erie ................................................ 4-2 TIMELY HITTING: After hitting .069 (4/58) and scoring two total runs over the first two games of the road trip in Harris- at Altoona .......................................... 2-2 burg, the Curve have improved to .255 (48/188) and scored 29 runs over the last six games, averaging 4.9 runs per game. at Erie .................................................. 2-0 23 of the 29 runs over the last six games have scored in the fifth inning or later, with 15 runs scored in the seventh inning or All-time vs. Erie ................................. 204-187 later in the last five games. The Altoona offense has also tallied eight multi-run innings in that span. at Altoona ......................................95-93 at Erie ........................................... 109-94 KELLEY HEATING UP: Over his last eight games since April 21, Christian Kelley is hitting .444 (12/27) with two homers, three doubles, five runs scored and eight RBIs, raising his batting average from .162 to .271. Kelley is ranked by Baseball America as the "Best Defensive Catcher" in the Pirates organization and leads the Eastern League with 13 base-stealing at- ‘18 Home Attendance ........................41,380 tempts thrown out this season. Home Openings .......................................... 12 Average Attendance ............................ 3,379 HAYES AT THE HOT CORNER: Ke'Bryan Hayes was presented with this MiLB Rawlings Gold Glove Award on Thursday, honoring him as minor league baseball's top defensive third baseman for 2017 with Bradenton. He is currently leading the league with eight double plays started. At the plate, Hayes has hit .333 (6/18) over his last five games since April 30 with BROADCAST INFORMATION two doubles. KING OF THE HILL: After hitting .133 through his first 19 games,Logan Hill has hit .333 (4/12) over his last three games with a homer and two RBIs. J-MART: OutfielderJason Martin leads qualifying Curve hitters with a .297 batting average this season. Over his last three Trey Wilson, Nate Bowen and Garett Mansfield games, Martin has driven in four runs and added his second homer of the season on Thursday. He has also posted a .417 batting average (5/12) in his last three games. will call the action of the 2018 season on the flagship of the Curve, Talk Radio 98.5 THE STARTING LINE: Curve starting pitchers have combined to go 7-5 with a 2.54 ERA (42 ER/148.2 IP) over the first FM/1240 AM WRTA in Altoona. Pregame 25 games of the 2018 season. Over the last 40 regular-season games dating back to August 20, 2017, Curve starters have coverage begins 15 min. before all games. combined to go 14-8 with a 2.42 ERA (66 ER/245.0 IP). Including the Curve's six postseason games in 2017, Curve starters The Curve can also be heard on the following affiliate are 20-8 with a 2.29 ERA (74 ER/290.1 IP) over the last 46 games. The Curve have three starters ranked in the top-eight stations for selected games: in the league in ERA: Brubaker (1.45/4th), Agrazal (1.47/5th) and Waddell - WKMC 1370 AM in Roaring Spring ON THE HOMESTAND (1.74/8th). - WPHB 1260 AM in Centre County Games ........................................................................ 2 WY NOT: InfielderWyatt Mathisen is hitting .385 through his 12 games played - WWGE 1400 AM in Ebensburg Record ....................................................................1-1 this season, has worked 11 walks and been hit by a pitch three times, posting a - Online streaming at AltoonaCurve.com pro- .585 on-base percentage. He has added a homer, three doubles and one triple in Average ............................................. .298 (17/57) vided by TuneIn Radio his 26 at-bats. Mathisen was the starting third baseman in the 2017 Eastern League - Via the TuneIn Radio App and the MiLB First Runs/Runs Per Game ....................................6/3.0 All-Star Game for the Western Division. Pitch App Home Runs ................................................................ 3 PROSPECT WATCH: The Curve roster features ten of MLB.com's Top 30 Pirates RISP ........................................................ .071 (1/14) prospects: Mitch Keller (1), Ke'Bryan Hayes (4), Cole Tucker (5), Bryan Reyn- Errors ..........................................................................