Curve bounce back for split

The Curve split their third doubleheader of the season and saw their relievers' stretch of 10 consecutive scoreless innings come to an end.

They were shut out once and at times failed to connect when the opportunities presented themselves.

But they can enter tonight's game with the same confidence they began Thursday with, and a big reason for that is Jason Delaney.

Delaney's two-run homer in the third inning of the Curve's second game proved to be the difference in a 4-2 win over New Britain. It gave the Curve their fourth win in five games, and it came on the heels of a sluggish 7-0 loss to the Rock Cats just hours earlier before 2,708 fans at Blair County Ballpark.

In the first contest, Brad Lincoln was Brad Lincoln, which means despite another strong outing, he was tagged with another tough loss, falling to 1-5.

Delaney was presented with the best opportunity to support his starter in the third with the bases loaded, but Matt Fox (6-2) struck him out to end both the inning and what proved to be the Curve's best scoring opportunity.

In the same inning of the second game - and with a fresh mindset - Delaney cracked a two-run blast over the left field stands off Carlos Gutierrez (1-1) to give the Curve a 2-0 lead.

"Delaney's clutch," Curve manager Matt Walbeck said. "He has that ability to knock in runs. He's dangerous at the plate."

Delaney's momentum surprisingly came from the game before - after another out, no less.

He led off the sixth in the first game and drove one deep to right-center, only to have it snagged on a full-extension reach by New Britain center fielder Brandon Roberts.

"That was the at-bat, for me, that I knew that at least I was on track to have three good plate appearances the next game," Delaney said.

He added: "Realistically the worst-case scenario is you go into the second game thinking about my second at-bat of the game, and that's kind of what you don't want to do on doubleheader days, is carry over bad at-bats all the way through."

Five innings of two-hit ball from Kyle Bloom (1-4) proved to be enough, as he overcame his six walks with the added support of a Jonel Pacheco solo home run in the fourth and a Jose Tabata RBI single in the fifth. Sean Smith (third save) closed the door on the Rock Cats in the last two innings.

"It's an important game," Delaney said. "We've been playing some good baseball, so I think everybody was pretty confident that we would at least put forth a good effort in that second game."

Game recap

Key player: It's hard to argue with Delaney, who bounced back from a rough 0-for-3 game to hit his two-run shot in the second game.

Key play: Delaney's two-run homer in the third proved to be the difference in the second game.

Key stat: The Curve won their first home series of the season, marking their first back-to-back series victories of 2009.