Curve playoff dreams are ended
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Next stop
Tonight: Reading at Altoona, 6 p.m.
Pitchers: Curve RHP Carmen Mlodzinski vs. Phils RHP Andrew Painter
Record: 36-29
By Matt Michelone
For the Mirror
Everything that could go wrong did for the Curve on Thursday night during the fourth inning.
They gave up five runs on four hits while walking two as they were pounded by Reading, 9-0, before 3,745 fans at Peoples Natural Gas Field.
"It was a tough one," Curve manager Kieran Mattison said. "We got off to a solid start, and we just didn't get any breaks."
The loss officially eliminated the Curve from Eastern League Playoff contention for the third straight year.
What happened?
Reading's outburst was powered by a Wendell Rijo single down the left field line to score three runs. That ultimately put the game away.
Meanwhile, Bowie walloped Akron, 10-1, which reduced the Curve's elimination number to zero. A defeat paired with a victory by the Baysox or Erie ultimately would've eliminated them from contention.
This is the second season that winners of both the Northeast and Southwest Division's first and second half championships advance to the postseason as the primary method.
It's the first time the Curve have missed the playoffs in three or more consecutive seasons since they went four years without making it from 2011-14.
Difficult night
The Pirates top pick in the 2019 MLB draft, Quinn Priester, had a sour outing on his birthday as he went 3ª innings, giving up seven runs on eight hits while walking two and striking out five.
Those are the most runs -- and tied for the most hits he has allowed -- in a single game this season. He finishes 2022 with a record of 4-4 and a 2.87 ERA with a 1.19 WHIP.
"That fourth inning once he got two outs, things just kind of spit up on him," Mattison said. "He just tried to do more. With Quinn right there, we tried to let him know 'You ain't have to do more, you just got to make pitches.'"
A lesson learned
The 2022 edition of the Curve came in with high expectations after much of this same core won a High-A championship with Greensboro.
Even though there will be no champagne celebrations this year, it's still a great lesson learned for their future.
"I feel like we grew a ton," Mattison said. "When you're battle tested, you're going to profit from it. These guys are first-class young men overall, and they're really, really talented baseball players. They have a strong bond; they go out and compete together and they get it."
Buckley in town
Fans of the hit NBC TV show "The Office" had the chance to meet Andy Buckley after a pair of early schedule changes.
Buckley played David Wallace who was the CFO and later CEO of the Dunder Mifflin paper company. He's been busy lately including a show on HBO that is a Sci-Fi comedy along with projects with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
That break proved to be huge in getting his acting career on track as he was working with Merrill Lynch at the time as a stockbroker.
"I had stopped acting, it wasn't going well," he said. "I got my lucky call, and I was excited to do a do couple of scenes. They slowly started using me more as the seasons progressed."
Buckley enjoys the interactions with his fans and those who he is a fan of as well.
He threw out the first pitch and signed autographs for fans and enjoyed his delayed trip to central Pennsylvania Thursday night which included a stop at Penn State.
"I've never been to Pittsburgh or Altoona, or western PA," he said. "What a beautiful drive coming through the mountains."
Last one
Thursday was the last game in which the Curve wore their Mountain City uniforms in tribute to an original professional baseball club in the city.
The jerseys were auctioned off online with proceeds from the jerseys going to the American Rescue Mission in Hollidaysburg.