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Matt Ager had a pretty special start to his third year of professional baseball and was excellent in his first six appearances for the Altoona Curve.
But the 6-foot-6 inch right-hander ran into a rough patch in June during which he allowed 18 runs in 22 2/3 innings pitched.
He started July hot before allowing a career-high eight runs on July 19 -- but Friday night was a different story.
Ager threw six innings, allowed just one run, struck out five and most importantly walked none for the first time since early June in a 4-1 Curve win over Chesapeake at Peoples Natural Gas Field in front of 5,519 fans.
"It always feels good to give the team a chance going somewhat deep in the game, keeping them to one run," Ager said. "I feel like I had good command of my fastball and from there everything just played off that."
Altoona manager Andy Fox said Ager's control was key.
"He was attacking the zone and mixing pitches," Fox said. "He didn't walk anybody and gave himself a chance. Limiting them to one run was huge."
Ager improved to 5-2 this season, but his ERA, which was at 2.96 after six appearances, is now 4.73 and was as high as 5.08, mostly due to just a few rough outings.
"You just have to look at the big picture," Ager said. "It's like, one outing isn't going to get me to the big leagues or keep me from the big leagues. It's just about having consistency and getting better each day, month in and month out and the results will come."
Fox said Ager's path is much like others at this level and that the ups and downs are what Double-A baseball is about.
"You just have to be patient," Fox said. "They are developing and learning. They are going to have little hiccups. You just have to keep working on the side with them and pumping them up. They are here for a reason."
Altoona took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning when Easton Carmichael scored on a throwing error, but the Baysox tied the game in the top of the sixth on an Anderson De Los Santos RBI single.
Ager managed to strand two runners to escape the jam, and Altoona rewarded him in the bottom of the inning.
Keiner Delgado, who went 2-for-4 from the leadoff spot, singled. One out later, Lonnie White Jr. singled, and Carmichael was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Callan Moss hit a slow roller to second, and Aron Estrada's throw home was late to bring in the go-ahead run, and two more runs came home when Murf Gray was hit by a pitch and Titus Dumitru drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 4-1.
"You're not always going to be able to put the ball out of the ballpark," Fox said. "We were able to get our singles and have some good at bats. We had some guys get hit by pitches, but we also had some walks."
Big crowd
Fans lined up long before the gates opened Friday for a Konnor "Griffin the Great" wizard-themed bobblehead giveaway to the first 2,000 fans.
Many of the 5,519 announced attendance stuck around, however, and that led to a good atmosphere.
"The more fans the better," Ager said. "It just brings the energy up."
The crowd got especially into the game when Chesapeake relief pitcher Gerald Ogando hit two batters and threw near Dumitru's head twice in the sixth inning before he was removed mid-at-bat after a 2-0 count by manager Roberto Mercado.
"It's great," Fox said. "There's energy in the field, and when you have good starting pitching, it sets the tone and gives you a good chance to win."
Tomkins back
Prior to the game, right-handed pitcher Landon Tomkins was transferred from Indianapolis to the Curve's roster. He had just been moved up a day before and pitched three innings at Triple-A on Thursday.
Meatball update
Giuseppe has closed the gap on Marco's once large lead in the Curve's meatball race sponsored by Mama Randazzo's and has inched within one at 18-17, but Friday's race was a rare victory for Maria, who won for the 13th time this season.
Next stop
Saturday: Chesapeake at Altoona, 6:30 p.m.
Pitchers: Baysox RHP Patrick Reilly (0-2) vs. Curve RHP Kyle Robinson (5-2)
Sunday: Chesapeake at Altoona, 6 p.m.
Pitching matchup: Baysox RHP Evan Yates (4-6) vs. Curve LHP Connor Oliver (6-3)