That’s exactly what Derek Berg has been doing the last month-plus.

Picked in the 10th round of the 2024 draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates, Berg is getting his chance to catch for the organization that drafted him on a consistent basis for the first time as Omar Alfonzo remains on the temporarily inactive list dealing with a family tragedy in Venezuela.

In Thursday’s 5-3 loss to Richmond, Berg went 2-for-3, drew two walks and scored a run and helped starting pitcher Peyton Stumbo get through a career-high six innings at Peoples Natural Gas Field in front of 4,677 fans.

“The consistency that he’s shown,” Altoona manager Andy Fox said. “He’s an an opportunity to play every day and catch every day and go through that grind with the pitching staff and still has been able to work on his hitting. He’s been really consistent for the last couple of months for us.”

Curve's Duce Gourson talks with Curve manager/third base coach Andy Fox after stealing third base. Gourson injured his hand when he was hit by a pitch. He would later leave the game. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

Berg has his batting average up to .288 with seven home runs and 29 RBIs. Earlier in the season, Berg was serving as the backup catcher while earning a few starts at first base and designated hitter.

“It’s tough to hit when you’re only out there one or two nights a week,” Berg said. “It’s tough to get into a rhythm, and those tough games where you go 0-for-4, you know you may not see the field again for two or three nights. It’s hard to try and not think about those bad games during that. Being out there consistently helps me flush the negative games pretty quickly. I give myself 20 to 30 minutes to think about what I did wrong and then have to flush that pretty quickly to get ready for the next game.”

Getting ready for it has been both a mental and physical adjustment.

“You want to be back there every day, and this is the first time I have had the chance to do that on a consistent basis in pro ball,” Berg said. “It’s been nice. I have had to dive more into recovery in the training room and tubs to keep the body ready to go, but it has been a blast.”

In addition to swinging a hot bat, Berg said he feels like his chemistry with the pitching staff has led to some improved performances.

“I feel like the more I’m back there, the more cohesive the staff is with me,” Berg said. “I was catching one, maybe two games a week earlier. But early in the year, I was catching all of these guys’ bullpens. Now you’re seeing the trust that was built there coming out in games now that I’m back there on a pretty nightly basis.”

Stumbo, who fell to 1-8 on the season, did not walk a batter and struck out five. He allowed four earned runs, three on solo home runs.

“He attacked the zone and didn’t walk anyone,” Fox said. “He gave us six strong innings. Maybe the box score doesn’t look great, but it was against a really good hitting team. These guys are one of the better hitting teams in the league, and you’d much rather give up solo homers than walk guys and then give up the homer.”

Missed chances

As it did in Tuesday’s loss to Richmond, Altoona left 10 runners on base.

The Curve also ran into an out in the bottom of the ninth inning trailing by two when Ryan McCarty hit a ball over first base and tried to stretch it into a double with one out and no one on.

McCarty was thrown out at second. Berg drew a walk to follow, which would have put the tying run on base with one out — instead Dumitru’s groundout ended the game one batter later.

“First things first, you never want to take away aggressiveness,” Fox said. “You just need to be selectively aggressive. He’s been around. He understands the situation, but you never want to discourage guys from hustling and being aggressive. Obviously, down by two though, his run doesn’t mean much.”

Will Taylor and Callan Moss contributed RBI singles for the Curve, who fell to 5-10 in the second half and 36-48 overall. Richmond is 9-5 in the second half and 52-30 overall.

Excellent defense

Richmond outfielder Jean Carlos Sio made a tremendous running catch with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning to rob Keiner Delgado of an extra-base hit with the bases loaded and the Curve trailing by one.

“That was the game right there,” Fox said. “That sixth inning, we had some pressure on them. We had already scored two, and Keiner drives one to right. The guy made a nice play, and that’s part of the game.”

Titus Dumitru returned the favor for Altoona in the top of the eighth with a leaping catch at the wall to rob Richmond’s Sabin Ceballos, who had already hit two home runs earlier in the game.

“He’s been putting in a lot of work, and his defense has gotten so much better since the beginning of the season,” Fox said. “That was a big catch. If it gets down or goes off the wall, that’s another run.”

Meatball update

Maria won Thursday’s meatball race sponsored by Mama Randazzo’s, but Marco still holds the season lead with 16 victories.

Gourson exits

Curve second baseman Duce Gourson was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the first inning, stayed in the game, stole second and third base — his 27th and 28th steals of the season — and scored on a Titus Dumitru single. Gourson stayed in the game to play defense in the top of the second inning but was replaced defensively by Ryan McCarty to start the top of the third inning.

“It’s a bruise right now, and we’ll know more tomorrow,” Fox said. “He was pretty uncomfortable, so we just wanted to err on the side of caution.”

Next stop

Tonight: Richmond Flying Squirrels at Altoona Curve, 6 p.m.

Pitching matchup: Richmond LHP Charlie McDaniel (2-0) vs. Curve RHP Matt Ager (3-1)

Radio: WRTA 98.5-FM