Curve top R-Phils on Saturday

Brad Harman was back in the lineup for Reading after being optioned from Philadelphia where he had
occupied Jimmy Rollins' roster spot since April 20. 

By Tony Zonca

Reading, PA -- On paper it looked like a mismatch Saturday -- a slumping Altoona team vs. the Phillies and their ace, Carlos Carrasco.

Heck, this was a team that had lost 11 of 14 games and hadn't scored a run in 19 innings.

In the sometimes-things-are-never-as-they-seem department, the Curve (14-21) ended a three-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory before a crowd of 7,795.  

The 21-year-old Carrasco, the No. 1 prospect in the Philadelphia organization, continues to exhibit his enormous potential, but not without occasional bouts of growing pains.

For example, the big right-hander gave up a tainted run in the first on a two-out RBI single to center that fell between three fielders.  He came back in the second and struck out the side.

He suffered command problems in the fourth -- a constant headache for him -- when he walked the first two batters.  Then, with a chance to escape the inning unscathed, he allowed two-out RBI singles by .164-hitting Milver Reyes, the eight-hole hitter, and Yoslan Herrera, the pitcher, on a two-strike count, no less.

In the fifth he gave up a solo homer to Phillies killer Jason Delaney, his fourth of the season and third against the Phillies.  Again, with two out in the seventh, Carrasco surrendered his seventh home run of the season, an opposite-field shot to right by Jonel Pacheco.

Meanwhile, the Phillies (16-19) managed to score on an RBI single by Jason Donald in the third, but they also stranded seven runners the first five innings, a season-long affliction.  They added a run in the ninth when Joey Hammond doubled and scored on Javon Moran's sac fly.

Moran was 4-for-4 with a double, run, RBI and a stolen base, jacking his average 29 points to .257.

Carrasco (3-3) allowed five runs and seven hits over seven innings, with five walks and five strikeouts.  Herrera (2-3) gave up a run and seven hits over six innings and got the win.

PHILLERS:  At gametime, the Curve were batting .215 vs. the Phillies, even with Jason Delaney batting .520 and Jonel Pacheco batting .474.  The rest of the team was batting .157 vs. the Phils. . . . Delaney has reached safely in 22 straight games. . . . With a tainted first-inning run, the Curve scored for the first time in 20 innings. . . . The Phillies have hit into nine double plays the last four games. . . . Fabio Castro pitched two shutout innings, striking out four. 

PLAYER MOVES:  Second baseman Brad Harman was optioned to Reading from Philadelphia, where he was 1-for-10 with a double and an RBI in six games, two of which he started.  Harman, who began the season with the R-Phils, joined the big club April 20 to replace the injured Jimmy Rollins.  A member of the Philadelphia 40-man roster, Harman was batting .222 in 16 games with the R-Phils.  To create room on the roster for Harman, outfielder Mike Spidale was put on the temporary inactive list.

DID YOU KNOW THAT former Philadelphia infielder Granny Hamner led the Eastern League with a 2.03 ERA for Binghamton in 1962 when he was 35 years old?  The former Whiz Kid featured a nasty knuckleball in his later years.

This story was posted on May 10, 2008