Flintoff & Dunn's NEWS ARCHIVE
APRIL 2011

It is intended that this page will maintain a historical record of previous news published on this site. From time to time we will archive old or outdated news on our "WHAT'S NEW" & "AUSSIES IN THE US LEAGUES" pages. It may interest some people to read the developments in chronological order right here.

ARCHIVED NEWS FROM APRIL 2011 BEGINS BELOW:

ARCHIVE
APRIL 2011

To make things easier for our loyal subscribers we will adopt a new format of
providing news involving AUSTRALIAN Players in yellow text, while 
news about former AMLB IMPORT Players will be in white text.

 

  30 APRIL 2010 - HUGHES HOMERS & BALFOUR HOLDS!
Here is an update of what some Aussies and former AMLB imports have been doing in the US major leagues:

Luke Hughes

Grant Balfour		 Australia's LUKE HUGHES had another most productive day in the majors yesterday, batting 1-4 (.256) with a "big fly" in for the Minnesota Twins in their 3-4 loss to the Kansas City Royals. Luke batted in the #9 hole as the starting second baseman and his first plate appearance saw him ground out to the short stop while facing Bruce Chen to lead off the top of the third inning. His big moment came in the top of the fifth when he took Chen deep with a 407ft solo blast over left field with one out in the frame. He led off again in the seventh and this time he worked Louis Coleman for seven pitches before he was called out on strikes. Hughes led of the inning for the third time in the top of the ninth but he couldn't help mount a rally for the Twins when he grounded out to the third baseman while facing Joakim Soria.

Aussie relief ace GRANT BALFOUR picked up his seventh hold of the season when his 1.0ip 2h 0er 0bb 2k (2.70ERA) helped his Oakland Athletics to overrun the Texas Rangers 3-1. Grant took over for the vital eighth inning and he had to call on his best stuff to face the meat of the dangerous Rangers lineup, especially after the hot hitting Adrian Beltre led off with a single up the middle. He then won a full count battle to strike out Nellie Cruz before he got David Murphy to fly out to left field. With two out he then sat runners on the corners when Yorvit Torrealba singled into centre field. Balfour then won another key battle when he ended the threat with Mitch Moreland struck out swinging.
  29 APRIL 2010 - HUGHES 3-4; BALFOUR v THOMPSON!
Here is an update of what some Aussies and former AMLB imports have been doing in the US major leagues:

Luke Hughes


Grant Balfour


Rich Thompson		 Australia's 28th and most recent new major league player LUKE HUGHES supplied three of the Minnesota Twins seven hits for the game in which they were soundly beaten 2-8 by the Tampa Bay Rays. Aside from his dramatic home run on debut, Hughes probably had his finest day in the big leagues to date with 3-4 (.273) as the starting first baseman for the 'Twinkies'. He didn't wait long for his first hit in the bottom of the second inning when he punched the second pitch he saw from Wade Davis into right field for a two out single. Facing Davis again in the fourth Hughes this time raked a two out single into left field for his second knock. With Davis still on the mound he made it three from three with a lead off single into left field and he scored later in the inning on Alexi Casilla's sacrifice fly. His perfect day at the plate came to an end when reliever Cesar Ramos had him foul out to the third baseman to end the bottom of the eighth. In today's 1-6 loss to the Rays Luke batted 0-2 (.256) after starting at second base and batting in the #9 slot. In this game he was the third out in the bottom of the third when giant Rays' starter Jeff Niemann had him called out on strikes. He again made the third out in the sixth when Niemann had him ground out to the third baseman. Facing Juan Cruz in the bottom of the ninth Luke did his job by milking a leadoff walk after battling six pitches for a full count.

Aussie relievers GRANT BALFOUR and RICH THOMPSON went almost head-to-head yesterday with Balfour posting his sixth hold as his Oakland Athletics squeaked past Thompson's Los Angeles Angels 2-1 after ten innings. Grant pitched 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 1k (3.00ERA) for hold No.6, while Richard pitched 1.0ip 1h 0er 0bb 1k (2.70ERA) to keep his team in the tight contest. Balfour was first to the hill in the bottom of the eighth and he preserved the A's 1-0 lead at the time by having Howie Kendrick called out on strikes, Hank Conger ground out to the second baseman and Peter Bourjos ground out to the second baseman.
Thompson took the ball for the top of the ninth and he kept the game close by striking out Mark Ellis before Ryan Sweeney singled into right centre. He polished off the inning by getting Landon Powell to ground out to the first baseman and Kevin Kouzmanoff to fly out to right field. It proved to be an important inning when the Angels tied the game in the bottom of the ninth, only to lose by the odd run when Oakland grabbed the lead back in the top of the tenth. In this game Thompson's LA team mate VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) batted 1-4 (.178) as the starting left fielder.

Australia's BRAD THOMAS was again "hung out to dry" at the bitter end of the Detroit Tigers heavy 1-10 defeat at the hands of the Seattle Mariners when he pitched 0.2ip 3h 2er 0bb 1k (10.80ERA) yesterday. Brad took over in the top of the ninth with one on and one out and his team already down 1-6. He was placed under more pressure when he got Milton Bradley to ground into a fielder's choice to the second baseman only to see an error allow both runners to be safe. Worse followed when Miguel Olivo singled to left to load the bases. This set the table for Justin Smoke's RBI single to left field, followed by Jack Cust's RBI double to deep left field. Another run scored on Adam Kennedy's ground out to third before he ended the inning by getting Brandon Ryan struck out swinging on three pitches.
  28 APRIL 2010 - BRAD THOMAS SOLID IN DEFEAT!
Here is an update of what some Aussies and former AMLB imports have been doing in the US major leagues:

Brad Thomas

 Experienced Australian reliever BRAD THOMAS provided another solid inning for the Detroit Tigers with 1.0ip 1h 0er 0bb 1k (9.39ERA) during their 3-7 defeat by the Seattle Mariners. Thomas took over to pitch the top of the eighth with the final score already posted and he held the game within reach by keeping more Seattle runs off the scoreboard. He got two quick outs with Miguel Olivo gounding out to the third baseman and Justin Smoak grounding back to the mound for Brad to field himself. Jack Cust poked a two out single into right field but he moved no further when Thomas struck out Brandon Ryan on a full count to end the inning.

Dangerous backup catcher DAVID ROSS (MLB All-Stars 2001) was at his most potent best yesterday with two almost identical home runs for the Atlanta Braves who romped past the San Diego Padres 8-2. Ross dined out with 2-4 (.278) with his four RBIs providing half the team total.

Veteran slugger VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) contributed 1-5 (.175) with a RBI to help the Los Angeles Angels to beat the Oakland Athletics 8-3.
  24 APRIL 2010 - BALFOUR CLOSES OAKLAND VICTORY!
Here is an update of what some Aussies and former AMLB imports have been doing in the US major leagues:

Grant Balfour		 Aussie rocket launcher GRANT BALFOUR was blowing his usual smoke yesterday with 1.0ip 1h 0er 1bb 2k (3.68ERA) to close out his Oakland Athletics comfortable 9-1 win over the Seattle Mariners. Grant took very good care of the bottom of the ninth which started with a foul tip strike out of Michael Saunders on a 94mph four-seamer. He caused himself some mild concern when Luis Rodriguez singled into right field, then he "lost" Chris Giminez who battled for a full count walk. There was really no need for alarm because he hit back to strike out Carlos Peguero on three pitches before Jack Wilson grounded out to short to end the inning and the game.
  22 APRIL 2010 - THOMPSON LOSES & HUGHES HITS!
Here is an update of what some Aussies and former AMLB imports have been doing in the US major leagues:

Luke Hughes


Rich Thompson		 Aussie LUKE HUGHES batted 1-4 (.207) while making another start at second base and hitting in the #7 slot for the Minnesota Twins in their 3-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Luke made the third out in the top of the second inning when he grounded out to the third baseman, then in the fifth he punched a one out single into right field, both off O's starter Jeremy Guthrie. Facing Guthrie again in the top of the sixth he flied out to left field on a full count for the third out of the inning. He also made the final out in the eighth when he battled reliever Jeremy Accardo for eleven pitches before flying out to centre field.

Australian reliever RICH THOMPSON was the man to finally allow the winning runs to score when he pitched in late relief for the Los Angeles Angels in their 2-4 defeat by the visiting Boston Red Sox over 11 innings. He was left with the loss and the pitching line of 1.2ip 2h 2er 1bb 3k while his record slipped to 0-1, 3.48ERA. Thompson took over the pitch the top of the tenth and it began brilliantly for him when he struck out Carl Crawford, Jason Varitek and Jacoby Ellsbury for three up and three down. Returning for the top of the eleventh, he caused himself problems by issuing a leadoff walk to J.D Drew who scampered to third on Dustin Pedroia's single into right. Adrian Gonzalez then doubled into deep right field to score Drew before he got Marco Scutaro grounded into a fielder's choice to the second baseman. Rich then got Darnell McDonald to ground into a fielder's choice to the third baseman but an out was not recorded and Pedroia advanced to third. He was driven home for an insurance run on Jed Lowrie's sacrifice fly as his last batter.

Backup catcher DAVID ROSS (MLB All-Stars 2001) once again showed that he can prove his worth with the bat, hitting 1-4 (.300) with two of the Atlanta Braves' RBIs in their 3-5 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

  21 APRIL 2010 - BRAD THOMAS TAKES SOME LUMPS!
Here is an update of what some Aussies and former AMLB imports have been doing in the US major leagues:

Brad Thomas

 Experienced Aussie reliever BRAD THOMAS was harshly dealt with yesterday while pitching at the bitter end of the Detroit Tigers 3-13 blowout defeat by the Seattle Mariners. He was somewhat hung out to dry by the Tigers and his resulting line was a painful 2.0ip 7h 5er 1bb 3k to inflate his ERA to 10.80. Brad was under the pump right from the start when he took over in the bottom of the seventh with runners on first and second and nobody out following successive walks to open the inning. Things got worse when Michael Saunders reached on a predictable bunt play to load the bases. This signalled the collapse of the dam walls when Ichiro Suzuki punched a RBI single up the middle and Chone Figgins followed with another RBI single into left. Milton Bradley kept the rally going with a RBI single into centre field before he finally registered an out when Jack Cust struck out swinging. Miguel Olivo plated another run with his sacrifice fly and Brendan Ryan walked. The five-run inning ended mercifully when Jack Wilson popped out to the third baseman. Returning for more lumps in the eighth, Thomas served up a leadoff single to Chris Giminez and a double to Michael Saunders to set the dining table once again for the top of the Mariners' lineup. Ichiro Suzuki took advantage with another RBI single and Luis Rodriguez cashed in a sacrifice fly for the first out. At least his outing ended on a positive note when he struck out Milton Bradley then Jack Cust to conclude his pitching for the day.
  20 APRIL 2010 - HUGHES HITS & THOMPSON PITCHES!
Here is an update of what some Aussies and former AMLB imports have been doing in the US major leagues:

Luke Hughes

Rich Thompson		 Australian LUKE HUGHES batted 1-4 (.190) today after starting at first base and hitting in the #6 hole for the Minnesota Twins in their 0-11 thumping at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles. His first at bat came in the bottom of the second inning when he raked a two out double to deep right centre field off O's starter Jake Arrietta... unfortunately he was left there. In the top of the fourth he was struck out swinging by Arrietta on a 2-2 count for the final out of the inning. Reliever Jason Berken then had Luke ground out to the third baseman when leading off the seventh. His last plate appearance for the day saw Josh Rupe strike him out when he led off again in the top of the ninth.

Aussie reliever RICHARD THOMPSON could not be blamed for his Los Angeles Angels losing 1-7 to the tough Texas Rangers yesterday. He pitched two strong scoreless innings for 2.0ip 2h 0er 0bb 4k (2.08ERA) in relief of starter Ervin Santana. Rich came on in the bottom of the fifth immediately after an Adrian Beltre three-run home run had extended the Rangers' lead to 6-0. Thompson struck early strife after striking out Nelson Cruz when David Murphy singled and Mike Napoli doubled, but he re-grouped to have Mitch Moreland struck out swinging and Chris Davis pop out to the short stop to end the threat. He then enjoyed a 1-2-3 sixth inning with Ian Kinsler flying out to left, followed by successive swinging strike outs of Elvis Andrus and Michael Young. His new team mate VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) has finally found an uplift in batting form with 2-4 (.169).
  18 APRIL 2010 - HUGHES & THOMAS IN MLB ACTION!
Here is an update of what some Aussies and former AMLB imports have been doing in the US major leagues:

Luke Hughes


Brad Thomas

 Australia's newest major league player LUKE HUGHES was used as a pinch runner today for the Minnesota Twins in their 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. Hughes replaced veteran slugger Jim Thome after he had reached on a one out infield single in the top of the eighth inning and he did not advance from first base. It was his only action for the game.

In yesterday's televised game LUKE HUGHES didn't do too much with the bat after starting at second base and batting in the #2 hole for the Minnesota Twins who saw the Tampa Bay Rays snatch a win from their grasp in the bottom of the ninth in what was a disappointing 3-4 loss for them. Hughes batted 0-4 (.176) but he did make one very neat sliding defensive play for a third out that kept his team in front at a vital time. Facing Rays giant 206cm starter Jeff Niemann he popped out to second from the first pitch he saw in the top of the first. In the top of the third he had the chance to do some damage with runners on at the corners and none out but, although he hit the ball sharply, he grounded the second pitch to the short stop for a tailor made double play which did not give him a RBI even though the run scored from third on the play. Facing Niemann again in the top of the fifth he again failed to deliver with a runner on third in a one out situation when he grounded out to the third baseman on a 3-1 count. His 0-4 day at the plate finished when Niemann struck him out swinging to end the top of the seventh. Luke was lifted for a defensive replacement before the bottom of the eighth.

Aussie reliever BRAD THOMAS again did his job with 1.1ip 0h 0er 1bb 0k (5.79ERA) for the Detroit Tigers, even though they were beaten 5-1 by the Oakland Athletics. Thomas took over for the bottom of the sixth after a leadoff double had left him with a runner in scoring position and nobody out. The runner advanced to third base when Landon Powell flied out to centre field, followed by a four pitch walk to Andy LaRoche. He couldn't prevent the run from scoring when Cliff Pennington lifted a sacrifice fly to left field then he ended the inning with David DeJesus also flying out to left. Brad then got the first out in the seventh when he got Daric Barton to ground out to the short stop before he was relieved himself.

VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) batted 1-4 (.148) to help the Los Angeles Angels to double the Chicago White Sox 4-2 today.
  17 APRIL 2010 - THOMAS & BALFOUR IN OPPOSITION!
Here is an update of what some Aussies and former AMLB imports have been doing in the US major leagues:

Grant Balfour


Brad Thomas


Luke Hughes		 Seasoned Australian BRAD THOMAS was in opposition to compatriot GRANT BALFOUR today. Thomas pitched a solid inning of relief today as his Detroit Tigers fell to the Oakland Athletics 2-6 with 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 0k (8.10ERA). In the bottom of the seventh he needed nine pitches to get David DeJesus to fly out to centre field, Josh Willingham to fly out to right and Hideki Matsui to fly out to centre.
Balfour was next to take the ball in the top of the eighth when he got Austin Jackson to fly out to centre field before Ryan Raburn singled into left field. He then got veteran Magglio Ordonez to ground out to third as a prelude to issuing an intentional walk to superstar slugger Miguel Cabrera, then finishing the scoreless inning with Victor Martinez grounding out to the first baseman. Back for the top of the ninth Grant allowed Jhonny Peralta to single up the middle and was then lifted after walking Brennan Boesch. Peralta scored later in the inning to tag Grant with an earned run for his line of 1.0ip 2h 1er 2bb 0k (4.26ERA). He collected another hold for his trouble this weekend.

Aussie GRANT BALFOUR did what he could with his third hold of the new season yesterday after pitching 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 1k, yet he had to watch as his Oakland Athletics were swamped 4-8 by a comeback from the Detroit Tigers who scored seven in the top of the tenth. Grant made short work of the top of the eighth with Will Rhymes grounding out to the short stop, Ryan Raburn struck out swinging and Brennan Boesch flying out to the catcher.

Former No.1 overall draft pick VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) has not enjoyed his move to the Los Angeles Angels this season after many fine years with the Toronto Blue Jays. However he was OK with 1-4 with a walk yesterday when he helped the 'Halos' to just outlast the Chicago White Sox 4-3. Wells followed up today with 2-4 (.140) to help the Angels to beat the 'Chisox' again 7-2.

Australia's LUKE HUGHES pinch hit for the Minnesota Twins late in their 2-5 defeat by the Tampa Bay Rays yesterday for 0-1 (.231). Hughes came into the game to lead off the top of the eighth facing fresh reliever Joel Peralta and he struck out swinging on the fourth pitch he saw.

Former IBLA import DAVID ROSS (MLB All-Stars 2001) batted 1-4 (.333) with a RBI to help his Atlanta Braves to shut out the New York Mets today.
  14 APRIL 2010 - BALFOUR WINS v WHITE SOX!
Here is an update of what some Aussies and former AMLB imports have been doing in the US major leagues:

Grant Balfour		 Hard throwing Aussie ace GRANT BALFOUR collected his first win of the 2011 season when he pitched a superb inning of relief for the Oakland Athletics to help them to beat the Chicago White Sox 7-4 in ten innings today. Grant pitched a most efficient 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 2k to take his season record to 1-1, 4.15ERA.

Pitching the bottom of the ninth he kept the score tied by striking out Adam Dunn who fanned on a full count, getting Paul Konerko to foul out to the catcher and then having Carlos Quentin struck out swinging. He really earned the win by sitting down the heart of the 'Chisox' lineup.
  13 APRIL 2010 - LUKE HUGHES STARS IN 10 INNING WIN!
Here is an update of what some Aussies and former AMLB imports have been doing in the US major leagues:

Luke Hughes


Rich Thompson

 Australia's most recent new major leaguer LUKE HUGHES had a terrific game for the Minnesota Twins today, batting 2-4 (.273) plus two RBIs to help his team to win a tense 4-3 game over the Kansas City Royals in ten innings. Luke was the starting second baseman for the Twins and he batted in the #8 hole today. His first at bat came as the leadoff hitter in the third when he beat out an infield single to get on base in a run scoring inning. Hughes was up again in the fourth with the bases loaded and only one out and he didn't fail to deliver with his neat two RBI single up the middle. In the bottom of the sixth he struck out swinging after working a full count, with each of those at bats facing KC starter Jeff Francis. Then, in the bottom of the ninth he fanned again while facing reliever Aaron Crow. His two runs batted in were obviously vital in a one run game.

Aussie veteran PETER MOYLAN got a couple of tidy outs with 0.2ip 0h 0er 0bb 0k (4.91ERA) for the Atlanta Braves as his part of a combined 5-0 shutout win over the Florida Marlins. Pete did his job in convincing fashion after coming into the top of the eighth with two on and one out. He quickly got former team mate Omar Infante to ground into a fielder's choice to the short stop, then he got superstar Hanley Ramirez to fly out to centre field. In all he had used just seven pitches to keep the scoreboard blank for his opponents.

Aussie right hander RICH THOMPSON pitched a neat scoreless inning for the Los Angeles Angels yesterday but it didn't matter a lot because his team was shut out 0-4 by the streaking Cleveland Indians. Thompson pitched the top of the ninth inning with 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 1k (1.59ERA). He had three up and three down with Austin Kearns called out on strikes, Matt LaPorta fouling out to the third baseman and Jack Hannahan grounding out to the first baseman.
  11 APRIL 2010 - BRAD THOMAS & GRANT BALFOUR RELIEVE!
Here is an update of what some Aussies and former AMLB imports have been doing in the US major leagues:

Brad Thomas

 

 Australian reliever BRAD THOMAS put away the last couple of outs for the Detroit Tigers in their 5-9 home defeat at the hands of the Kansas City Royals with 0.2ip 0h 0er 0bb 0k (11.57ERA). Thomas inherited a tricky one out situation with runners ready to score on second and third bases. He was unable to prevent Chris Getz from lifting a sacrifice fly to right field for a RBI but he finished his job by getting Melky Cabrera to fly out to left field to end the inning.

Aussie GRANT BALFOUR earned his second hold of the season when he got just one out for the Oakland Athletics who prevailed 5-3 over the Minnesota Twins today. 0.1ip 0h 0er 0bb 0k (5.40ERA). Grant came to the hill just after veteran slugger Jim Thome had cleared the bases with a two run homer to shrink Oakland's lead and he did what was asked from him by getting Delmon Young to fly out to centre field on his second pitch.

Former IBLA import outfielder RYAN LANGERHANS (IBLA Internationals 2001) launched his second home run of the season while batting 1-4 (.167) with two RBIs, yet it was not enough to claim a victory for his Seattle Mariners who fell 4-6 to the in-form Cleveland Indians.
  10 APRIL 2010 - LUKE HUGHES FACES GRANT BALFOUR!
Here is an update of what some Aussies and former AMLB imports have been doing in the US major leagues:

Grant Balfour


Luke Hughes

 Australia's GRANT BALFOUR pitched a very strong 1.1ip 1h 0er 0bb 3k (6.00ERA) for the Oakland Athletics to help them to hold off the Minnesota Twins 1-0. Grant took over for the bottom of the seventh and he recorded three straight punch outs with Danny Valencia out looking, countryman Luke Hughes out swinging and Jim Thome also out looking at 93mph heat. He then started the bottom of the eighth with Denard Span flying out to centre field, but his day was done when Joe Maurer singled with a fly ball into right field. His compatriot LUKE HUGHES batted 1-4 (.143) for the Twins as one of only five hits delivered by his shut out team after starting at second base. His first at bat came with one out in the third inning when he flied out to left field on a two strike count. In the bottom of the fifth he gave his team a great chance of scoring when he delivered a neat single into left field from a full count with none out to have runners at the corners. Both of those at bats were against Oakland starter Gio Gonzalez. As mentioned he then lost a strike out battle to fellow Aussie Grant Balfour with one out in the seventh. Facing lefty Brian Fuentes in the bottom of the ninth Hughes was unfortunate to make the last out of the game, yet he didn't go quietly when he battled seven pitches before striking out swinging.

Yesterday HUGHES also started at second base for the Twins and he batted 0-3 in their 2-1 win over the Athletics. He started that game by facing Brett Anderson in the bottom of the second where he made the third out by grounding to the short stop. The same happened in the bottom of the fifth when Anderson made him the third out in a 1-2-3 inning when he popped out to the second baseman. In the bottom of the eighth Hughes made the second out when Anderson had him fly out to left field.

Aussie BRAD THOMAS pitched the last inning for the Detroit Tigers with 1.0ip 0h 0er 1bb 0k (16.20ERA) in their 1-3 defeat by the Kansas City Royals. Brad inherited runners camped on second and third bases with nobody out and his first task was to fill the bases with an intentional walk to Kila Ka'aihue. Jeff Francouer scored one run with a sacrifice fly to left field but Thomas did his job well to limit the damage with Wilson Betemit grounding into an inning ending double play to the third baseman.
  8 APRIL 2010 - PETER MOYLAN HOT & COLD!
Here is an update of what some Aussies and former AMLB imports have been doing in the US major leagues:

Peter Moylan		 Yesterday Aussie sidewinder PETER MOYLAN did his job with 1.0ip 2h 0er 0bb 1k to close the last home inning of the Atlanta Braves 4-5 defeat by the Milwaukee Brewers. Pete came to the mound in the bottom of the eighth with none out and a runner camped on first base just for distraction. He quickly got rid of that problem by getting Yuniesky Betancourt to ground into a double play to the second baseman. It proved to be a most important "twin killing" when Wil Nieves and Nyjer Morgan both followed with singles into right field. Moylan kept his team within a run by fanning Rickie Weeks to end the inning without addition to the score.

In today's game Australian PETER MOYLAN didn't have much fun pitching 0.0ip 2h 1er 1bb 0k (6.00ERA) for the Atlanta Braves who were doubled 2-4 by the home-standing Milwaukee Brewers. Our Pete came on to start the bottom of the seventh facing the top of the 'Brew Crew' lineup and he immediately saw Rickie Weeks slap a full count single into right, allowing Carlos Gomez to execute a bunt single. Moylan then loaded the bases with a "semi-intentional" four pitch walk to Ryan Braun. He then handed the ball to lefty Johnny Venters who cashed in one of Pete's runners to damage his ERA.
  6 APRIL 2010 - BALFOUR BLOWS SAVE & LOSES!
Here is an update of what some Aussies and former AMLB imports have been doing in the US major leagues:

Grant Balfour		 It was a tough day at the office for flame throwing Aussie reliever GRANT BALFOUR who took a blown save and the loss while trying to close a victory for his Oakland Athletics who eventually fell 6-7 to the Toronto Blue Jays in extra innings.

Grant took the ball for the bottom of the tenth with his team holding a one run lead from the top half of the inning but, unfortunately, it didn't last long when Rajai Davis worked a two strike count for a single up the middle and Yunel Escobar hit the very next pitch for a walk off homer over right field. That was all she wrote for Oakland and Balfour who was left with the line of 0.0ip 2h 2er 0bb 0k for a 0-1, 10.80ERA season record.
  5 APRIL 2010 - PETER MOYLAN WINS v BREWERS!
Here is an update of what some Aussies and former AMLB imports have been doing in the US major leagues:

Peter Moylan		 Australia's own PETER MOYLAN earned his first win of the 2011 season when he pitched 1.0ip 1h 0er 0bb 1k to help his Atlanta Braves to edge the Milwaukee Brewers 2-1. Moylan was called from the bullpen in the bottom of the seventh inning with a runner in scoring position on second base and only one out. He did his job by getting veteran Craig Counsell to ground out to the second baseman and then he struck out leadoff hitter Ricky Weeks on three pitches to end the inning. Returning for the bottom of the eighth he got Carlos Gomez to ground out to the third baseman but when Ryan Braun singled into left field he handed the ball over to lefty Johnny Venters who promptly induced an inning ending double play. Moylan took his early season record to 1-0, 4.50ERA. Pete's battery mate for this game was former IBLA import DAVID ROSS (MLB All-Stars 2001) who batted 1-2 (.500) in his first appearance for the season.
  4 APRIL 2010 - THOMPSON STRONG FOR ANGELS!
Here is an update of what some Aussies and former AMLB imports have been doing in the US major leagues:

Rich Thompson


 R. Langerhans		 RICH THOMPSON became the fourth Australian to pitch in the big leagues during the first week of the new season when he took the mound early for the Los Angeles Angels in their epic 9-12 loss to the Kansas City Royals over 13 innings. Thompson was summoned for emergency relief in the second inning after starter Scott Kazmir was driven from the hill and he proceeded to do a solid job of eating innings with a tidy 3.1ip 2h 1er 0bb 1k (2.70ERA). He inherited a 0-5 deficit in the bottom of the second and a runner on second base with two out, who he promptly moved to third with a baulk before getting Jeff Francouer to fly out to left field to end the frame. Rich then pitched a neat third inning with Wilson Betemit grounding back to the mound and Alcides Escobar grounding out to the short stop. Bryan Pena singled into right field but there was no damage when Mike Aviles grounded out to the first baseman. In the bottom of the fourth he had Melky Cabrera ground out to third and Alex Gordon fly out to centre field only to see Billy Butler tag him for a run with his two out solo homer over centre field. He ended that inning by getting Kila Ka'aihue to ground out to the second baseman. Richard completed his sterling effort by sitting down the bottom of the fifth with Jeff Francouer grounding out to second, Wilson Betemit struck out swinging and Alcides Escobar grounding out to third. With his work done he had certainly helped get the Angels back into the game, now trailing 5-6 and headed for extra innings. In that game his team mate VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) batted 1-6 (.167) for the 'Halos'.

Journeyman outfielder RYAN LANGERHANS (IBLA Internationals 2001) put the Seattle Mariners in the lead with a crushed solo home run over right field, only to see his team capitulate 1-7 to the Oakland Athletics. Ryan did his job with 2-4 (.222) and that one RBI scored by his team.
  3 APRIL 2010 - MOYLAN, THOMAS & BALFOUR IN EARLY ACTION!
Here is an update of what some Aussies and former AMLB imports have been doing in the US major leagues:

Peter Moylan


Brad Thomas


Grant Balfour


 Vernon Wells		 On the opening day of the 2011/12 season Aussie PETER MOYLAN wasted no time collecting his first hold by pitching 0.1ip 0h 0er 0bb 1k (0.00ERA) for the Atlanta Braves in their 2-0 shutout win over the Washington Nationals. Moylan entered the game in the bottom of the seventh inning with a runner threatening on third base and two out. He did all that was asked of him by punching out 'Nats' pinch hitter Lance Nix who took a ball then swung through the next three pitches to end the inning.

Pete was back in action again yesterday, pitching 0.2ip 2h 1er 1bb 1k (9.00ERA) for the Braves during their 3-6 loss to the Nationals. He took over to begin the bottom of the eighth and it started well when he had Wilson Ramos struck out swinging before Lance Nix singled into right field. Moylan secured the second out when Ian Desmond grounded into a fielder's choice to the third baseman but then he put a runner into scoring position by issuing a five pitch walk to the dangerous Jayson Werth. Ryan Zimmerman promptly drove in the run with a somewhat fortunate single into shallow left field to bring an end to his pitching for this game.

Australian reliever BRAD THOMAS pitched for the first time this season with a rather shaky 0.2ip 3h 1er 0bb 0k (13.50ERA) for the Detroit Tigers in their 6-10 loss to the New York Yankees. Thomas took over from hard hit starter Brad Penny in the bottom of the fifth inning with one out and runners stationed at first and second bases. He induced Curtis Granderson to ground out to the first baseman for the second out but it made little difference that the runners advanced on the play when new Yankee Russell Martin thumped a three run homer over left field to really break open the game. Brett Gardner followed with a single into left field and Derek Jeter reached on an infield single fielded by Thomas himself. Brad escaped further damage when he had Mark Teixeira ground into a fielder's choice to the third baseman. After the fifth inning the game had gone and so had Brad Thomas from the mound.

Aussie ace GRANT BALFOUR saw his first action for his new team when he pitched a strong 1.2ip 1h 0er 1bb 0k (0.00ERA) for the Oakland Athletics during their 2-5 defeat by the Seattle Mariners. Grant joined the fray in the top of the seventh just after the Mariners had grabbed a 2-1 lead in the game with a runner on second and one out in the inning. He got Adam Moore to ground out to the second baseman and Ichiro Suzuki to fly out to centre field to end the threat. Back for the top of the eighth he got Chone Figgins to ground out to the first baseman before Milton Bradley singled into right field. He then got Jack Cust to ground out to the short stop followed by an intentional walk issued to Justin Smoak to fill the empty first base. The strategy proved sound when he ended the inning with Brendan Ryan flying out to centre field.

After a long career with the Toronto Blue Jays, former No.1 overall draft pick VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) played his first game with the Los Angeles Angels on opening day. He batted 1-4 (.250) to help the 'Halos' to double the Kansas City Royals 4-2. The next day Vernon batted 0-4 (.125) as the Angels had the tables turned in a 1-2 defeat by 'KC'. In yesterday's game Wells batted 1-4 (.167) with a run batted in but it was not enough to prevent the Royals beating his Angels 5-4.

RYAN LANGERHANS (IBLA Internationals 2001) started at centrefield for the Seattle Mariners in their first game of the season and he batted 0-5 (.000) in their 6-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics.

 

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