ARCHIVE
MAY 2008

To make things easier for our loyal suscribers 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 MAY 2008 - HUBER HURT THEN PINCH HITS!

Justin Huber
David Ross

Australia’s JUSTIN HUBER can't seem to find himself any game time lately and, sadly for him, even when he was given a rare start at left field yesterday, he was forced out of the game in the top of the second inning because of back soreness without enjoying a plate appearance. Justin was replaced by Jody Gerut during his San Diego Padres 4-6 loss to the Washington Nationals.

Better news is that Huber was able to suit up again today as a pinch hitter for the Padres in their 5-2 win over the ‘Nats’. On this occasion he pinch-hit for the pitcher Brian Corey in the bottom of the sixth when he grounded out to the short stop from the fourth pitch of John Lannan for 0-1 (.179). In this game former import RYAN LANGERHANS (IBLA Internationals 2001)had better luck when he pinch-hit for 1-1 (.143) with a RBI for Washington.

Cincinnati Reds backup catcher DAVID ROSS (MLB All-Stars 2001) had a stunning day at the plate, batting 2-3 (.293) with his first home run of the season and four RBI’s, helping the Reds to a 9-1 massacre of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

MATT HERGES (Adelaide Giants 1999) pitched 1.0ip 1h 0er 0bb 0k (3.77ERA) for the Colorado Rockies during their 1-6 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.

25 MAY 2008 - STOCKMAN & 'RRS' GOOD IN RELIEF!

Ryan
Rowland-Smith

Phil Stockman

Ryan Langerhans

Aussie reliever RYAN ROWLAND-SMITH was, once again, the man to pitch respectably for the Seattle Mariners in what could be described as “junk time” during a 6-12 defeat by the awakening New York Yankees. Our Ryan replaced Brandon Morrow, who was not the first pitcher to take the mound for the M’s in the inning, with bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the seventh after four runs had already crossed the plate in the frame. ‘RRS’ didn’t start well when he allowed a six pitch RBI walk to Hideki Matsui, but he then limited the damage by having light-hitting pinch hitter Morgan Ensberg struck out swinging at his now patented fourth pitch changeup. Back for the bottom of the eighth, Ryan allowed a leadoff single to left field from Robinson Cano, but he erased him when one of MLB’s “catching brothers” Jose Molina grounded into a double-play to the third baseman. He finished his job when Melky Cabrera popped out to the first baseman in foul territory for a pitching line of 1.1ip 1h 0er 1bb 1k (2.63ERA) today.

Also doing a “mop up job” for the Atlanta Braves at the end of a huge 1-11 defeat by the Arizona Diamondbacks was Australia’s “Mr. Perfect” PHIL STOCKMAN who pitched 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 1k (0.00ERA) yesterday. Stockman came in for the bottom of the ninth as part of a double-switch for pitcher Royce Ring and he did a clinical job with another 1-2-3 inning. He had Augie Ojeda ground out to the second baseman, Connor Jackson pop up to himself as the pitcher, then Jason Upton called out on strikes after a fifth pitch 93mph fastball.

Not having a major impact in the Tampa Bay Rays 11-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles was reliever GARY GLOVER (Sydney Storm 1999) who pitched 0.2ip 1h 1er 0bb 1k (4.40ERA) today.

GARY MATTHEWS JNR. (Brisbane Bandits 1997) has continued to be a decent contributor for the Los Angeles Angels after returning from injury. Gary batteed 2-4 (.219) with a walk in today’s 2-0 win over the Chicago White Sox, following his 0-3 with a RBI in their 3-1 win over those same ‘Chi Sox’ yesterday.

It was also good to see another “forgotten” AMLB man RYAN LANGERHANS (IBLA Internationals 2001) return for the Washington Nationals with a couple of pinch hit appearances over the weekend.

Finally, RON MAHAY (Gold Coast Cougars 1996) did not have his finest day yesterday with 1.0ip 1h 1er 2bb 0k (3.00ERA) for the Kansas City Royals in their 1-7 hammering by the Toronto Blue Jays yesterday.

21 MAY 2008 - ROWLAND-SMITH SOLID AGAIN FOR SEATTLE!

Ryan
Rowland-Smith

Gary Matthews

Australia’s RYAN ROWLAND-SMITH was back in action again today, pitching a tidy 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 1k (3.15ERA) for the Seattle Mariners at the end of their 8-12 defeat at the hands of the Detroit Tigers. ‘RRS’ replaced Mark Lowe on the mound to start of the bottom of the eighth and he began well by inducing the tough veteran Placido Polanco to ground out to the short stop. Next he faced the even more daunting presence of veteran great Gary Sheffield who worked him for a nine pitch full count before Ryan won the battle with ‘Sheff’ flying of to center field on a crafty changeup. Rowland-Smith finished his job by having Ryan Raburn struck out swinging on the final pitch thrown by the M’s in this game. In all he three eleven of 16 pitches for strikes in another convincing display.

Not for the first time this year GARY MATTHEWS JNR. (Brisbane Bandits 1997) had one of the more important hits for his Los Angeles Angels in their 3-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. ‘Son of Sarge’ hammered a triple and scored a run in a 1-4 (.224) effort that also included a walk.

GEOFF BLUM (Hunter Eagles 1995) earned a rare start at third base for the Houston Astros, batting 1-3 (.209) with a walk and a run scored in their 4-2 victory over the in-form Chicago Cubs.

... and from yesterday: 

Veteran reliever MATT HERGES (Adelaide Giants 1999) collected his fourth hold of the season when he pitched a solid 1.0ip 1h 0er 0bb 1k (2.39ERA) for the Colorado Rockies in their 4-3 win over the San Francisco Giants. I must admit that when I glanced at the name of the winning pitcher for the ‘Rox’ I had an immediate flashback to a really horrible memory for Australian baseball fans… JASON GRILLI… does the name ring an bells for you? Well folks, if you have been fortunate enough to erase it from your memory, Grilli was the starting pitcher for the “Pseudo-Italian” team that thrashed our Australian team in the opening game of the inaugural 2006 World Baseball Classic. Under those ludicrous rules that allowed players with very tenuous “Italian heritage” to represent the Italian team Grilli, who was born and raised in Royal Oak, Michigan and who attended college at Seton Hall, took the ball for Team Italy and the then Detroit Tigers’ major leaguer had way too much for our Aussie boys. Our “mercy rule” defeat in the opening game of our campaign was a rather painful occasion for the AROOS and all of their supporters.

GARY GLOVER (Sydney Storm 1999) pitched a very brief 0.1ip 0h 0er 0bb 0k (3.95ERA) in a game that would end much later with a dramatic 13-inning, 7-6 win for his Tampa Bay Rays over the Oakland A's.

19 MAY 2008 - GLOVER TAKES LOSS FOR RAYS!

Gary Glover

GARY GLOVER (Sydney Storm 1999) did not have one of his better outings today when he took his second loss for the season while unsuccessfully trying to maintain a tied ballgame in the ninth inning for the Tampa Bay Rays in what turned out to be a 4-5 loss to the St.Louis Cardinals. Glover traded his one out for two hits and the game winning run with his 0.1ip 2h 1er 1bb 1k effort that took his season record to 0-2 (4.05ERA).

Having a much better time of it lately is GARY MATTHEWS JNR. (Brisbane Bandits 1997) who batted a very useful 2-5 (.233) while scoring twice for his Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in their 10-2 hammering of their near neighbour Los Angeles Dodgers. On the downside, each of Gary's three outs in this game were via unproductive strike outs!

18 MAY 2008 - PHIL STOCKMAN BACK WITH BRAVES!

Phil Stockman

Matt Herges

Ryan
Rowland-Smith

Justin Huber

It seemed only a matter of time before Australia’s 23rd major league player PHIL STOCKMAN would force his way back into the Atlanta Braves bullpen; the only sad thing about it is the fact that his promotion has been aided by the long-term injury to fellow Aussie star PETER MOYLAN. Stockman, who has also endured more than his share of injuries, made his first big league appearance since 2006 today when he closed the last inning of the Braves’ 4-5 loss to the Oakland Athletics. Big Phil gave his team a chance to rally with 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 1k (0.00ERA), but Atlanta’s three runs in the bottom of the ninth fell just short of giving him a first-up win! Stockman induced Bubba Crosby to fly out to centre field before peppering Rajai Davis with five straight 93phm fastballs to have him called out on strikes. He completed his job when Emil Brown finally grounded out to the second baseman after working an eight pitch full count. It was great to see Phil Stockman back in the big time.

One of the strange things about baseball is the scoring quirks that sometimes reward players for mediocre performances, while on other occasions they are not rewarded for very good performances. It was a case of the former for Colorado Rockies’ reliever MATT HERGES (Adelaide Giants 1999) who had far from his best outing today, yet he picked up the win when his ‘Rox’ rallied for a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Twins. Herges suffered his first blown save of the season before being handed the win with 2.0ip 3h 2er 1bb 0k; taking his record to an impressive overall 2-0, 2.49ERA.

GARY GLOVER (Sydney Storm 1999) could not have done more than strike out the only two batters he faced today with 0.2ip 0h 0er 0bb 2k (3.46ERA) for the Tampa Bay Rays during their tough 8-9 loss to the St.Louis Cardinals over ten innings.

RON MAHAY (Gold Coast Cougars 1996) also struggled today with 0.2ip 1h 1er 0bb 2k (2.84ERA) for the Kansas City Royals in their 3-7 defeat by the Florida Marlins. However, he collected his sixth hold of the year yesterday with a brief 0.1ip 0h 0er 0bb 0k to help the Royals to edge the ‘Fish’ 7-6.

… and from yesterday’s other Inter-league play:

Thanks to the introduction of Inter-league play, Aussies RYAN ROWLAND-SMITH and JUSTIN HUBER got to play in the same game when Justin’s San Diego Padres topped Ryan’s Seattle Mariners 6-4. Lefty reliever Rowland-Smith entered the game in the top of the sixth inning to replace Miguel Batista who left with runners on the corners and one out. He started by allowing a RBI single to the first baseman off the experienced bat of Padres’ evergreen Brian Giles. He then got Adrian Gonzalez to ground into a force out to the first baseman and Tony Clark to ground out to the short stop to snuff the inning. ‘RRS’ was replaced by Mark Lowe before the top of the seventh after his 0.2ip 1h 0er 0bb 0k (3.32ERA). Justin Huber was to see even less action when he replaced designated hitter Tony Clark as a pinch runner after he had milked a one out walk in the top of the ninth. Huber eventually found himself on third base before making the game-ending third out at home plate on a ground ball force play to the first baseman.

GARY MATTHEWS JNR. (Brisbane Bandits 1997) did a solid job once again for the Los Angeles Angels, batting 2-4 (.224) and scoring a run during their 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Also doing all he could was Cincinnati Reds backup catcher DAVID ROSS (MLB All-Stars 2001) who pinch hit with 1-1 (.286) to help them to squeak past the Cleveland Indians 4-3.

16 MAY 2008 - HUBER HITS, RRS BLOWS SAVE!

Justin Huber

Ryan
Rowland-Smith

Ron Mahay

Firstly, from yesterday:

Aussie slugger JUSTIN HUBER rewarded the San Diego Padres for giving him another start at left field when he produced a hit while batting in the #7 hole during their 5-8 defeat by the Chicago Cubs. His first at bat came in the top of the third inning when he battled a seven pitch full count before being called out on strikes facing wily ‘Cubbies’ starter Ted Lilly. In the top of the fifth Justin produced a solidly hit one out line drive single to left field off Lilly. His final plate appearance came in the top of the sixth with one on and one out when he again battled Lilly for seven pitches before fanning at a nasty “Uncle Charlie” (curve ball). Huber was substituted out of the game for the pitcher as part of a defensive reshuffle after batting 1-3 (.206) and scoring a run.

Australia ’s RYAN ROWLAND-SMITH was also in action again as the fifth of eight pitchers used by the Seattle Mariners during their dramatic 4-3, 12-inning win over the Texas Rangers. Ryan was the third M’s pitcher to take the mound in the bottom of the eighth after Carlos Silva left the game after feeling back spasms during his warm up, then he replaced Arthur Rhodes with runners at the corners and one out. In fact, Rowland-Smith was unfortunate to cop his first blown save of the season when he was unable to prevent Josh Hailton from tying the game with a sacrifice fly to center field. Next batted David Murphy laced a single up the middle before he snuffed out the inning with Brandon Boggs lining out to right field. Back for the bottom of the ninth, ‘RRS’ was promptly lifted for Mark Lowe after issuing a five pitch leadoff walk the man with the longest name in baseball; Jarrod Saltalamacchia. His pitching line today was 0.2ip 1h 0er 1bb 0k (3.44ERA).

RON MAHAY (Gold Coast Cougars 1996) earned his fifth hold of the season with 1.0ip 1h 0er 0bb 1k (2.50ERA) to help his Kansas City Royals to shut out the Detroit Tigers 2-0.

Still enjoying a resurgence since joining the Colorado Rockies last season is veteran reliever MATT HERGES (Adelaide Giants 1999) who pitched 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 2k (1.93ERA) for the ‘Rox’ in their 3-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

GEOFF BLUM (Hunter Eagles 1995) remains one of the most effective bench players in the major leagues with his latest 1-1 (.217) when he pinch hit for the Houston Astros in their 6-3 win over the San Francisco Giants.

In today’s MLB games:

GARY GLOVER (Sydney Storm 1999) allowed all of the runs scored by the New York Yankees when he pitched a shaky 0.2ip 4h 2er 0bb 0k (3.65ERA). However, it was not enough to stop his Tampa Bay Rays from notching up a 5-2 win over the scuffling ‘Bronx Bombers’.

14 MAY 2008 - ROWLAND-SMITH SEES MORE ML ACTION!

Ryan
Rowland-Smith

David Ross

Aussie lefty RYAN ROWLAND-SMITH was summoned to the mound for the second straight day today when he replaced Felix Hernandez in the bottom of the seventh inning for the Seattle Mariners who were on their way to a 2-5 defeat by the Texas Rangers. Once again our boy did all that you could ask with three quick outs when Michael Young flied out to right field, Josh Hamilton did likewise and David Murphy lined out to left field. He was replaced by Sean Green who took over at the start of the eighth.

A mighty contributor for the Cincinnati Reds today was backup catcher DAVID ROSS (MLB All-Stars 2001) who batted 1-2 (.250) with a RBI, two walks and a run scored in their 5-3 victory over the Florida Marlins.

... and from yesterday's MLB games:

Australian reliever RYAN ROWLAND-SMITH was made toil hard for the Seattle Mariners during their agonising 12-13 loss to the Texas Rangers in a wild ten innings game. Ryan replaced Cha Seung Baek to start the bottom of the sixth and, although it looked a relatively easy 1-2-3 inning, he was made to work hard for his outs after getting Josh Hamilton to line out to the left fielder. He was then made to battle for two full counts before having both Milton Bradley and Brandon Boggs struck out swinging; Bradley on a foul tip. Back for the bottom of the seventh Rowland-Smith was greeted with some uncharacteristic Rangers’ “small ball” when Gerald Laird dropped down a bunt single to the first baseman and Chris Shelton followed with a sacrifice bunt back to the mound for his own assist. This may have rattled Ryan somewhat when he next issued a full count walk on all fastballs to German Duran and then he allowed the runners to advance on a wild pitch. ‘RRS’ secured the second out when he had Ramon Vasquez struck out swinging, before being replaced on the hill by Mark Lowe. Lowe allowed two of Rowland-Smith’s runners to score, but they were both unearned after a fielding error failed to secure the third out. His pitching line today was a pretty good 1.2ip 1h 0er 1bb 3k (3.78ERA) but, as mentioned, it didn’t come without a few headaches!

GARY GLOVER (Sydney Storm 1999) had a stats line full of “ones” when he pitched 1.0ip 1h 1er 1bb 1k (2.31ERA) for the Tampa Bay Rays to help them keep a lid on the New York Yankees for a 7-1 win.

Also helping the Los Angeles Angels to beat the Chicago White Sox was GARY MATTHEWS JNR. (Brisbane Bandits 1997) who batted 2-5 (.219) with a RBI.

11 MAY 2008 - ROWLAND-SMITH RELIEVES FOR M's!

Ryan
Rowland-Smith

Aussie RYAN ROWLAND-SMITH did his job as a specialist lefty reliever today near the end of his Seattle Mariners 4-8 loss to the Chicago White Sox. Ryan was required to get the last out in the top of the ninth inning, relieving Sean Green with two on and two out. Lefty Rowland-Smith was called in to “turn around” switch hitter Nick Swisher who is stronger hitting left handed and it proved to be a sound move when Swisher flied out to right field on his fifth pitch fastball. His brief workout today recorded 0.1ip 0h 0er 0bb 0k (4.20ERA).

GARY MATTHEWS JNR. (Brisbane Bandits 1997) did exactly what you would ask from a leadoff hitter today, even though his Los Angeles Angels were shutout 0-2 by the Tampa Bay Rays. Matthews batted 1-2 (.214) but he also milked two walks to get on base three times from his four plate appearances.

The Texas Rangers overcome the early loss of evergreen starter KEVIN MILLWOOD (Melbourne Monarchs 1997) to beat the Oakland Athletics 6-4 today. ‘Big Kev’ left the game after securing just two outs in the first inning with what has been reported as a mild groin strain with 0.2ip 0h 0er 1bb 0k (4.88ERA).

MATT HERGES (Adelaide Giants 1999) was also in action again today, pitching 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 0k (2.01ERA) for the Colorado Rockies in their 2-3 defeat at the hands of the San Diego Padres.

10 MAY 2008 - HUBER PINCH HITS FOR PADRES!

Justin Huber

Australia’s JUSTIN HUBER was given another very tough assignment when he was asked to pinch hit for the San Diego Padres today near the end of their 2-4 loss to the Colorado Rockies. Our Justin was summoned to pinch hit for Jody Gerut in the bottom of the ninth inning and he found himself pitted against the ‘Rox’ crafty left-arm relief specialist Brian Fuentes. It’s tough enough to pinch hit at any time, but Huber found Fuentes especially difficult on this occasion when he was called out on strikes after just three pitches to make the second out of the last inning. His record dipped to 0-1 (.194) today.

Also finding life unusually difficult today was lefty reliever RON MAHAY (Gold Coast Cougars 1996) who pitched a shaky 1.1ip 3h 2er 1bb 1k (2.65ERA) for the Kansas City Royals in their 4-7 defeat by the Baltimore Orioles.

GEOFF BLUM (Hunter Eagles 1995) did his bit today with 1-3 (.221) and a walk for the Houston Astros to help them to roll over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

9 MAY 2008 - HUBER PLAYS, HARMAN PH'S!

Justin Huber

 
Brad Harman

Aussie JUSTIN HUBER earned another start at left field for the San Diego Padres in their 4-5 defeat by the in-form Atlanta Braves. On this occasion Justin enjoyed reasonable success while facing four different Braves’ pitchers in his four plate appearances today. He started brightly by lashing a leadoff single to left field off Atlanta starter Jo-Jo Reyes in the top of the second inning. Up again with two on and two out in the top of the third, he grounded into a fielder’s choice to the third baseman off Buddy Carlyle. It was an almost identical situation in the top of the fifth when he again grounded out to the third baseman to make the last out with two aboard while facing Jorge Campillo. Justin then battled hard to get something started for his team with one out in the eighth when he milked a full-count walk from Jeff Bennett. His day ended with 1-3 (.200) plus the base on balls.

Fellow Victorian BRAD HARMAN was given another opportunity to pinch hit for the Philadelphia Phillies and he took over at second base late in their 3-8 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Harman and his team mates were to have a tough time trying to hit the ‘Snakes’ in-form starter Brandon Webb in this game and he found out in both of his plate appearances. Brad pinch hit for Brett Myers to lead off the top of the fifth inning and he flied out to centre field then, in the top of the eighth, he grounded into an inning ending double-play to the second baseman. His stats were 0-2 (.100) after this game.

Veteran reliever MATT HERGES (Adelaide Giants 1999) pitched another inning for the Colorado Rockies today to help them stay on top of the St.Louis Cardinals 9-3. Herges pitched a decent 1.0ip 1h 1er 0bb 1k (2.11ERA).

VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) went deep for the fifth time this season while batting 1-5 (.279) for the Toronto Blue Jays in their 8-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. He also batted 1-3 with a run scored and a walk in their 6-2 win over the Rays in yesterday’s game.

7 MAY 2008 - HARMAN STARTS AGAIN FOR PHILS!

Brad Harman
Justin Huber
Ryan
Rowland-Smith

Kevin Millwood

Australia’s newest major leaguer BRAD HARMAN was given his second start today, again at second base and batting in the #8 slot for the Philadelphia Phillies during their 4-6 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Much like his Victorian team mate Justin Huber, who hit a home run from him earlier this season, Harman would get to face the daunting presence of Arizona’s legendary 6’10” left-hander Randy ‘Big Unit’ Johnson. His first plate appearance came in the top of the second inning when he flied out to centre field with two on and two out to end the inning. Next he made the last out in the top of the fourth with a team mate on third base when he flied out to right field. Harman’s unproductive offensive day ended when, to complete the set, he was again the third out in the sixth inning after he was struck out swinging at Johnson’s not-so-fast 87mph fastball. However, the Phillies must admire the infield versatility of Harman who is a short stop by trade, but he has started twice at second base while, today, he was also shuffled to third base in a defensive switch to start the bottom of the eighth inning. Brad was then substituted for pinch hitter Carlos Ruiz in the top of the ninth frame.

Aussie JUSTIN HUBER pinch hit again today for the San Diego Padres during their 3-5 defeat at the hands of the surging Atlanta Braves. Had he not been so sadly injured, we may have seen Huber facing fellow Aussie PETER MOYLAN when he was asked to pinch hit for Padres starting pitcher Chris Young with one on and two out in the top of the sixth inning. On this occasion Justin struck out swinging at the fourth pitch, a 94mph fastball from Atlanta’s new young starting pitcher Jair Jurrjens.

To complete the Aussie tri-fecta today RYAN ROWLAND-SMITH also pitched a solid inning of relief today when he was one of the better Seattle Mariners’ pitchers in a 1-10 shellacking by the Texas Rangers. Ryan started the eighth inning when he induced Michael Young to fly out to right field, then Josh Hamilton to fly out to centre field. Rowland-Smith underlined his class by getting the experienced Milton Bradley to “fan” at his changeup after throwing him three straight fastballs. His effective pitching line today was 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 1k (4.63ERA).

VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) batted 2-4 (.281) with a triple today, but it was not quite enough for his Toronto Blue Jays who were outlasted 4-5 by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

… and from yesterday’s MLB games:

Veteran starting pitcher KEVIN MILLWOOD (Melbourne Monarchs 1997) struck a speed-hump in what has been a very good start to the 2008 season for him, even though he hasn’t been collecting the wins that he may have deserved. He could not complain about taking the loss today after pitching an agonising 3.0ip 9h 7er 1bb 2k that deflated his record to 2-3, 4.94ERA.

Another former ABL veteran MATT HERGES (Adelaide Giants 1999) was on the mound again, pitching 2.0ip 1h 0er 1bb 3k (1.77ERA) in relief for the Colorado Rockies during their 5-6 loss to the St.Louis Cardinals.

VERNON WELLS batted 1-3 (.274) for the Toronto Blue Jays in their 1-0 win over the Chicago White Sox.

5 MAY 2008 - THREE AUSSIES PLAY IN MLB!

Ryan
Rowland-Smith

Justin Huber

Brad Harman

Gary Matthews

Aussie left-hander RYAN ROWLAND-SMITH grabbed another opportunity to pitch at the famous Yankee Stadium during its much publicised farewell season when he took the mound for the Seattle Mariners in difficult circumstances during their 2-8 hammering by the New York Yankees. Whereas he may not have enjoyed his last outing, Rowland-Smith is entitled to be quite proud of his performance on this occasion when he was asked to stem the flow in middle-relief after M’s starter Carlos Silva had been shelled for eleven hits and eight runs from just three innings. Ryan was summoned from the bullpen early with one on and none out and with a run already scored in the bottom of the fourth inning. This time he started well with the dangerous Bobby Abreu grounding softly back to the mound for his own assist, but then Hideki Matsui singled to right field for a RBI to cash in the last of Silva’s earned runs. For the second straight time he battled lefty slugger Jason Giambi, only to “lose him” again on a nine pitch, full count walk. ‘RRS’ polished off the fourth by having Melky Cabrera pop out to the second baseman on an infield fly, followed by Robinson Cano who flied out to the centre fielder. Having handled the tough part of the Yankees' order in the fourth, he found it a little easier in the fifth with light-hitting Morgan Ensberg grounding out to the third baseman and backup catcher Chad Moeller striking out swinging. He ended the fifth with leadoff star Johnny Damon flying out to left field. Rowland-Smith was then replaced at the start of the sixth, having done a workmanlike job for his team with 2.0ip 1h 0er 1bb 1k (5.06ERA).

Australia ’s JUSTIN HUBER is finding it hard to maintain his batting average with intermittent plate appearances as a “platoon outfielder” for the San Diego Padres. In today’s 3-10 defeat by the Florida Marlins, Justin was asked to pinch hit in the top of the seventh inning when he replaced Kevin Cameron with one on and two out. Following a game delay in which his manager Bud Black was ejected, Huber could only manage to ground into a fielder’s choice force out to the third baseman on a nasty changeup delivered by Renyel Pinto.

Australia ’s newest major leaguer BRAD HARMAN also made another cameo appearance as a pinch hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies today during their narrow 6-5 win over the San Francisco Giants. His chance came in the bottom of the sixth when he was asked to pinch hit for starting pitcher Cole Hamels at the end of his stint. Brad battled seven pitches from Giants’ emerging pitching ace Tim Lincecum for a full count before grounding out to the short stop on a 94mph heater.

“Hot and cold” slugger GARY MATTHEWS JNR. (Brisbane Bandits 1997) was red hot today, playing a major offensive role for the Los Angeles Angels in their 6-5 win over the plucky Baltimore Orioles. The ‘Son of Sarge’ thumped his fifth home run of the season while batting 1-2 (.228) plus three walks!

VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) continued his solid hitting streak today with 1-3 (.273) plus a RBI for the Toronto Blue Jays in their 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox.

Also doing his bit to help the Houston Astros in their 8-6 win over the Milwaukee Brewers was GEOFF BLUM (Hunter Eagles 1995) who did everything he could as a pinch hitter with 1-1 (.216) and he also scored a run.

PAUL LoDUCA (Adelaide Giants 1995) batted 1-4 (.233) to help his Washington Nationals to roll over the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-2 today.

4 MAY 2008 - HUBER & RRS IN ACTION AGAIN!

Ryan
Rowland-Smith

Justin Huber

Paul LoDuca

Australian relief pitcher RYAN ROWLAND-SMITH may not have enjoyed his outing yesterday, but he will have the privilege of recounting for his grandchildren many years into the future how he played at the famous Yankee Stadium in its final year of existence. Ryan took over to start the bottom of the eighth inning for the Seattle Mariners and, unfortunately, he allowed the game to slip further away in what was to be a 1-5 loss to the moderately performed 2008 New York Yankees' team. It all started a little unfortunately for him when veteran slugger Bobby Abreu poked a soft floater that dropped in front of M's centre fielder Ichiro Suzuki. He had two on board when next batter Shelley Duncan lined a single to left field. It looked a little better when when he out-battled Japanese hero Hideki Matsui for a nine pitch swinging strike out, but he quickly loaded the bases when he "lost" left hand hitter Jason Giambi on a six pitch full-count walk. He couldn't complain too much when he handed over a one out, bases loaded jam to righty bullpen mate Sean Green who promptly banked two earned runs for our Rowland-Smith. Green allowed a RBI single to Morgan Ensberg, then another of Ryan's runs when Jose Vidro lifted a sacrifice fly. His not-so impressive line yesterday was ultimately recorded as 0.1ip 2h 2er 1bb 1k (6.23ERA). 

Aussie hitter JUSTIN HUBER would also have liked to have contributed more for the San Diego Padres after starting at left field and batting in the #7-hole in their 4-6 loss to the Florida Marlins. Justin couldn't seem to square up the fastball offerings of 'Fish' lefty starter Mark Hendrickson yesterday. It all started in the top of the third when he led off the inning with a fly out to left field then, similarly, when he flied out to centre field on his first pitch with none on and one out in the top of the fifth. His unproductive day ended when he was jammed on an inside fastball and he flied out softly to the short stop with none on and one out in the top of the seventh frame. His season record slumped with his 0-3 (.200) game yesterday.

In other MLB action:

Toronto Blue Jays slugger VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) has enjoyed an upsurge in his hitting against the Chicago White Sox with two great performances this past weekend. Wells batted a massive 3-5 (.271) with three RBI's for the BJ's in their 5-2 win today and 2-3 in their 2-0 victory yesterday. 

PAUL LoDUCA (Adelaide Giants 1995) returned to big league action with the Washington Nationals for the weekend series versus the Pittsburgh Pirates with some success. 'Paulie' batted 1-1 as a pinch hitter in their 4-11 loss yesterday, then 1-3 (.231) in their narrow 9-8 win today. 

Los Angeles Angels outfielder GARY MATTHEWS JNR. (Brisbane Bandits 1997) batted what would appear to be a miserable 0-3 (.223) today but, as a baseball lesson for the uneducated, he did deliver two of his team's game-winning RBI's in a tough 3-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles. His two runs came via a neat sacrifice fly and a hard-hit fielder's choice out. You don't have to hit safely to play a big offensive role!

1 MAY 2008 - HUBER & ROWLAND-SMITH IN ACTION!

Ryan
Rowland-Smith

Kevin Millwood

Justin Huber

Aussie reliever RYAN ROWLAND-SMITH was back in action today for the Seattle Mariners, mopping up the last inning of their 3-8 defeat by the Cleveland Indians. Rowland-Smith put plenty of pressure on himself starting when Jason Michaels crushed a leadoff double on a fly ball to left field in the bottom of the eighth. He then loaded the bags with none out by issuing a full-count walk to Asdrubal Cabrera, followed by a five pitch walk to Grady Sizemore. After a coaching visit to the mound he then eased the pressure a fraction by getting Jamey Carroll to pop up with an infield fly to the short stop. This allowed him to escape the jam in impressive fashion when he had hard-hitting catcher Victor Martinez ground out into an inning ending double-play to the third baseman. Ryan’s line today was 1.0ip 1h 0er 2bb 0k (4.32ERA).

In today’s other MLB action:

Veteran starter KEVIN MILLWOOD (Melbourne Monarchs 1997) collected his second win of the season with 6.1ip 7h 5er 2bb 2k to help his Texas Rangers to top the Kansas City Royals in a high scoring 11-9 game. His record improved to 2-2, 3.86ERA.

MATT HERGES (Adelaide Giants 1999) also pitched short relief with 0.2ip 1h 0er 0bb 0k (2.08ERA) for the Colorado Rockies during their 2-3 loss to the San Francisco Giants.

… and from yesterday’s MLB games:

Australia’s 20th major leaguer JUSTIN HUBER made another start for the San Diego Padres today, playing at left field and batting in the #6 slot during a 4-7 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. Justin had three plate appearances facing Phillies’ ace starter Cole Hamels, before being substituted for pinch hitter Paul McAnulty with one on and one out in the top of the ninth inning. His first plate appearance resulted in a five pitch walk with two out in the top of the second inning. Huber next grounded out to the second baseman in the top of the fifth before striking out swinging at a nasty change-up with two out in the top of the seventh inning. It ended a 0-2 (.227) day for him on this occasion.

RON MAHAY (Gold Coast Cougars 1996) pitched a very useful 2.1ip 2h 0er 0bb 0k (2.02ERA) in long middle-relief for the Kansas City Royals to help them to overcome a early exit for their starter Brett Tomko in a 9-4 win over the Texas Rangers.

Helping his Los Angeles Angels to blank the Oakland A’s in a 2-0 shutout was GARY MATTHEWS JNR. (Brisbane Bandits 1997) who batted 1-4 (.234) with one of his team’s vital RBI’s.

GEOFF BLUM (Hunter Eagles 1995) smacked a huge three-RBI double while batting 1-4 (.208) for the Houston Astros in their 6-4 win over the high-rolling Arizona Diamondbacks.