ARCHIVE
AUG 2007

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.

Grant Balfour

Ryan R-Smith

Australia’s GRANT BALFOUR is really cementing his return to the big leagues lately and today he was a genuine HERO for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays as a key factor in their epic 5-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles after 12 long innings. Our Grant was entrusted with pitching the first two extra inning of the tied ballgame today and he emerged with flying colours after hurling a superb 2.0ip 0h 0er 2bb 4k (5.40ERA). In the bottom of the tenth he had Brian Roberts struck out swinging and Corey Patterson grounding out to the second baseman, before he walked Nick Markakis. Balfour held his nerve to fan the ever dangerous Miguel Tejada to end the inning. Back for the bottom of the eleventh, he had Kevin Millar struck out swinging before walking Aubrey Huff on some close pitches. The O’s decision to bring in pinch runner Freddie Bynum backfired when ‘Balf’ promptly picked him off at first for the second out. Grant then completed his fine work for the day when he ‘whiffed’ Melvin Mora. Nice job mate!

Aussie reliever PETER MOYLAN was also very good again today, helping his Atlanta Braves to earn an important 7-4 victory over the Florida Marlins. ‘Big Pete’ pitched the bottom of the sixth inning when the game was still alive and he did his job in spite of an unearned run crossing the plate in the inning. He started by having Josh Willingham ground out softly to the third baseman, before Jeremy Hermida doubled on a line drive to right field. A passed ball allowed Hermida to scuttle across to third and he then scored on a soft ground out to the third baseman by Matt Treanor, unearned. Moylan ended the inning with his “signature dismissal” when Alejandro De Aza grounded back to the mound for Pete to record yet another assist to first. Moylan pitched 1.0ip 1h 0er 0bb 0k (1.93ERA) to lower his ERA again, while bullpen buddy RON MAHAY (Gold Coast Cougars 1996) collected his fourth hold of the season with 0.2ip 1h 0er 0bb 1k (2.47ERA).

Not quite so impressive today was young Australian big leaguer RYAN ROWLAND-SMITH who had control problems with too many of his pitches rising up above the zone. We cannot be sure if the pressure may have had something to do with his uncharacteristic wayward start, but he did arrive to face a nasty bases loaded and two out situation at the end of his Seattle Mariners 2-8 loss to the Los Angeles Angels. In the top of the ninth he cashed in a run with a five pitch walk to Casey Kotchman, then he repeated the dose with another five pitch walk to Howie Kendrick. Further damage was avoided when he had Jeff Mathis fly out to centrefield. The upside to Rowland-Smith’s 0.1ip 0h 0er 2bb 0k (3.04ERA) effort today was that neither of the runs he allowed were his to own! In this game GARY MATTHEWS JNR. (Brisbane Bandits 1997) batted 1-5 (.263) for the ‘Halos’.

SHEA HILLENBRAND (Gold Coast Cougars 1998) hammered his fourth home run of the season to make himself very popular with his new fans at the Los Angeles Dodgers. Shea batted a tremendous 2-5 (.254) with three decisive RBI’s as a most important contribution to their tight 5-4 win over the Washington Nationals.

Peter Moylan

Shea Hillenbrand

Peter Moylan

Grant Balfour

Not to be overshadowed by the tremendous performances of Balfour and Rowland-Smith yesterday, top ranking Aussie reliever PETER MOYLAN once again put on a clinic of efficient relief pitching for the Atlanta Braves with two brilliant scoreless innings during their epic 3-4 loss to the Florida Marlins in an 11-innings heartbreaker. ‘Big Pete’ relieved starter John Smoltz for the bottom of the seventh inning with Matt Treanor grounding softly back to Pete on the mound, then he struck out Alejandro De Aza on a foul tip and had pinch-hitter Todd Linden called out on strikes. Back to face the heart of the Fish’s order in the bottom of the eighth Moylan got Hanley Ramirez to fly out to centrefield, Dan Uggla to ground out to the short stop and mighty Miguel Cabrera to ground out to the first baseman. It was yet another masterly day on the hill for Moylan who pared his ERA below the magical 2.00 mark once again to emphasise what a marvellously consistent season he has had. Pete pitched 2.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 2k (1.95ERA), while his bullpen mate RON MAHAY (Gold Coast Cougars 1996) pitched a useful 1.0ip 0h 0er 1bb 1k (2.50ERA) in the narrow losing cause.

… while from yesterday:

It was a hard choice to decide which of Australia’s two relievers was more impressive yesterday… and who cares?... we’ll start with GRANT BALFOUR who was positively “filthy” during his one inning for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in their tight 4-5 loss to the Chicago White Sox. ‘Balf’ kept his team in the game with a scoreless eighth inning against the toughest part of the White Sox batting lineup when he hardly gave them a sniff. He started with Paul Konerko flying out to centrefield, before he literally blew away A.J Pierzynski with a succession of 97-98mph “heaters” for him to finally succumb called out on strikes. He then strangled former World Series MVP Germaine Dye with another thunderbolt, followed by a nasty change-up that he could only dribble back to the mound for Grant to complete the assist. It would be difficult to be much better than Balfour’s eight of nine pitches thrown for strikes in his 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 1k (6.14ERA) performance.

After a slower start, young Aussie RYAN ROWLAND-SMITH also turned in a stunning performance of late relief for the Seattle Mariners who were already destined to a 0-6 shutout defeat by the tough Los Angeles Angels. Like Balfour, Ryan was faced with the heart of the Angels lineup today when he came in for the top of the seventh inning and things looked ominous for him when Orlando Cabrera singled to left field and superstar Vladimir Guerrero singled up the middle. He earned a massive relief when he induced the dangerous Garret Anderson to ground into a double-play to the second baseman. This enabled him to shut down the inning with Maicer Izturis flying out to right field. If his seventh inning was a little shaky, his return for the eighth was anything but, with three ‘whiffing’ strikeouts notched on his belt. Down went Gary Matthews Jnr., Kendry Morales and Howie Kendrick all fanning at Rowland-Smith’s deceptive arsenal of pitches. ‘RRS’ threw 22 of 27 pitches for strikes to record another neat 2.0ip 2h 0er 0bb 3k (3.08ERA). In this game GARY MATTHEWS JNR. (Brisbane Bandits 1997) batted 1-4 (.264) for the team from Anaheim.

GEOFF BLUM (Hunter Eagles 1995) was the hero yesterday for the San Diego Padres when his seventh inning two-run homer was the game breaking blow in their 3-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Geoff batted 1-3 (.257) with the two biggest RBI’s in the game.

Making his presence felt immediately after his long-awaited comeback from injury was New York Mets catcher PAUL LoDUCA (Adelaide Giants 1995) who batted 2-4 (.270) with  RBI in their 2-9 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.

RON MAHAY (Gold Coast Cougars 1996) produced another solid inning of relief for the Atlanta Braves with 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 0k (2.55ERA) during their 13-2 belting of the Florida Marlins.

… finally back to today’s other MLB games:

GARY MATTHEWS JNR. (Brisbane Bandits 1997) ‘went yard’ for the 17th time this season with his 1-4 (.264), the RBI and two runs scored helping his Los Angeles Angels to overcome the Seattle Mariners 10-6.

Also playing a key offensive role for the Los Angeles Dodgers in their narrow 4-3 win over the Washington Nationals was recent signing SHEA HILLENBRAND (Gold Coast Cougars 1998) who batted a decisive 2-4 (.251) with two RBI’s.

Ryan R-Smith

Geoff Blum

Gary Matthews

Ryan R-Smith

Australia’s most recent major leaguer RYAN ROWLAND-SMITH is still enjoying his new life as a big league reliever and he is looking more composed with every outing. Ryan pitched a scoreless seventh inning for the Seattle Mariners in relief of starter Jarrod Washburn and he did so with a minimum of fuss, even though his team fell 3-5 to the Texas Rangers. His first hitter was the man with the longest ever name in MLB history, recently traded from the Atlanta Braves, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who floated a soft line drive to right field for a leadoff single. Not to be rattled by the presence of a none-out base runner, ‘RRS’ quickly had two outs in the bank when he got Travis Metcalf to line into a double play to the third baseman. He concluded his task by having a perplexed Ramon Vasquez called out on strikes. His effective line today was 1.0ip 1h 0er 0bb 1k (3.33ERA).

Versatile utility infielder GEOFF BLUM (Hunter Eagles 1995) had another productive day for the San Diego Padres, but his 2-5 (.256) with an RBI, including a double and a triple, was not nearly enough to prevent a 2-14 thrashing by the Philadelphia Phillies. Padres’ team mate PETE La FOREST (IBLA MLB All-Stars 2001) batted 1-4 (.360) in the same losing cause.

One again we witness the vagaries of the fairly recent baseball statistic called the “HOLD”. In this case Tampa Bay Devil Rays’ reliever GARY GLOVER (Sydney Storm 1999) must feel very fortunate to be credited with his eighth hold of the season after pitching an unimpressive 0.2ip 3h 2er 0bb 1k (5.29ERA). To be quite honest, Glover did little more than allow the Oakland A’s to creep closer in what was to be a 7-4 win for the ‘D-Rays’.

MATT HERGES (Adelaide Giants 1999) continues to enjoy a solid run of form towards the end of the 2007 season, pitching another effective 1.1ip 0h 0er 0bb 2k (2.96ERA) to close the Colorado Rockies 10-5 win over the Washington Nationals.

Helping the Los Angeles Angels to prevail 3-1 over the Toronto Blue Jays was GARY MATTHEWS JNR. (Brisbane Bandits 1997) who batted 1-3 (.264), while VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) batted 1-4 (.259) for the BJ’s.

Geoff Blum

Peter Moylan

You’ll have to excuse me for trying to find inventive new ways to report how Australia’s major league star PETER MOYLAN pitched another solid scoreless inning for the Atlanta Braves. Moylan’s “Ripley’s like” story about how he reached the pinnacle of the baseball world is amazing in itself but, far from being satisfied with the achievement of having “made it”, our Pete has forged on to establish himself among the bona fide ELITE relief pitchers in world baseball. I don’t want to pre-empt anything that may not happen here, but Pete is surely at the forefront of venerable Atlanta manager Bobby Cox’s mind as a man capable of taking over as the Braves’ closer as the 2007 season rolls ever closer to the pointy end. The man originally designated for the job, burly veteran Bob Wickman, has struggled and, after a recent run of failure, he has been designated for assignment. Maybe Moylan was handed a “dress rehearsal” today when he was entrusted with the final eighth inning of the Braves 4-5 loss to the St.Louis Cardinals… and he would have done his cause little harm with a typically solid 1.0ip 1h 0er 1bb 1k (2.01ERA). Not for the first time this season, Pete didn’t have everything rolling in his favour when leadoff batter Aaron Miles legged out an infield single to the short stop. This set the scene for the pesky David Eckstein to predictably lay down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runner, while Pete got the assist by fielding the ball and throwing out a hustling Eckstein at first. The important second out was secured when Pete whiffed the dangerous converted pitcher Rick Ankiel who fanned hopelessly at an unhittable 96mph sinking heater. This enabled the Braves to intentionally walk superstar Albert Pujols so that Pete could keep the scoreboard silent with Jim Edmonds flying out to centrefield. At the risk of getting carried away, it would be a fitting reward for Moylan to take over the closer’s role for the Braves after proving his skill and composure under pressure so many times this season. Yes, we are a little biased for one of our favourite Aussie guys, but we also think that he has earned everything he has achieved… good luck Pete!

Journeyman former ABL catcher SHEA HILLENBRAND (Gold Coast Cougars 1998) may have found himself a somewhat stable home at third base for the Los Angeles Dodgers who are desperately in need of his hitting talent. As the FOX SPORTS commentators loved to highlight in their telecast this morning, Shea seemed to enjoy playing at Shea Stadium, even though his Dodgers were nudged out again 4-5 by the home-standing New York Mets. Hillenbrand batted 1-3 (.252) today, but he may have been fortunate to boast a triple after Mets’ right fielder Lastings Milledge clearly misread a fly ball that should have been fielded for a single at most.

Shea Hillenbrand

Grant Balfour

Hard throwing Aussie GRANT BALFOUR found a way to make life a little more interesting for himself in the major leagues today when he secured the final two outs for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to end their 12-2 romp over the Oakland Athletics. Grant came on in relief after the unfortunate starter James Shields had just lost his shutout in the ninth inning when Dan Johnson belted a one-out two run bomb. Grant struggled at the start when he “lost” J.J Fermaniak on a full count walk, but he got a break when Jack Hannahan singled to the second baseman but Fermaniak was out when hit by the batted ball as he ran from first to second. He then allowed Rob Bowen to single to left field before closing his mission with seasoned Jeff DaVannon grounding out back to the mound for Balfour to snare the assist. ‘Balf’ was consistently in the 94mph range again today while pitching 0.2ip 2h 0er 1bb 0k (6.59ERA).

The recent one-two punch duo of lefty Ron Mahay and Aussie righty PETER MOYLAN was on duty again today, mopping up the final inning of the Atlanta Braves comfortable 7-2 win over the St.Louis Cardinals, in relief of ace starter John Smoltz. Mahay opened the bottom of the ninth with two outs, but he was replaced by Moylan after he allowed a free pass to Scott Rolen. Our Pete would have used a lot more sweat in his warm-up than with the one 93mph pitch on the bottom edge of the strike zone that induced Yadier Molina to ground into a force out to the second baseman. Pete’s exhausting line today was 0.1ip 0h 0er 0bb 0k (2.04ERA). While his partner RON MAHAY (Gold Coast Cougars 1996) pitched 0.2ip 0h 0er 1bb 1k (2.60ERA).

Veteran starter KEVIN MILLWOOD (Melbourne Monarchs 1997) continued to ride his 2007 “roller coaster” today with another lion-hearted performance being rewarded with another tough loss. ‘Big Kev’ suffered his 11th defeat of the year after pitching a long 8.2ip 13h 4er 0bb 1k for the Texas Rangers who were shaded 4-2 by the Seattle Mariners. Millwood’s record slumped to an unflattering 8-11, 5.31ERA.

Peter Moylan

Kevin Millwood

Ryan R-Smith

 
Gary Glover

Firstly, from yesterday’s games:

There have been a lot of terrific relief pitching performances from Aussies in the big leagues this season, but few have been better than that produced by RYAN ROWLAND-SMITH for the Seattle Mariners in yesterday’s 4-8 defeat by the Minnesota Twins. Ryan was asked to stop the bleeding for the Mariners after starter Miguel Batista had been shelled from the mound after just two innings that yielded an agonising nine hits and eight earned runs. Perhaps Rowland-Smith had little to lose in this context, but it should not detract from his sterling 4.0ip 0h 0er 2bb 6k (3.47ERA) contribution. It would take far too much text here to trace every out, but you can do no more than pitch four scoreless innings of long-middle relief with no hits and six strikeouts. His strikeout victims were, in order, Garrett Jones (twice), Alexi Casilla, Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel. Not only did ‘RRS’ give his team an improbable chance of getting back into the contest, but he also prevented some real strain on Seattle’s bullpen after the premature exit of their starting pitcher. Nice job Ryan!

From today’s MLB action:

Australian star PETER MOYLAN had yet another interesting day in the majors when he pitched the seventh inning of the Atlanta Braves epic 12 innings 7-9 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. To continue what has proven a tough series for the both Pete and the Braves, he was greeted by a home run from the first batter he faced Edwin Encarnacion. It may be that Encarnacion was fired up after Moylan hit him with a pitch in their previous encounter, but Pete was still a trifle unfortunate to see a tidy “low and away” pitch driven over the left field fence after three consecutive fouls had him battling an 0-2 count! Pete’s frustration was to continue when next batter Jorge Cantu worked a rather fortunate eight pitch walk. However, as he has done so often this season, Moylan had the poise to re-group by jamming Josh Hamilton for a soft come-backer to the mound, followed by Jeff Keppinger who grounded out softly to the third baseman. With first base open there was little hesitation in issuing an intentional walk to the great Ken Griffey Jnr. before he escaped the inning with Brandon Phillips grounding into a force out to the third baseman. Pete’s line today was 1.0ip 1h 1er 2bb 0k  (2.05ERA). Once again pitching the inning before Moylan was RON MAHAY (Gold Coast Cougars 1996) who hurled a tidy 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 1k (2.63ERA) for the Braves. 

Helping the Toronto Blue Jays to sneak past the Los Angeles Angels 5-4 today was former All-Star slugger VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) who batted 2-4 (.263) with a most valuable RBI.

... and from other games yesterday:

GARY GLOVER (Sydney Storm 1999) earned his seventh hold of the season by pitching 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 1k (5.06ERA) to help his Tampa Bay Devil Rays to hold off the Boston Red Sox for a 2-1 victory.

One of the offensive contributors to the Los Angeles Dodgers huge 15-3 massacre of the Philadelphia Phillies was SHEA HILLENBRAND (Gold Coast Cougars 1998) who batted 1-3 (.258) with a RBI, a walk and a run scored.

MATT HERGES (Adelaide Giants 1999) pitched a handy 2.0ip 2h 0er 0bb 1k (3.12ERA) but it was not enough to save his Colorado Rockies from falling to a 2-11 hiding from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Peter Moylan

Matt Herges

Grant Balfour

 
Vernon Wells

Aussie reliever GRANT BALFOUR was also back in action today, pitching 1.0ip 1h  0er 0bb 1k (6.92ERA) in relief for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays during their 6-8 defeat at the hands of the visiting Boston Red Sox. In familiar “fireman” fashion, Balfour was summoned to help extract the ‘D-Rays’ from a ticklish two-on and two-out situation in the top of the seventh and he didn’t disappoint when he had the dangerous J.D Drew struck out swinging. He returned for the top of the eighth to have Bosox captain Jason Varitek fly out to centrefield, followed by Coco Crisp who popped out to the short stop in foul territory. With the top of Boston’s order rolling around, Julio Lugo singled to left field, but there was no damage done when Dustin Pedroia grounded out to the second baseman. Grant’s bullpen mate GARY GLOVER (Sydney Storm 1999) was also solid for Tampa today with 1.0ip 0h 0er 1bb 0k (5.14ERA).

An unusual and most unfortunate thing happened to Aussie star PETER MOYLAN today when he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, taking a hard-luck loss when his Atlanta Braves allowed the Cincinnati Reds to snatch a heartbreaking 8-7 comeback win. Moylan was asked to halt a rally that had been ignited by the Reds in the fifth inning when he came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth inning. Sure, Pete didn’t help himself when he allowed a leadoff infield single to the second baseman by Norris Hopper, then he followed by hitting Jeff Keppinger with a pitch. He was good enough to get the great Ken Griffey Junior to bounce into a ground out to the second baseman, but it enabled the runners to advance on the play. Things could have been worse for Pete when Brandon Phillips nailed a RBI single to right field for Hopper to score, but once again the rocket arm of Braves’ right-fielder Jeff Francouer was a great ally when he nailed Keppinger who was attempting to score at home plate. Moylan didn’t take any risks with long ball man Adam Dunn who he intentionally walked before hitting Edwin Encarnacion with his next pitch. He finally concluded the difficult inning with Jeff Cantu flying out to centrefield. Normal service was restored for Moylan with a composed bottom of the seventh which comprised three typical ground ball outs… Ryan Jorgenson to short stop, Scott Hatterberg and Norris Hopper both to the first baseman. Pete pitched a quite reasonable 2.0ip 2h 1er 1bb 0k but he would not have enjoyed the loss that took his record to 4-3, 1.95ERA. More responsible for the Braves’ demise today was his bullpen mate RON MAHAY (Gold Coast Cougars 1996) who pitched a miserable 1.0ip 4h 2er 0bb 2k (2.68ERA) just prior to Pete taking the mound.

It was a more typical “day at the office” for MOYLAN yesterday, doing his stuff again for the Braves in their 14-4 thumping of the Cincinnati Reds. Moylan produced a scoreless eighth inning with Brandon Phillips grounding out to the second baseman and giant Adam Dunn grounding out to the short stop, before pinch hitter Jorge Cantu singled up the middle. He put the lid on another strong performance by having Javier Valentin called out on strikes. Yet again Pete was the model of efficiency, touching 94mph with nine of eleven pitches thrown for strikes. It NEVER gets tiresome for us to report on it Pete… keep it rolling!! Pitching before Peter in this game was lefty team mate Ron Mahay who was also impressive with 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 1k (2.37ERA).

VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) went deep for his 15th ‘jack’ of the season today, but his 1-4 (.263) with the RBI was not enough to help his Toronto Blue Jays who fell 4-6 to the Oakland A’s. Yesterday Wells batted 1-4 (.264) with a RBI, but again it was not enough to prevent his Blue Jays from falling with the identical score of 4-6 to the Athletics.

Helping the Los Angeles Angels to embarrass the New York Yankees in a wild 18-9 blowout was GARY MATTHEWS JNR. (Brisbane Bandits 1997) who batted 1-3 (.266) with a RBI and two walks. Yesterday Matthews batted 2-5 as a vital contributor for the Angels in their thrilling 7-6, 10-innings win over the Yankees.

… and also from yesterday:

Also doing a solid job for the Colorado Rockies after a rough start to the 2007 season is veteran reliever MATT HERGES (Adelaide Giants 1999) with 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 0k (3.38ERA) in their 2-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Peter Moylan

Matt Herges

Vernon Wells

Matt Herges

Former No.1 overall draft selection VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) is enjoying a hot streak towards the end of an inconsistent season for him with 2-4 (.264) and a RBI for the Toronto Blue Jays, helping them to sneak past the in-form Baltimore Orioles 3-2.

GARY GLOVER (Sydney Storm 1999) pitched 1.0ip 0h 0er 1bb 1k (5.23ERA) in relief for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays during their narrow 4-3 win over the Cleveland Indians.

An up and down season continued for veteran starter KEVIN MILLWOOD (Melbourne Monarchs 1997) who was definitely unfortunate to take his tenth loss of the season for the Texas Rangers who were edged 1-0 by superstar pitcher Johan Santana and the Minnesota Twins. Millwood did little wrong, apart from issuing a few too many walks, with 7.0ip 4h 1er 5bb 3k to take his season record to 8-10, 5.39ERA.

… and from yesterday’s late finishing barn-burner:

Collecting the win for the Colorado Rockies in their epic 14-innings 7-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers was reliever MATT HERGES (Adelaide Giants 1999) who pitched a very effective 2.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 1k to improve his season record to 2-0, 3.52ERA. New Dodger SHEA HILLENBRAND (Gold Coast Cougars 1998) could not have been expected to do much more than batting 4-6 (.261) with two RBI’s.

Kevin Millwood

Shea Hillenbrand

Peter Moylan

What a way to make a living Subscribers… an inning or so of work every other night while traveling the big league cities of the United States… could it possibly get much better than this? Well, at the risk of over-simplifying a very tough job that has taken a lot of hard work to achieve, this is the major league dream being lived by Australia’s PETER MOYLAN right at the moment. And, far from just enjoying the moment, our Pete is proving himself to be one of the most effective relief pitchers in the major leagues this season… without a hint of doubt! Pete continued to pile up the zeros in his last couple of games. In today’s 0-4 shutout defeat by the Arizona Diamondbacks, Moylan did his job most efficiently in the top of the eighth inning when he was called from the bullpen following a one out, two-run homer with a breezy 0.2ip 0h 0er 0bb 1k (1.90ERA). In a familiar out this season Pete started by having Chris Snyder ground out back to the mound for Pete’s assist, then he had an overmatched Justin Upton struck out swinging. He required just six pitches and five strikes that nudged 94mph to do the job today.

In yesterday’s 3-9 loss to the San Francisco Giants Moylan produced another quite conclusive “mop up job” by ensuring a swift and painless end for the Braves. This time Pete had to work around an unlucky leadoff “bloop” single to centrefield from Rajai Davis, but this has rarely fazed him this season. He followed by having speedy Dave Roberts ground into a force out to the short stop before inducing yet another ground ball double-play from the dangerous bat of Randy Winn. This time he needed just 12 pitches and eight strikes for his 1.0ip 1h 0er 0bb 0k performance.

… also from the past couple of days:

GARY MATTHEWS JNR. (Brisbane Bandits 1997) launched his 16th ‘big fly’ of the season while batting 1-4 (.269) for the Los Angeles Angels who rallied past the Boston Red Sox 7-5 in the ninth inning. Matthews batted 1-2 with a RBI and two walks for the Angles in yesterday’s 4-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. In this game ‘BJ’s’ slugger VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) batted 1-4, while he starred in today’s 5-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles with his 2-4 (.262) including a RBI.

Yesterday PETE La FOREST (IBLA MLB All-Stars 2001) smacked his first home run of the season for the San Diego Padres while producing a career best 3-3 with two RBI’s in their 11-9 win over the Colorado Rockies. Padres’ team mate GEOFF BLUM (Hunter Eagles 1995) batted a very good 2-5 with a RBI in this game, while MATT HERGES (Adelaide Giants 1999) pitched 1.1ip 2h 1er 0bb 1k (3.86ERA) in relief for the ‘Rox’.
In the Padres 1-3 loss to the Houston Astros today, Blum batted 1-5 (.260), while LaForest pinch hit with 0-1 (.400).

SHEA HILLENBRAND (Gold Coast Cougars 1998) batted 1-3 (.250) with a RBI for the Los Angeles Dodgers in their 6-2 win over the Colorado Rockies today. He batted 1-4 in their 6-2 win over the Houston Astros yesterday.

Pete LaForest

Gary Matthews

Grant Balfour

 
Gary Glover

Firstly, from yesterday's MLB action:

Australia’s GRANT BALFOUR found himself once again pitted against the most dangerous of wolf packs yesterday when he was called upon to pitch the bottom of the eighth inning for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on their way to a 0-3 shutout defeat by the Boston Red Sox. Grant found himself facing the heart of the much vaunted ‘Bosox’ lineup at the, as always, sold out Fenway Park. First up was David ‘Big Papi’ Ortiz who grounded out to the third baseman. The other half of the Dominican “bash brothers” Manny Ramirez then singled up the middle before he was shunted over into scoring position when J.D Drew battled for an eight pitch walk. Damaging veteran Mike Lowell next scored Ramirez with a sharp RBI single to centerfield. Alex Cora then grounded out to the first baseman to advance the runners, but Balfour averted further damage when he had hard-hitting catcher Doug Mirabelli struck out swinging. It was no disgrace to give up a run against that wrecking crew as he finished with 1.0ip 2h 1er 1bb 1k (7.71ERA). Bullpen team mate GARY GLOVER (Sydney Storm 1999) pitched 1.0ip 1h 1er 2bb 1k (5.43ERA) in the same game.

Journey man utility player SHEA HILLENBRAND (Gold Coast Cougars 1998) made a reappearance for his sixth major league club, the Los Angeles Dodgers, during their 1-4 loss to the Houston Astros. It may have been seven clubs for Shea had he had actually played for the San Diego Padres who recently picked him up from the LA Angels before releasing him to the Dodgers yesterday. The former ABL catcher has struggled to cement a specialist defensive position in the big leagues despite carrying a fairly consistent bat over the years. We would have thought that he’d be better served playing in the American League with his potential to be a designated hitter.

… and from today’s games:

KEVIN MILLWOOD (Melbourne Monarchs 1997) was back to his very best form today after an inconsistent season so far earning his eighth win in a high-quality start for the Texas Rangers who prevailed 5-3 over the Kansas City Royals. ‘Big Kev’ pitched a terrific 7.0ip 4h 1er 1bb 9k to improve his season record to 8-9, 5.63ERA

Tampa Bay Devil Rays reliever GARY GLOVER (Sydney Storm 1999) earned his sixth hold of the season when he pitched 1.0ip 0h 0er 1bb 0k (5.34ERA) and it was not his fault that the home-standing Boston Red Sox rallied late to win the game 2-1 in the ninth inning.

RON MAHAY (Gold Coast Cougars 1996) also added his third hold of the year, pitching 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 1k (2.47ERA) to help his Atlanta Braves to beat the San Francisco Giants 5-4.

Kevin Millwood

Ron Mahay

Peter Moylan

Australia's tremendously effective major league reliever PETER MOYLAN would not have enjoyed a rare experience for him this season, especially of late, when he allowed an earned run while pitching for the Atlanta Braves during their 3-5 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. Pete started the eighth inning with his team already 3-4 down and he had hardly settled when he caught too much of the plate with his second pitch and Philly superstar Jimmy Rollins spanked a triple on a fly ball to centrefield. In typical fashion, Moylan was not going to allow the run to come easily when he responded to get Tadahito Iguchi to ground out to the third baseman. His earned run came when power-man Pat Burrell lifted a sacrifice fly to right field for Rollins to scamper home on the tag-up. Moylan finished his inning of work by having former home run derby winner Ryan Howard struck out looking. Once again it was not a bad day for Peter Moylan as the occasional run happens to all pitchers and the fact that his ERA remains below 2.00 is proof positive of just how good he has been over the long season so far. His line today was 1.0ip 1h 1er 0bb 1k (1.95ERA).

MATT HERGES (Adelaide Giants 1999) enjoyed his first win of the season today when he pitched an excellent example of middle-relief for the Colorado Rockies in their 6-3 win over the in-form Chicago Cubs. Herges pitched 2.2ip 0h 0er 0bb 1k to take his record to 1-0, 3.66ERA.

... and from yesterday:

Peter Moylan's new Atlanta Braves team mate RON MAHAY (Gold Coast Cougars 1996) also collected an important win while pitching 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 2k in relief for the Braves in their 7-5 win over the Phillies. Mahay's record is a very rewarding 3-0, 2.53ERA.

Matt Herges

Ron Mahay

Peter Moylan

 
Vernon Wells

Aussie GRANT BALFOUR was “blowing smoke” again today with his 94-95mph heaters helping to put out a fire for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays during their 4-7 defeat by the Texas Rangers. Grant was once again issued the stern challenge of a two on, one out situation in the bottom of the sixth inning. As he seems to find lately, he quickly had the bases juiced when he allowed a full-count walk to Ramon Vasquez on a close pitch up in the zone. He then found his two inherited runners cashed in when feisty veteran Frank Catalanotto drove a two RBI single to left field. He de-fused further damage when Ian Kinsler grounded out to the catcher and Michael Young was struck out swinging. Balfour returned for the bottom of the seventh and, with a clean slate to work with this time, he put on a show of power pitching with Marlon Bird whiffed, Nelson Cruz struck out looking and Jason Botts also called out on strikes… 1-2-3… for four successive KKKK’s! He is looking more and more like a big league reliever once again with 1.2ip 1h 0er 1bb 4k (7.59ERA) today.

Another Aussie star PETER MOYLAN pitched darn well again today, but he won’t be feeling happy with taking a hard-luck loss, his second for the season, because he was at the helm when his Atlanta Braves allowed the winning run in a 4-5 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. ‘Big Pete’ Was asked to pitch the seventh inning of a square ballgame but it didn’t start well for him when Jason Werth singled on a fly ball to left field, thereby allowing him to advance into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Chris Coste. This was compounded by the UNEARNED winning run scoring from second when pinch hitter Greg Dobbs slapped a fortunate infield single to the short stop who committed a throwing error. Pete then had little option but to intentionally walk dangerous leadoff batted Jimmy Rollins. Moylan was then able to bear down, as he has done so often this season under immense pressure, to have Tadahito Iguchi ground into a force out to the third baseman followed by long ball threat Pat Burrell who flied out to left field.

VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) maintained his hot recent form with 2-4 (.263) and two RBI’s to provide all of the scoring for the Toronto Blue Jays in their 2-1 win over the Kansas City Royals.

Also having a strong day offensively was New York Mets catcher PAUL LoDUCA (Adelaide Giants 1995) who batted 2-3 (.270) in their 3-4 loss to the Florida Marlins.

In the San Diego Padres wild 12-7, 11-innings win over the Cincinnati Reds, GEOFF BLUM (Hunter Eagles 1995) batted 1-6 (.263) for the winners and DAVID ROSS (MLB All-Stars 2001) batted 1-4 (.204) for the losers.

Grant Balfour

Paul LoDuca

Peter Moylan

 
Grant Balfour

Australia ’s pitching “fireman” PETER MOYLAN was a model of efficiency yet again today and yesterday for the Atlanta Braves during their important series against their division rivals the New York Mets. Pete needed only a couple of pitches to put out a fire in the eighth inning of yesterday’s 3-4 loss when he erased Mets star David Wright with runners aboard to get the final out of the frame. He fooled the dangerous Wright into grounding back to the mound for Pete to make a routine assist by forcing him out at first. In today’s game Moylan pitched another brilliant scoreless eighth inning to make sure that his team was able to hang on for an important 7-6 win. On this occasion he needed only five pitches and four strikes to dispose of Shawn Green who grounded out to the first baseman, Ramon Castro who grounded out to the short stop and Lastings Millege who grounded out to the third baseman. Moylan is back in his familiar ground ball groove and we will soon need a microscope to view his miniscule ERA! He pitched 0.1ip 0h 0er 0bb 0k and 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 0k (1.87ERA) today. His new bullpen team mate RON MAHAY (Gold Coast Cougars 1996) suffered his first blown save yesterday with 0.1ip 1h 0er 1bb 0k, while he also pitched 1.0ip 0h 0er 1bb 1k (2.58ERA) today.

Young Aussie RYAN ROWLAND-SMITH also did a pretty solid relief job today for the Seattle Mariners to pitch out of a jam in the bottom of the sixth inning of their 13-8 win over the Baltimore Orioles. With two runners on and none out Ryan made matters tougher for himself by loading the bases when he hit Ramon Hernandez with a pitch. Then he couldn’t prevent Jay Gibbons from lifting a sacrifice fly RBI to centerfield. ‘RRS’ then re-loaded the bags by walking Jay Paton before allowing his own earned run on a Brian Roberts sacrifice fly. He rounded off the inning when he had Corey patterson popped up to the second baseman for his line of 1.0ip 1h 1er 1bb 0k (3.63ERA).

… and from yesterday’s MLB action:

Australia ’s GRANT BALFOUR looked a lot like the flame-thrower of old when he blazed through a scoreless inning of scintillating relief by striking out three successive Detroit Tigers and to help ensure that there was no way back for them in a 7-1 win for his Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Grant paid little respect to three of the best hitters in the big leagues when he had MLB average leader Magglio Ordonez called out on strikes, Carlos Guillen whiffed swinging and ace catcher Ivan ‘Pudge’ Rodriguez likewise fanned. Balfour was touching the 93-94mph range with nine of 14 pitches thrown for strikes with his outstanding 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 3k (9.00ERA). In this game his bullpen team mate GARY GLOVER (Sydney Storm 1999) pitched a decent 1.0ip 2h 0er 0bb 1k (5.31ERA). This was much better than Glover’s shaky 1.0ip 4h 1er 0bb 0k (5.37ERA) in another 8-1 win for the ‘D-Rays’ over the Tigers.

VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) had a monster day with the lumber for the Toronto Blue Jays, batting 3-4 (.261) with four big RBI’s to help them to man-handle the New York Yankees 15-4.

Veteran starter KEVIN MILLWOOD (Melbourne Monarchs 1997) earned a pretty solid no decision pitching 6.0ip 5h 3er 4bb 6k (5.90ERA) for the Texas Rangers in their 3-6 defeat by the Oakland Athletics.

GARY MATTHEWS JNR. (Brisbane Bandits 1997) batted another 1-4 (.274) with a RBI, but this time it was not enough for the Los Angeles Angels who were overrun 6-9 by the Boston Red Sox.

Ryan R-Smith

Vernon Wells

Peter Moylan

 
Gary Matthews

Fittingly playing for the Atlanta Braves, Australia’s PETER MOYLAN added three more of baseball’s biggest veteran batting scalps to his folklore today when he closed the last inning of their 7-3 win over fierce division rivals the New York Mets. ‘Big Pete’ had big guns Carlos Delgado struck out swinging, Moises Alou ground out to the third baseman and Shawn Green ground out to the first baseman. It just keeps getting better and bigger for Pete with another 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 1k (1.91ERA) very satisfying day in the major leagues. Also doing his job for the Braves was recent signing RON MAHAY (Gold Coast Cougars 1996) who pitched 1.0ip 0h 0er 1bb 0k (2.66ERA) for his second hold of the season. On the losing end with the Mets was catcher PAUL LoDUCA (Adelaide Giants 1995) who batted 0-3 (.266).

GARY MATTHEWS JNR. (Brisbane Bandits 1997) was close to a one man wrecking crew today for the Los Angeles Angels with his 14th home run of the year among his 3-5 (.274) with four RBI’s as a major contribution to their 10-4 win over the visiting Boston Red Sox.

… and from yesterday:

It was another case of “Aussies to the rescue” in the big leagues yesterday when Tampa Bay Devil Rays pitcher GRANT BALFOUR was called to action during their 4-6 defeat by the Detroit Tigers. Grant was required to pick up the pieces for former Sydney Storm import Gary Glover who had just lost the lead for the ‘D-Rays’ with a blown save in the bottom of the seventh inning. With two on and one out Balfour found himself quickly in further trouble when Omar Infante singled to right field to load the bases. He was then unable to prevent Brandon Inge from lifting a sacrifice fly RBI to left field for the second out. Just to build the drama Grant then walked leadoff batter Curtis Granderson to load the bases again. He completed his job by getting 2007 All-Star Placido Polanco (one of the toughest outs in baseball) to pop out to the first baseman, keeping his team in the contest. Balfour pitched a decent 0.2ip 1h 0er 1bb 0k (10.13ERA) while regularly touching the 93-94mph range on his fast ball. As mentioned, Balfour replaced GARY GLOVER (Sydney Storm 1999) on the mound in this game after he had been shelled for the miserable line of 0.1ip 5h 4er 0bb 0k for his second blown save and his fourth loss of the year. Glover’s record now stands at 5-4, 5.40ERA.

GEOFF BLUM (Hunter Eagles 1995) continues to be one of the most versatile and valuable back-up players in major league baseball with another big contribution of the San Diego Padres in their 5-10 loss to the St.Louis Cardinals. Blum, who played both second base and left field, batted 2-4 (.264) with two RBI’s coming via his second ‘big fly’ of the year.

Not able to do enough for the Toronto Blue Jays in their tight 4-5 loss to the New York Yankees was VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) who batted 1-5 (.258) with a RBI.

Grant Balfour

Geoff Blum

Peter Moylan

Thankfully we don’t have to do this often, but we will start today with an apology to PETER MOYLAN and his legion of Aussie baseball fans that we missed reporting his latest starring performance. Pete was GREAT again for the Atlanta Braves during their late-finishing game last Friday when his team went down in a 14 inning heart-breaker 11-12 to the Houston Astros. It wasn’t until we were updating the Aussie player’s statistics this morning that we realised he had lowered his ERA below 2.00 (WOW!) and we had missed reporting on it! Of course we would never simply “gloss over” this oversight, but before we get into the belated report lets take a moment to ponder Pete’s mighty performance beyond the half-way mark of this season. After 48 appearances and 60.1 innings pitched, Moylan’s 4-1, 1.94ERA record is the kind of effort that would put him in with a genuine chance for All-Star honours if he can continue in this vein through the first half of next season. You have been nothing short of FABULOUS this season Pete!

In the abovementioned game Moylan came to the rescue of Braves’ starter Jo-Jo Reyes who had lost the confidence of manager Bobby Cox after pitching a five-run third inning to cough up a three-run lead in a hurry. Pete entered the game for the top of the fourth with Atlanta now trailing 3-5 and all the momentum having swung violently to the Astros. Facing the heart of the Houston lineup Pete made short work of Chris Burke, who grounded out to the third baseman, before disposing of quality hitters Mark Loretta and Lance Berkman who he overmatched by having them both struck out swinging at fresh air. Back for the top of the fifth he had Carlos Lee fly out to right field, Ty Wiggington called out on strikes and Jason lane struck out swinging. Peter Moylan has been quite outstanding in many games this season, but few more impressive than this four strike out performance of 2.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 4k (1.94ERA). In this game his new bullpen mate RON MAHAY (Gold Coast Cougars 1996) pitched later with 3.0ip 3h 1er 1bb 2k (2.72ERA).

… now from todays MLB games:

Australia ’s newest major leaguer RYAN ROWLAND-SMITH is gradually finding his feet in baseball’s big time with another pretty solid effort at the end of his Seattle Mariners’ 2-9 defeat at the hands of the visiting Boston Red Sox. With not much to achieve in the top of the ninth inning, Ryan didn’t do himself much harm when Alex Cora popped up to the short stop and Julio Lugo popped out to the first baseman. He should have been out of the inning when Kevin Youkilis reached on a throwing error by the third baseman. Typically, the error enabled Boston to add an unearned run when pinch hitter Dustin Pedroia slapped a RBI double to left field. He put a stop to the Mariners’ pain by getting Willy Mo Pena to fly out to the centerfielder. It concluded his day with the pitching line of 1.0ip 1h 0er 0bb 0k (3.31ERA).

PAUL LoDUCA (Adelaide Giants 1995) was back from injury in time to catch the historic 300th win of his legendary pitching battery mate Tommy Glavine today. Paul's 1-5 (.269) with a RBI was a contribution to the Mets beating the Chicago Cubs 8-3 today.

VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) batted 1-4 (.259) including a RBI triple to help his Toronto Blue Jays to beat the Texas Rangers 4-1.

Ryan Rowland-Smith

Ryan Rowland-Smith

Geoff Blum

A couple of hard-throwing Aussie relievers were on show again today, starting with the Seattle Mariners’ RYAN ROWLAND-SMITH who confronted the might of the Boston Red Sox batting core and he emerged unscathed with FOUR monster strikeouts among his five scoreless outs! Ryan came into the game with one on and one out in the top of the seventh inning of a tight game, helping the Mariners to stay competitive in what proved to be a tight 3-4 loss to the ‘Bosox’. He could hardly have been more explosive today when he finished the seventh with Kevin Youkilis called out on strikes (a very rare event!) and All-Star David ‘Big Papi’ Ortiz also whiffed swinging. It didn’t get any easier for ‘RRS’ when he returned for the eighth with megastar Manny Ramirez grounding out to the short stop before Mike Lowell doubled to left field. Once more he kept the scoreboard quiet by fanning Jason Varitek, who was struck out looking, and J.D Drew who was out swinging at oxygen. Rowland-Smith was touching 94-95mph on the radar gun when he posted his line of 1.2ip 1h 0er 0bb 4k (3.52ERA). What was notable about Ryan, as he settles at the pinnacle of the baseball world, is that he isn’t relying solely on his fast ball and he featured some intelligent off-speed stuff in today’s game… that is why it is called PITCHING and not simply THROWING!

Perhaps equally as impressive, although against less formidable opposition, was GRANT BALFOUR who required only six pitches to get his requisite three outs today. Balfour pitched a very efficient 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 1k (11.05ERA) to make sure that there were no late surprises for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays who romped to a 9-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Pitching the top of the eighth, Grant had Chris Gomez ground out to the second baseman, Brandon Fahey called out on strikes and veteran Kevin Millar fly out to centerfield. That was it folks, six pitches… five strikes… no need to say much more!

VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) batted 1-4 (.259) with a RBI and a run scored to help his Toronto Blue Jays to beat the Texas Rangers 9-5. In yesterday’s game Wells had one of his more productive games during an inconsistent season with 3-4, a RBI and two runs as a significant contribution to another 6-4 win over the Rangers. On the losing side in this game was Rangers’ starter KEVIN MILLWOOD (Melbourne Monarchs 1997) who pitched a modest 4.0ip 8h 3er 1bb 2k (5.98ERA) for a rather fortunate “no decision”.

Also working hard in relief for the Colorado Rockies was seasoned MATT HERGES (Adelaide Giants 1999) who pitched 1.0ip 1h 0er 0bb 0k (4.50ERA) in today’s 4-6 defeat by the Atlanta Braves. Yesterday Herges pitched 1.0ip 2h 1er 0bb 1k in the ‘Rox’ 9-2 win over the Braves.

Utility infielder GEOFF BLUM (Hunter Eagles 1995) continues to enjoy some rare regular playing time with the San Diego Padres at second base. Blum batted 1-3 (.265) with a walk in their 12-innings 3-2 win over the San Francisco Giants today. The day before he enjoyed a 3-4 game with a run scored in the Padres 4-3 win over the Giants.

… and also from yesterday:

RYAN LANGERHANS (IBLA Internationals 2001) proved once again that you don’t have to be a “highlight reel” to contribute to baseball success when he made a small, but invaluable, difference for the Washington Nationals in their narrow 3-2 win over the St.Louis Cardinals. Langerhans came into the game as a pinch runner and he scored a run, before batting 1-1 (.160) after taking over at left field.

Grant Balfour

Ryan Langerhans

Geoff Blum


Matt Herges

A minor, but ever-reliable contributor to the San Diego Padres in their 11-0 shutout romp over the Arizona Diamondbacks was utility infielder GEOFF BLUM (Hunter Eagles 1995) who pinch hit with 1-1 (.250) and a RBI.

... and from yesterday's games:

Collecting his fifth win of the season today was the versatile GARY GLOVER (Sydney Storm 1999) who is back in the bullpen lately after spending some time in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays starting rotation this season. Glover pitched 2.0ip 1h 0er 0bb 1k to take his record to 5-3, 4.82ERA when he helped the ‘D-Rays’ to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-2.

MATT HERGES (Adelaide Giants 1999) also pitched solidly with 2.0ip 0h 0er 1bb 1k (4.50ERA) but he could not help his Colorado Rockies from falling to a 2-4 defeat by the Florida Marlins.

Fresh from his mid-week trade from the Texas Rangers RON MAHAY (Gold Coast Cougars 1996) was thrust straight into service for the Atlanta Braves with a typically solid 1.0ip 0h 0er 1bb 1k (2.70ERA) in their 12-3 belting of the Houston Astros.

Gary Glover


Ron Mahay

Peter Moylan

Ryan Rowland-Smith

Aussie ace PETER MOYLAN is within a whisker of driving his ERA below the magical 2.00 plateau after yet another very solid inning of relief for the Atlanta Braves during their 12-4 win over the Houston Astros. Pitching the top of the sixth inning with a skinny 5-4 lead, Pete started brilliantly with Ty Wiggington struck out swishing at three straight pitches, and then Jason Lane grounded out to the third baseman. Moylan touched 95mph with four close “low and away” pitches before issuing a slightly unlucky walk to Eric Bruntlett. Things nearly turned sour for him when Eric Munson next reached on a throwing error by the second baseman, but he was bailed out by the rocket arm of right fielder Jeff Francouer who backed-up to throw out Bruntlett who was attempting to score at home plate. Pete pitched another valuable 1.0ip 0h 0er 1bb 1k (2.01ERA) today.

Australian pitcher GRANT BALFOUR made another decent relief appearance for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays today, but he allowed one of the runs scored by the Toronto Blue Jays in their 2-0 shutout win over the ‘D-Rays’. Grant pitched the seventh inning of the game facing the might of the Blue Jays veteran batting lineup and he felt their power immediately when Lyle Overbay smacked a leadoff double to right field. He followed by getting the dangerous Alex Rios to line out to right field and then he had the even more dangerous Troy Glaus struck out swinging. He allowed the run when former Sydney Storm ABL slugger and recent MLB All-Star Vernon Wells gapped a RBI double on a fly ball to right field. Balfour was able to limit the damage with Matt Stairs struck out swinging. His line today finished at 1.0ip 2h 1er 0bb 2k (12.79ERA). As mentioned, VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) batted 1-4 (.254) with the RBI in this game.
Then, from yesterday: 
Aussie pitcher GRANT BALFOUR looked more like the intimidating flame-thrower he was when he first rose to the major leagues when he supplied a brilliant cameo relief effort for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, helping them to overcome the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 after 11 innings. Grant came into the game with one on and one out in the top of the ninth inning of the tied game and he could not have been more efficient or impressive. He needed only four consecutive strikes to dispose of John McDonald, who struck out whiffing at three pitches, and Reed Johnson who grounded out to the catcher on a first pitch attempted bunt. That was all for Balfour today with a confidence boosting 0.2ip 0h 0er 0bb 1k.

Just to complete the tri-fecta of Aussie hurlers in the big leagues today, our newest big leaguer RYAN ROWLAND-SMITH also did a very good job for his team under difficult circumstances today. Young Ryan was asked to “eat” three innings of long relief today after Seattle Mariners’ starter Jeff Weaver was chased from the mound after four innings, already trailing 0-6 on their way to a 0-8 shutout by the Los Angeles Angels. Rowland-Smith had the radar gun regularly nudging the 92-93mph range during his solid nine out performance against some more of the most dangerous hitters in the baseball world. In the top of the fifth he had Casey Kotchman pop out to the second baseman, before the red-hot Gary Matthews Junior doubled to left field. He left Matthews stranded when Maicer Izturis flied out to centrefield and Jeff Mathis grounded out to the short stop. In the top of the sixth he started by losing Reggie Willits to a full-count walk before getting the big outs with in-form Chone Figgins struck out swinging and Willits also caught stealing on the same play. This was to become more valuable when the plucky Orlando Cabrera homered to left field in the next at bat for just one RBI. He finished this frame by inducing superstar slugger Vladimir ‘Big Daddy Vladdy’ Guerrero to ground out to the third baseman. Back to complete the top of the seventh, Ryan got veteran Garret Anderson to ground out to the first baseman, before Casey Kotchman rolled a “seeing eye” single up the middle. Significantly, he registered the only out of the day for former ABL import Gary Matthews when he popped him up to the second baseman. The Angels threatened again when Maicer Izturis singled on a line drive to centrefield, but he averted the danger by fanning Jeff Mathis. As we said, it was a very valuable 3.0ip 4h 1er 1bb 2k (3.95ERA) team contribution by Rowland-Smith today. Just to remind us about the efforts of former ABL import GARY MATTHEWS JNR. (Brisbane Bandits 1997) we only need to look at his numbers with 4-5 (.276) and three RBI’s coming when he launched his 11th and 12th “big flys” of the season… PHEW!

Not able to do enough for the Cincinnati Reds in their 3-6 defeat by the Washington Nationals was DAVID ROSS (MLB All-Stars 2001) who batted a terrific 3-4 (.209), while RYAN LANGERHANS (IBLA Internationals 2001) pinch hit with 0-1 (.156) for the ‘Nats’.

… and from Monday’s late finishing game:

GARY MATTHEWS JNR. (Brisbane Bandits 1997) delivered a game-breaking bases clearing triple, batting 1-3 (.271) with the three big RBI’s that put his Los Angeles Angels well on the way to a 13-4 thrashing of the Detroit Tigers. MIKE HESSMAN (Melbourne Monarchs 1999) came into the game as a pinch hitter with 0-2 (.250) and a walk for the Tigers.

Grant Balfour

Gary Matthews