Grant Balfour

Ryan R-Smith

Kevin Millwood

Australian pitching ace GRANT BALFOUR helped his Tampa Bay Rays to edge closer to an historic first ever pennant, earning his 14th hold of the season in the Rays’ 5-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Grant pitched another decisive 1.0ip 0h 0er 1bb 2k (1.42ERA) to handle the eighth inning in relief of starter James Shields. His first victim was Adam Jones who struck out looking at paralysing 95mph fastball, followed by seasoned Aubrey Huff who grounded out to the short stop. There wasn’t too much danger when Oscar Salazar worked a full-count walk, especially when an overmatched Luke Scott fanned at the third of three consecutive strikes. It was simply another day at the office for Grant Balfour today!

Yesterday ‘Balf’ was maybe even more impressive when he collected his sixth win of the season with an important 1.2ip 0h 0er 0bb 2k to make sure that Tampa could roll past the ‘O-Birds’ 4-2. On this occasion he was required to enter the game in the sixth inning after rookie prodigy David Price had put two runners on with one out in a tied 2-2 ballgame. He put a full-stop to this uprising in the most emphatic way when he induced Ramon Hernandez to fly into a double play to the centre fielder. Grant was equally as ruthless when he disposed of the seventh inning with Lou Montanez called out on strikes, Juan Castro struck out on a foul tip and Brian Roberts popping out to the second baseman.

Not nearly so lucky yesterday was re-invented Aussie starter RYAN ROWLAND-SMITH who pitched extremely well, yet he still took the loss when his Seattle Mariners were edged by the American League leading Los Angeles Angels in a tight 2-1 contest. Ryan could not have been expected to do much more than his 7.0ip 8h 1er 1bb 6k effort that saw his record slide to 4-3, 3.39ERA. There would be no shame in Ryan allowing his only earned run in this game to Angels’ renowned slugger Vladimir ‘Big Daddy Vladdy’ Guerrero who nailed his 25th home run of the season in the fourth inning. Other than that, Rowland-Smith struck out six while walking only one in a fine losing effort.

GARY GLOVER (Sydney Storm 1999) was effective today pitching in a “no contest” game with 2.0ip 2h 0er 0bb 1k (5.37ERA) for the most disappointing Detroit Tigers who again fell 0-5 to the Kansas City Royals. Yesterday Glover was not so tiday with 0.1ip 0h 0er 2bb 1k in a 2-6 loss to KC.

Not able to do enough to prevent his Toronto Blue Jays from falling 1-3 to the New York Yankees was VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) who batted 1-4 (.294).

… and also yesterday:

Veteran starter KEVIN MILLWOOD (Melbourne Monarchs 1997) did pretty much all you could ask, pitching a quality 7.0ip 8h 2er 1bb 6k (5.03ERA) even though his Texas Rangers were eventually “squeaked” 3-4 by the Oakland Athletics in the 11th inning. 

Grant Balfour

R. Langerhans

Geoff Blum

Firstly, from yesterday: Australian ‘Ray Gun’ GRANT BALFOUR had a relatively “low stress” outing yesterday compared with his recent heroics, pitching a tidy 1.0ip 1h 0er 1bb 2k (1.49ERA) for the Tampa Bay Rays in their 7-2 win over the Minnesota Twins. Grant took over the top of the seventh inning in relief of All-Star starter Scott Kazmir and he immediately imposed himself by striking out Delmon Young with a 96mph fireball before Brendan Harris milked a full-count walk. Nick Punto was his second strikeout victim looking at a called third strike, before Carlos Gomez singled to right field. He posted another scoreless inning when Denard Span popped out to the short stop for out number three.

From today’s games:  

VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) supplied two of the only three hits allowed by the Boston Red Sox star pitching trio of Matzuzaka, Okajima and Papelbon today when his Toronto Blue were blanked 0-3 by the ‘Bosox’. Wells batted 2-4 (.295) as by far the best offensive contributor for his team.

Relief journeyman GARY GLOVER (Sydney Storm 1999) could accept only a small part of the blame after pitching 1.0ip 2h 1er 0bb 0k (5.62ERA) for the Detroit Tigers who were doubled 5-10 by the Cleveland Indians.

GARY MATTHEWS JNR. (Brisbane Bandits 1997) batted 1-4 (.239) and scored a run to help his Los Angeles Angels to trump the Texas Rangers 7-3. In yesterday’s identical 7-3 win over the Rangers, he batted 0-4, but he also walked for a RBI.

It was a matter of “hits and misses” for evergreen reliever MATT HERGES (Adelaide Giants 1999) for the Colorado Rockies during their 4-13 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks 1.2ip 3h 0er 0bb 2k (5.03ERA).

RYAN LANGERHANS (IBLA Internationals 2001) pinch-hit to effect with 1-1 (.234) and a runs scored for the Washington Nationals who were overrun 2-6 by the San Diego Padres.

Once again doing his job as the starting third baseman for the Houston Astros was GEOFF BLUM (Hunter Eagles 1995) who batted 2-4 (.235) with a walk in their 6-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

Gary Matthews

GARY MATTHEWS JNR. (Brisbane Bandits 1997) batted 2-5 (.241) with a RBI to continue his hot streak for the Los Angeles Angels in their WILD 15-13 slug fest win over the Texas Rangers. In yesterday's game Gary Junior batted 3-5 (.239) for the Los Angeles Angels in their 6-4 win over the Oakland Athletics.

Still contributing for the Houston Astros in a utility role is GEOFF BLUM (Hunter Eagles 1995) who batted a valuable 1-3 (.231) with a RBI, a walk and two runs scored in their 5-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

From yesterday’s other MLB games:

Doing his bit to help his Toronto Blue Jays squeak a narrow 3-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles was VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) who batted 1-3 (.298) plus a walk.

GARY GLOVER (Sydney Storm 1999) endured a shaky end to the game when he attempted to close the Detroit Tigers 5-6 loss to the Cleveland Indians. Gary did not record an out with 0.0ip 2h 0er 0bb 0k (5.55ERA). In fact Glover allowed the 'Tribe' batter Jamey Carroll to drive in the winning run in the ninth!

Grant Balfour

Vernon Wells

Aussie baseball's flag bearer GRANT BALFOUR picked a great time to collect his 5th win of the season when he took his Tampa Bay Rays closer to the division title with a 10-3 win over their chief rival the Boston Red Sox. Balfour pitched a decisive 2.0ip 1h 0er 0bb 2k in a vital middle-relief role after both starters found the going tough in this game to improve his magnificent record to 5-2, 1.52ERA. Grant took the mound with two on and two out in the top of the fifth inning and he accomplished his No.1 task by getting 'Big Papi' David Ortiz, who belted two home runs in the game, to fly out to centre field. Back for the sixth frame he had to work around a leadoff double by Kevin Youkilis; which he did when Mark Kotsay popped out to short stop, Jed Lowrie struck out swinging and Sean Casey flied out to centre field. He then erased Coco Crisp with another fly ball out to centre field and Jeff Bailey with a fanned strike out before handing a more comfortable game over to J.P Howell. It was another clinic of relief pitching!

... and from yesterday's other MLB games:

Australia’s relief pitching ace GRANT BALFOUR was up to his established standard today, pitching brilliantly in the heat of the pennant race to help his Tampa Bay Rays to notch an important 2-1 win over the visiting Boston Red Sox. Grant pitched 1.1ip 0h 0er 0bb 0k (1.58ERA) to “hold the fort” for his team when starter Andy Sonnanstine departed after six solid innings. He started his outing today by getting both Mark Kotsay and Jed Lowrie to fly out to centre field, before getting Sox captain Jason Varitek to pop out to the third baseman in foul territory. He then secured the first out in the top of the eighth by inducing Coco Crisp to fly out to centre field before handing the ball over to J.P Howell. ‘Balf’ threw 11 of his 14 pitches for strikes today in yet another dominant performance.

VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) was one of the few Toronto Blue Jays to supply any sign of offence, batting 1-3 (.298) with a walk during their 0-2 shutout loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

The roller-coaster season of journeyman pitcher GARY GLOVER (Sydney Storm 1999) continued with a torturous blown save when his Detroit Tigers were overrun 11-8 by the Texas Rangers. Glover’s nightmare sixth inning was recorded as 1.0ip 3h 4er 1bb 1k (5.55ERA). In this game team mate MIKE HESSMAN (Melbourne Monarchs 1999) came off the bench to play at third base while batting 0-2 (.250).

MATT HERGES (Adelaide Giants 1999) also struggled with 0.2ip 2h 1er 2bb 1k (5.16ERA) for the Colorado Rockies who were swamped 5-11 by the San Diego Padres.

Not able to do enough to prevent his Houston Astros from slipping to a 1-5 defeat at the hands of the Florida Marlins was GEOFF BLUM (Hunter Eagles 1995) who batted 1-4 (.233).

Grant Balfour

Gary Matthews

Australian pitching star GRANT BALFOUR felt a rare experience for him this season, struggling to find his best stuff as his Tampa Bay Rays coughed up a lead late in their 5-6 defeat at the hands of the New York Yankees. Grant’s brief outing today yielded 0.1ip 2h 0er 0bb 1k, but he ensured that his minute 1.62ERA remained unscathed. In the bottom of the seventh inning Balfour inherited a runner on second with two out and he couldn’t prevent him from scoring when Xavier Nady punched a RBI single up the middle. Next batter Robinson Cano doubled to left field but he could advance no further when 'Balf' struck out Wilson Betemit with a sizzling 95mph rocket.

From today’s games:

GARY MATTHEWS JNR. (Brisbane Bandits 1997) batted 2-4 (.237) for the Los Angeles Angels in their 3-4 loss to the Seattle Mariners.

Not able to do enough to help his Toronto Blue Jays in their narrow 3-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox was VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) who batted 1-3 (.298) and scored a run.

GARY GLOVER (Sydney Storm 1999) secured just the last out for the Detroit Tigers with a cameo 0.1ip 0h 0er 0bb 0k (4.91ERA) in their 2-4 defeat by the Chicago White Sox.

… and from other games over the weekend:

Vernon Wells batted 2-4 with a RBI to help his Toronto Blue Jays to swamp the Boston Red Sox 8-1 in the opening game of a double-header at Fenway Park . However, he could only manage 0-4 in the late game which Boston rallied to win 7-5.

Grant Balfour

Ron Mahay

 
Gary Matthews

Firstly from yesterday: The description "season defining game" may be overused in modern sports, but Aussie pitching ace GRANT BALFOUR may have found himself in the midst of one yesterday when his Tampa Bay Rays pulled off a dramatic 4-2, 14-inning win over the unfortunate Boston Red Sox in an epic at Fenway Park. Balfour was the third of eight Rays' pitchers to take the mound in this game with his solid 1.0ip 1h 0er 1bb 1k (1.63ERA). It didn't start too well for Grant when he took over the bottom of the ninth inning by issuing a five pitch walk to Mike Lowell. He kept this under control by getting Mark Kotsay to fly out the centre field, then Jed Lowrie to strike out swinging at a 96mph thunderbolt. Sox rookie Chris Carter singled to left field to advance the runner but he concluded the inning with Jacoby Ellsbury grounding out to the third baseman. He wasn't to know that there would be five more innings left in the contest!

One time ABL outfielder RON MAHAY (Gold Coast Cougars 1996) was back in action as a lefty reliever for the Kansas City Royals today, pitching 1.2ip 1h 0er 1bb 1k (2.80ERA) in their 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

GARY MATTHEWS JNR. (Brisbane Bandits 1997) batted 0-3 (.234) today, but he also walked twice and scored two runs for the Los Angeles Angels in their 7-4 win over the Seattle Mariners. Back in the leadoff role for the Angels yesterday MATTHEWS batted 1-4 (.236) and scored a run in their 4-2 win over the New York Yankees.

Still swinging a hot bat for the Toronto Blue Jays is former All-Star slugger VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) who batted 3-4 in their tight 5-6 loss to the Chicago White Sox yesterday. In today's game he batted 1-5 (.301) while leaving seven team mates stranded on base in a 6-4 win over the Chi-Sox.

Unable to do much about his Colorado Rockies 5-9 loss to the Atlanta Braves yesterday was reliever MATT HERGES (Adelaide Giants 1999) who pitched a cameo 0.2ip 0h 0er 1bb 0k. In today's 4-8 loss to the Braves Herges also pitched a modest 0.1ip 1h 1er 0bb 0k (5.07ERA) for the 'Rox'.

... and from other MLB action yesterday:

MIKE HESSMAN (Melbourne Monarchs 1999) pinch hit with 1-1 (.278) for the Detroit Tigers in their 2-5 defeat by the Oakland Athletics. In this game team mate GARY GLOVER (Sydney Storm 1999) closed the losing cause with 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 2k (4.94ERA).

KEVIN MILLWOOD (Melbourne Monarchs 1997) found himself on the losing end of a Seattle Mariners' offensive barrage while taking the loss in a narrow 7-8 defeat for his Texas Rangers. 'Big Kev' was battered for 5.0ip 11h 5er 2bb 2k as his record slumped to a misleading 9-9, 5.15ERA.

Grant Balfour

Vernon Wells
Mike Hessman

Australia’s ‘Ray Gun’ GRANT BALFOUR has become as reliable as the proverbial Swiss watch this year and he was again today with his 13th hold of the season in a pulsating 5-4 win for his Tampa Bay Rays over the Boston Red Sox. Balfour pitched a steadfast 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 0k (1.66ERA) in relief of ace starter Scott Kazmir in a game that would be decided in later innings. Taking over to start the bottom of the seventh, ‘Balf’ had Jason Varitek called out on strikes, pinch hitter David Ortiz fly out to right field and Coco Crisp fly out to centre field for a neat 1-2-3 inning.

VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) batted 1-4 and he scored a run for the surging Toronto Blue Jays in their 3-1 win over the Chicago White Sox. In the second game of today’s double-header, also won 8-2 by the Jays, Wells “went yard” for the 17th time this season while batting 2-5 (.298) with two RBIs.

Helping the Houston Astros to romp 9-3 over the Pittsburgh Pirates was GEOFF BLUM (Hunter Eagles 1995)who batted 2-4 (.236) with a RBI triple, a walk and a run scored.

… and in other games over the last couple of days:

MIKE HESSMAN (Melbourne Monarchs 1999) belted his second home run of the year while batting 1-3 (.235) for the Detroit Tigers in their run-fest 14-8 win over the Oakland Athletics. In this game team mate GARY GLOVER (Sydney Storm 1999) pitched 1.1ip 1h 0er 0bb 0k (5.05ERA) to close out the comfortable win. The previous day Hessman batted 1-4  as the starting third baseman for the Tigers in their 7-5 win over the Minnesota Twins.

Making sure that the Los Angeles Angels kept “adding-on” in their 12-1 slaughter of the New York Yankees was GARY MATTHEWS JNR. (Brisbane Bandits 1997) who came off the bench to crunch a two RBI double in his 1-1 (.237) outing. The day prior, Gary did his bit to help his Los Angeles Angels to sneak past the Chicago Whie Sox 3-2 by batting 1-5 while scoring a vital run for his team.

VERNON WELLS batted 1-4 (.297) for the Toronto Blue Jays in their 1-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Ryan R-Smith

Grant Balfour

Ryan Langerhans

Kevin Millwood

Re-invented Aussie starter RYAN ROWLAND-SMITH was not quite as good as recently, but certainly not too bad for the Seattle Mariners today, pitching 6.1ip 7h 3er 4bb 1k (3.61ERA) in a no-decision 4-7 loss to the New York Yankees. A leadoff walk to Johnny Damon in the first inning was thankfully erased when Derek Jeter grounded into a double-play, minimising Bobby Abreu's subsequent home run into a solo shot. In the top of the second it was almost de jevu when another double-play nullified a leadoff single by Jason Giambi, this time followed by a Hideki Matsui double that was left stranded on base. Three successive two-out walks were shakily dodged by Rowland-Smith in the third when Jason Giambi grounded out to second base with the bases juiced. A Hideki Matsui single was the only on base action for the Yanks in the fourth, followed by his best 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fifth. Jason Giambi launched a one-out solo home run in the sixth, but further damage was averted when he stranded a Xavier Nady double with still only one out. He was replaced after allowing a leadoff single to Ivan Rodriguez to open the seventh, but then getting Johnny Damon to ground into a fielder's choice force out. He left with the M's still very much in the game.

Once again Australia's 'G-Bomb' GRANT BALFOUR was one Tampa Bay Rays' pitcher who could not be blamed for their latest upset loss when they fell 4-7 to the Toronto Blue Jays via four runs in the bottom of the 13th inning. Balfour pitched a masterly bottom of the twelfth to keep the score tied with 1.0ip 1h 0er 0bb 2k (1.70ERA) after replacing submarine lefty Chad Bradford at the start of the frame. His first two victims were Greg Zaun and Travis Snyder who both struck out whiffing at 95mph heaters before Joe Inglett lined a single into left field. He put up yet another zero when he had Marco Scutaro ground softly back to the mound for Grant's own assist. The Rays may have been sorry that they handed the game over to veteran Troy Percival who coughed up the four winning runs in the 13th! In this game VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) batted 1-6 (.297) and scored a run for the Blue Jays. Wells batted 1-4 and scored a run in Toronto's 6-4 win over the 'Bronx Bombers' yesterday.

RYAN LANGERHANS (IBLA Internationals 2001) victimised his original club the Atlanta Braves when he helped his Washington Nationals to secure an 8-5 win with his second home run of the year. Langerhans pinch hit to stunning effect with his 1-1 (.232) long ball today.

Backup catcher DAVID ROSS (MLB All-Stars 2001) batted 1-1 (.235) as a pinch hitter for the Boston Red Sox who were pummelled 8-15 by the unpredictable Texas Rangers.

... and from yesterday:

After three most recent brilliant winning starts, evergreen Texas Rangers' starter KEVIN MILLWOOD (Melbourne Monarchs 1997) ran headlong into the relentless offence of the World Champion Boston Red Sox to take a heavy loss in a 1-8 defeat at Arlington. 'Big Kev' did the best he could with 6.0ip 9h 6er 1bb 4k as his record eased to 9-8, 5.01ERA.

GEOFF BLUM (Hunter Eagles 1995) batted 1-4 (.236) with a RBI for his Houston Astros who fell 3-5 to the suddenly surging Colorado Rockies.

A decent contributor for the Washington Nationals in their 5-10 defeat by the Atlanta Braves was outfielder RYAN LANGERHANS (IBLA Internationals 2001) who batted 1-4 with two RBIs and a run scored.

GARY MATTHEWS JNR. (Brisbane Bandits 1997) batted 1-4 (.236) and scored run for the Los Angeles Angels who were swamped 2-10 by the Chicago White Sox.

Grant Balfour

Gary Matthews

Vernon Wells

Mike Hessman

Firstly, from yesterday’s televised ESPN game that saw the New York Yankees clinch the series against the Tampa Bay Rays with a 8-4 victory at Tropicana Field. One fellow who couldn’t be blamed for the Yankees doubling the score of the Rays was Aussie ‘Ray Gun’ GRANT BALFOUR who did his level best to keep Tampa in the contest with another terrific 2.0ip 0h 0er 1bb 3k (1.38ERA). Grant replaced J.P Howell to start the top of the seventh inning which began with a five pitch walk issued to superstar Alex ‘A-Rod’ Rodriguez. However, this was quickly nullified when ‘A-Rod’ was caught stealing at the same time as Jason Giambi was struck out on a foul tip. He wrapped up this inning with Xavier Nady struck out fanning at three straight 96-97mph bullets. Balfour also took good care of the eighth frame with Hideki Matsui lining out to left field, Robinson Cano struck out swinging and Ivan ‘Pudge’ Rodriguez grounding out to the short stop. It was yet another stunningly effective display from our Australian star.

… and from today’s MLB games:

One of the key performers for the Los Angeles Angels in their 7-1 romp over the Detroit Tigers was GARY MATTHEWS JNR. (Brisbane Bandits 1997) who batted leadoff today with outstanding success, hitting 4-5 (.236) with two runs scored.

VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) banged his 16th home run of the year today while batting 2-4 (.300) with two RBIs for the Toronto Blue Jays in their 9-0 shutout victory over the Minnesota Twins.

… and from other recent MLB games:

Recently promoted Beijing Olympian MIKE HESSMAN (Melbourne Monarchs 1999) launched his first major league ‘dinger’ of the season while batting 1-4 (.250) with two RBIs for the Detroit Tigers who prevailed 9-6 over the Los Angeles Angels.

MATT HERGES (Adelaide Giants 1999) pitched an effective 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 1k (5.01ERA) for the Colorado Rockies who were soundly beaten 2-9 by the San Francisco Giants.

One guy who couldn’t be blamed for the Detroit Tigers’ 4-5 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels is middle-reliever GARY GLOVER (Sydney Storm 1999) who pitched a very solid 4.0ip 1h 0er 0bb 3k (5.20ERA). Team mate MH played his first major league game this as a defensive replacement after representing Team USA at the recent Beijing Olympic Games.

VERNON WELLS batted 2-4 (.301) with a RBI to help the Toronto Blue Jays to overrun the Minnesota Twins 7-5.

Following his recent transfer from the Cincinnati Reds, backup catcher DAVID ROSS (MLB All-Stars 2001) batted 0-1 in his first game for the Boston Red Sox during their 14-2 hammering of the Baltimore Orioles.

GEOFF BLUM (Hunter Eagles 1995) seems to be enjoying some relatively consistent playing time with the in-form Houston Astros, batting 1-5 (.239) with a walk, two RBIs and two runs scored in their 9-7, 11-inning victory over the Chicago Cubs.

One of literally dozens of players used in the Atlanta Braves “wild” 16-14 win over the Florida Marlins was veteran catcher PAUL LoDUCA (Adelaide Giants 1995) who batted 1-1 (.247) with a RBI and a run scored. His was just one of 36 hits shared by the two teams over the regulation nine innings!

Ryan R-Smith

Kevin Millwood

Gary Glover

Australia’s new star starting pitcher RYAN ROWLAND-SMITH continues to make an impressive transition from his bullpen relief role to the pointy end of the game with his second successive winning start for the Seattle Mariners, helping them to prevail 6-4 over the Cleveland Indians. Ryan improved his record to 4-2, 3.56ERA after another highly effective 6.1ip 7h 1er 1bb 2k performance against the ‘Tribe’. In the first inning he had to survive a Victor Martinez two-out double, then he allowed his only earned run when Shin-Soo Choo homered to right field with one out in the second. In the third Ryan neutralised back-to-back singles by Grady Sizemore and Jamie Carroll when Sizemore was caught stealing and Victor Martinez struck out to end the frame. A 1-2-3 fourth inning was followed by a Kelly Shoppach one-out double in the fifth that led to no harm after a couple of effective ground ball outs. ‘RRS’ issued only a harmless two-out walk to Jhonny Peralta in the sixth, but when a one-out fielding error was compounded by a single, then another RBI single in the seventh, he was replaced by reliever Jake Woods having thrown 112 pitches.

An injury free KEVIN MILLWOOD (Melbourne Monarchs 1997) continues to resurrect a topsy-turvy season with his third successive win today, anchoring his Texas Rangers to a 4-3 triumph over the Los Angeles Angels. ‘Big Kev’ pitched a masterly 6.2ip 5h 2er 0bb 7k to take his season record to a suddenly impressive 9-7, 4.84ERA. In this game GARY MATTHEWS JNR. (Brisbane Bandits 1997) batted 1-4 (.228) for the ‘Halos’.

VERNON WELLS (Sydney Storm 1999) batted 2-3 with a walk, a RBI and a run scored to help his Toronto Blue Jays to beat the home-standing New York Yankees 6-2.

Journeyman pitcher GARY GLOVER (Sydney Storm 1999) found himself on the mound at just the right time to collect his second win of the season when he pitched 1.0ip 0h 0er 0bb 0k (5.71ERA) in the eighth inning of the Detroit Tigers’ 4-2 win over the Kansas City Royals. He improved his record to 2-3, 5.71ERA.

From today’s MLB games:

PAUL LoDUCA (Adelaide Giants 1995) batted 2-4 (.242) and he scored a critical run to help his Florida Marlins to squeeze past the Atlanta Braves 4-3.

Reliable utility player GEOFF BLUM (Hunter Eagles 1995) may have been guilty of leaving five team mates stranded on base, but he also delivered a valuable RBI while batting 0-3 (.240) for the Houston Astros in their 4-3 win over the Chicago Cubs.