The Pitch is a weekly news review of Australian’s in the Majors, Minors, College and other Professional Leagues compiled by Major League Baseball International (Australia).If you would like to subscribe directly to receive the pitch email majorleaguebaseball@bigpond.com
Current statistics of all active Australian and New Zealander players are attached.
AUSTRALIANS IN THE MAJORS
Week in Review
Here is the latest on the Australians participating in Major League Baseball. Note: hyperlinks in this section lead to MLB.com pages wrapping up these particular games, in-text hyperlinks are to video clips of those plays.
Grant Balfour (Glenwood NSW) is 2-6 with a 5.01 ERA in 57 appearances, 55.2 innings, for the Tampa Bay Rays this season. He has recorded 11 saves from 14 opportunities while allowing 31 runs, all earned, on 46 hits, two homeruns, and 40 walks while striking out 50.
The Rays are 71 - 77 (.480) in 4th place in the American League East, eliminated from the pennant race and 10 games behind in the Wild Card race.
· 3 September – Grant pitched one inning striking out two in the Rays 7-4 loss to visiting Toronto. He came on in the 9th with the final score in place and faced three batters: Jose Bautista struck out swinging; Edwin Encarnacion was called out on strikes; and Adam Lind flied out to left.
· 9 September – Grant pitched 2/3 of an inning in the Rays 4-3 win at New York. He came on in the 7th with one out recorded and a runner on first. He got Stephen Drew to fly into a double play with the runner doubled off 2nd.
Liam Hendriks (Carine WA; Perth Heat) is 1-2 with a 5.06 ERA in six Major League appearances this season, three with Toronto and three with Kansas City. He’s pitched 26.2 innings allowing 15 runs on 27 hits, three homeruns, and six walks while striking out 17.
The Royals are 80-66 (.548) in 2nd place in the American League Central half a game behind Detroit. They are tied for the second Wild Card slot with Seattle and half a game behind Oakland for the first Wild Card slot.
· 6 September – Liam wore the 6-2 loss at the Yankees pitching four innings allowing three earned runs on seven hits, he issued no walks and struck out three. Liam came on to replace the scheduled starter, Danny Duffy, who suffered an injury throwing one pitch to the first batter of the first inning. He faced four batters in the first allowing one run to score on a double and a single; in the second he faced three batters striking out one; in the third he faced six batters allowing two runs to score on a double, triple and sacrifice fly while striking out one; and in the fourth he allowed one run to score on two singles and a throwing error while striking out one.
· 11 September – Liam copped the 6-3 loss to visiting Boston allowing three runs, two earned, on four hits and two walks while striking out one in 2.1 innings. In the first he faced four batters, allowing one single. In the second he faced five batters allowing one run on a double and fielding error. In the third he allowed two runs on two singles, a walk and a hit batsman over five batters before being relieved.
AUSTRALIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE IMPORTS IN THE MAJORS
Brandon Barnes (Sydney Blue Sox) is batting .248 for the Colorado Rockies with 22 RBI, 14 doubles, four triples and seven homeruns in 262 at bats over 120 games while playing right field. Over his last ten games, dating to 24 August, he’s batting .150 with three hits in 20 at-bats. He’s made several video highlights which can be viewed here. The Rockies are 59 - 88 (.401), in fifth place and eliminated from contention in the National League West and 19 games behind the Wild Card.
Tyler Collins (Sydney Blue Sox) is batting .222 for the Detroit Tigers with three RBI, one homerun in 18 at bats over 11 games while playing left field. He’s made several video highlights which can be viewed here. The Tigers are 81 - 66 (.551), in 1st place in the National League Central leading Kansas City by a half game.
Didi Gregorious (Canberra Cavalry) is batting .204 for the Arizona Diamondbacks with 23 RBI, six doubles, four triples and six homeruns in 221 at bats over 67 games while playing short stop. Over his last ten games, dating to 30 August, he’s batting .143 with four runs and three RBI, in 28 at-bats. He’s made several video highlights which can be viewed here. The Diamondbacks are 59 - 88 (.401) in fourth place and eliminated for contention in the NL West they are 19 game behind the Wild Card.
John Holdzkom (Canberra Cavalry, Adelaide Bite) is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and one Save over five innings in five appearances for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He’s allowed only one hit and one walk while striking out nine. He’s made several video highlights which can be viewed here. The Pirates are 78 - 69 (.531) in second place in the NL Central, 2.5 games behind St Louis, and hold the second Wild Card slot by 1.5 games ahead of Milwaukee .
James Jones (Adelaide Bite) is batting .250 for the Seattle Mariners with nine RBI, nine doubles, and 25 stolen bases in 304 at bats over 94 games while playing centre field. Over his last ten games, dating to 31 August, he’s batting .143 with three runs in seven at-bats. He’s made several video highlights which can be viewed here. The Mariners are 80 - 66 (.548) in third place in the AL West 11.5 games behind the Los Angeles Angels. They are tied for the second Wild Card slot with Kansas City and half a game behind Oakland for the first Wild Card slot.
Kevin Kiermaier (Canberra Cavalry) is batting .270 for the Tampa Bay Rays with 33 RBI, 16 doubles, six triples and 10 home runs in 293 at bats over 96 games playing right field. He’s scored 33 runs on 79 hits and has stolen five bases. Over his last ten games, dating to 1 September, he’s batting .280 with two runs on seven hits with two RBI over 25 at bats. He’s made several video highlights which can be viewed here. The Rays are 71 - 77 (.480) in 4th place in the American League East, eliminated from the pennant race and 10 games behind in the Wild Card race.
Donald Lutz (Canberra Cavalry) is batting .186 for the Cincinnati Reds with 1 RBI and four doubles in 43 at bats over 23 games playing 1st base. He’s scored two runs on eight hits. Over his last ten games, dating to 27 July, he’s batting .158 with one run on three hits with one RBI over 19 at bats. He’s made several video highlights which can be viewed here. The Reds are 70 - 78 (.473) in 4th place in the National League Central, 11 games behind St Louis and 8.5 games behind in the Wild Card race.
Brandon Maurer (Adelaide Bite) is 1-4 with a 5.00 ERA over 63.2 innings in 32 games for the Seattle Mariners. He’s allowed only 37 runs, 35 earned, on 67 hit and 19 walks while striking out 49. He’s made several video highlights which can be viewed here. The Mariners are 80 - 66 (.548) in third place in the AL West 11.5 games behind the Los Angeles Angels. They are tied for the second Wild Card slot with Kansas City and half a game behind Oakland for the first Wild Card slot.
AUSTRALIAN ESPN BROADCAST SCHEDULE (All times AEST)
MLB ANNOUNCES 2014 POSTSEASON SCHEDULE
The 110th World Series Set to Start on Tuesday 21 October
Major League Baseball today announced the schedule for the 2014 Postseason.
Following the last day of the MLB regular season on Sunday, September 28th, any necessary Tiebreaker Games would be played on Monday, September 29th.
The A.L. Wild Card Game will be played on Tuesday, September 30th, followed by the N.L. Wild Card Game on Wednesday, October 1st.
Both A.L. Division Series will begin on Thursday, October 2nd. The first full slate of Division Series games, featuring two N.L. Division Series openers and a pair of ALDS Game Twos, will be held on Friday, October 3rd. Overall, the Division Series will be scheduled from Thursday, October 2nd through Thursday, October 9th, with a pair of potential Game Fives possible on Wednesday, October 8th (ALDS) and Thursday, October 9th (NLDS).
The American League Championship Series will begin on Friday, October 10th and the National League Championship Series begins on Saturday, October 11th. A potential Game Seven of the ALCS is scheduled for Saturday, October 18th, while a potential Game Seven of the NLCS is set for Sunday, October 19th.
Game One of the 2014 World Series is scheduled for Tuesday, October 21st in the city of the American League Champions. This will mark the first time that the World Series will start on a day other than Wednesday since the 2006 Fall Classic, which began on a Saturday. From 1991-2006, the World Series was scheduled to open on Saturday each year. The World Series has not begun on a Tuesday since 1990. Overall, the Postseason schedule has been shortened by one day, removing one of the two off days that had been between the last potential LCS game and the first game of the World Series.
The Fall Classic will shift to the ballpark of the National League Champions for Game Three on Friday, October 24th. A Game Seven, if necessary, would be played on Wednesday, October 29th back in the A.L. city. The scheduled off days during the World Series are Thursday, October 23rd and Monday, October 27th.
ABL ALUMNI ARE ENJOYING MLB SUCCESS
Ten ABL alumni now active in the big leagues
Nina Zimmerman, TheABL.com.au – 5 September
GRANT BALFOUR DELIVERS ON MADDON SAVE CHANCE
Marc Topkin, Tampa Bay.com – 12 September
PLUS How To Speak Australian with Grant Balfour, watch here.
HOLDZKOM’S PATH TO BIGS TOOK MANY TWISTS
JJ Cooper, Baseball America – 5 September
NO ‘JOHNNY KIWI’ BUT PROUD TO WEAR BLACK OF NZ
Sam Worthington, Dominion Post – 6 September
DOUBLE-A LEAGUES:
WELCH HOMERS TWICE AS SEA DOGS TIE SERIES
Danny Wild, MiLB.com – 4 September
Stefan Welch admits he might have had some luck on his side Thursday.
SINGLE-A LEAGUES:
WHITECAPS MANAGER ANDREW GRAHAM REFLECTS ON SEASON: ‘THERE’S A LOT TO BE PROUD OF’
Peter J Wallner, MLive.com – 6 September
TODD VAN STEENSEL GETS SOME BLING
The Baseball Digest – 10 September
AUSTRALIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE:
MELBOURNE ACES SIGN WHITE SOX PROSPECTS
Baseball Digest – 11 September
WOMEN’S WORLD CUP
AUSTRALIAN EMERALDS WIN BRONZE AT WOMEN’S BASEBALL WORLD CUP
The Emeralds defeated Canada 3-2 to take out the Bronze at the IBAF Women’s World Cup in Miyazaki, Japan, and win their second medal in World Cup history
Trish Quayle, Baseball Australia
The Aussie side erased an early 2-0 deficit, with New South Wales’ Stephanie Gaynor earning the win off relief in the second inning.
After Canada had tagged starting pitcher Melinda Latimer for two runs on two hits to start the game, Gaynor was brought in and silenced the Canadian offense, allowing only 1 hit over the next 5 1/3 innings.
Australia struck for one run in each of the second-, fifth- and seven/final inning to complete the comeback victory. Victorian and Professional Japanese League player, Shae Lillywhite had two hits on the day, including, a laced single down the right-field line to tie the game at 2-2.
The win for Australia was payback for Canada’s bronze medal victory over the Emeralds two years ago at the 2012 Women’s Baseball World Cup in Edmonton, Canada, and the second time they beat Canada in two days through semi-playoffs.
SHINING GEMS
With the win, Australia’s Leigh Godfrey from Western Australia becomes the first player in history to win medals at both baseball and softball world championships.Shae Lillywhite earned the honours of “Best Second Basewoman” of this VI Women’s World Cup.
MAJOR LEAGUE INFLUENCE
Two former Major League Baseball stars on the coaching roster bolstered the Emeralds to this bronze medal performance:
Two-time New York Yankees World Series Champion and Australian Sporting Hall of Famer, Graeme Lloyd, is the Emeralds Pitching Coach. Lloyd is also assistance coach of the National Men’s team, the Southern Thunder, and the Alcohol. Think Again Perth Heat.
Luke Hughes swapped from Southern Thunder infielder to Emeralds Assistant Coach for this World Cup. Hughes was the 106th person to hit a home run in his first MLB at-bat in 2010, and is a two-time ABL Champion with the Alcohol. Think Again Perth Heat.
LEAVING THEIR MARK
With Australia’s bronze medal performance, the Emeralds now take sole possession of being ranked No. 3 in the world behind No. 1 Japan and No. 2 USA.
Australia now hold a Bronze and Silver medal in the trophy cabinet, with their 2010 second-place Women’s World Cup performance in Maracay, Venezuela.