O a M G - Oakland Athletics

start rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte from Aug. 28 to 31, recording a loss and a 10.80 ERA…
missed 32 games before he was reinstated from the DL Sept. 1…earned his second win Sept. 13 vs.
New York (AL), tossing a scoreless 11th inning followed by Reid Brignac’s walk-off home run…made
13 appearances following his return and compiled a 3.00 ERA…fanned Austin Kearns Sept. 15 at New
York (AL) for his 305th career strikeout, making him the all-time leader among Australia-born major
leaguers…surpassed Graeme Lloyd…made three postseason appearances in the American League
Division Series against Texas…did not allow a run in 3.2 innings…has not allowed a run in eight career
Division Series games (9.2 ip).
CAREER
2009—Appeared in 73 games, which was second most in one season in Rays history at the time and
tied for seventh most in the American League…allowed a .235 opponents batting average…averaged
9.2 strikeouts per nine innings…of the career-high six home runs he allowed, five were three-run homers,
which were the most by a major league reliever…had allowed only two in his career entering the
season…all six home runs came on the road…three of the three-run home runs resulted in Rays losses…
took the loss Aug. 12 at Los Angeles (AL) after Gary Matthews Jr. went deep…allowed a three-run
home run to Placido Polanco Aug. 30 at Detroit, spoiling a 3-1 lead…on Sept. 9 at New York (AL), allowed
a three-run pinch-hit homer to Jorge Posada in the eighth inning, resulting in a 4-2 loss…in eight
interleague games, did not allow a run (8.0 ip, 4 h)…opponents were 1-for-9 with the bases loaded…
stranded his first 16 inherited runners, then allowed 18 of his last 51 to score…played in his sixth Major
League season but made his first Opening Day roster…earned his first win May 6 at New York (AL),
the first Ray to win at new Yankee Stadium…threw 2.2 innings May 30 vs. Minnesota, retiring his first
seven batters in relief of David Price…it was his longest relief outing as a Ray and longest since July
20, 2004 at Detroit (3.0 ip) while a member of the Twins…from June 9 to July 5, made 11 consecutive
scoreless appearances (13.0 ip, 8 h, 0 r, 3 bb, 14 so)…had three blown saves in a 12-game span (Aug. 30
at Detroit, Sept. 5 vs. Detroit, Sept. 9 at New York-AL)…recorded the save Oct. 3 vs. New York (AL)
and had a save in each of his last three appearances of the season (also Sept. 28 and 29 vs. Baltimore).
2008—Had one of the best seasons of any reliever in baseball, leading the majors in several categories
and setting career highs in wins, saves, ERA and strikeouts…led all Rays relievers in ERA, opponents
average, wins (tied) and strikeouts per nine inning…spent the first two months of the season at Triple-A
Durham…was one of the Rays’ final cuts in spring training…led all Major League relievers with 12.65
strikeouts per nine innings…this mark currently ranks 10th all time among American League relievers…struck
out 36.6 percent of batters faced on the season, tops in the majors and 3rd all time among
AL relievers…his 1.54 ERA was fourth best among ML relievers…43 of his 51 outings were scoreless,
including 13 of his first 14 appearances…his .143 opponents average led AL relievers and was second in
the majors to the Cubs’ Carlos Marmol (.135)…saved four games, three of which came while Troy Percival
was on the DL…collected his first career save in his season debut May 31 vs. Chicago (AL)…won
two games during the three-game sweep of the Cubs at Tropicana Field, June 17 and 19, retiring 9 of the
10 batters he faced…pitched in 10 postseason games for the Rays, second-most on the team behind J.P.
Howell…in the World Series-ending Game 5 at Philadelphia, was on the mound for both ends of the rain
delay that stretched across three days…total time elapsed was 46 hours…at Durham, was 1-0 and 8-for-
8 in save opportunities…allowed just one run in 15 outings covering 23.2 innings…tallied 39 strikeouts
against just five hits and 10 walks…held right-handed hitters to a .029 average (1-for-35).
2007—Opened the season at Double-A Huntsville…promoted to Nashville and went 1-1 with five saves
and a 1.69 ERA in 24 games for the Sounds…was 0-2 in three relief appearances with the Brewers
following his promotion from Triple-A Nashville July 17…was acquired by the Rays July 27 from
Milwaukee in exchange for right-handed pitcher Seth McClung…fanned a total of 98 in 68.0 innings
pitched at four stops in both the majors and minors…compiled a 0.79 ERA in August…made his Rays
debut July 28 vs. Boston (2.0 ip, 2 r, 2 er) in an extra-inning loss…was scored upon in just two of his
next 14 appearances…recorded his lone decision as a Ray Aug. 29 at Baltimore, getting the 5-4 win with
a scoreless 10th and 11th.
2006—Signed with Cincinnati as a free agent Jan. 12…spent the entire season on the 60-day DL recovering
from right elbow and shoulder surgeries…made nine rehab appearances…claimed off waivers by
Milwaukee Oct. 5.
2011 Oakland athletics Media Guide < 45
2011 athletics