Aussie Update (5 and 6 May 08)

Yesterday saw some good Aussie action in MLB:

• Ryan Rowland-Smith pitched 2 digs of relief after Mariners' starter Carlos Silva gave up 6 runs to the Yankees over 3 and a bit innings. Rowland-Smith gave up 1 hit, walked one, and struck out one in his 40 pitch appearance. The Mariners lost 8-2.
• Justin Huber pinch hit in the Padres game against the Marlins. He grounded into a forceout in the 7th inning. Interestingly, he is 1-for-14 after hitting his first MLB homerun off Randy Johnson
• Brad Harman also got a pinch hit, as the Phillies beat the Giants. He grounded out in the 6th inning.

There were no Aussies in MLB action today, but there were two solid performances from Aussie pitchers in AAA:

• Rich Thompson pitched 2 innings of relief in Salt Lake's 5-1 victory over Nashville. He allowed 4 hits and 1 run, striking out 1.
• Grant Balfour also pitched two innings, as Durham beat Pawtucket 1-0. Balfour faced six batters over 2 innings, and struck out 5 of them. He drew a fly out from the sixth, and took the save - his third for the year. He has allowed only 1 hit, and no runs, in seven appearances for Durham, and is positioning himself well should the Rays need a replacement arm in the pen.

In more news:

• Bad news abounds about Peter Moylan's elbow. Both the Braves official site, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution are reporting that he had to stop throwing halfway through a bullpen session on Saturday. There is no further word yet on whether he will need surgery. However, he has been moved from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL - so there is no indication he will be back anytime soon. Stats.com is reporting that this move was merely to make room for newly acquired first baseman Greg Norton on the Braves roster.
• Tristan Crawford has come off the DL in the Phillies minor league system. He finished 2007 playing AAA, but has started this year at AA Harrisburg Senators. He has had two starts, and was roughed up a bit in his first on 24 April, allowing 6 hits, 2 walks and 4 runs over 2 innings. On 30 April he was more effective, giving up 5 hits and 1 run over 5 innings.
• Scott Mitchinson has had a good start to the year with Class A Kane County Cougars. Over 5 games he has gone 3-0. He has struck out 28 in 28.1 IP. He has allowed 26 hits, and 10 runs, for an ERA of 2.54