Well, there are now only 2 Aussies active in the majors, and both have had plenty of work late this week. Grant Balfour has picked up 2 wins in as many appearances, and Ryan Rowland-Smith has continued his excellent work as the Mariners mop up man.
The Tampa Bay Rays are now 43-29 (.597), and sitting pretty in the AL wildcard race. Their success this year has been based on a tight defensive unit, and an outstanding bullpen. While he started the year in the Minors, Grant Balfour has really cemented his place in the Rays' pen since his call up on 30 May.
Balfour earned 2 wins in his 2 appearances for the Rays late this week against the NL-leading Cubs. On Wednesday he pitched in the very exciting, very close series opener. Rays' starter Scott Kazmir went 4.2 innings, giving up only 3 hits and 1 run. While he was economical, he was not efficient, throwing more than 100 pitches over that time. He got a bit loose in the 5th, which was when he gave up the 1 - tying - run. With 2 outs, loaded bases, and the usually dangerous Aramis Ramirez on deck, the Rays called in Balfour to get out of a jam.
Balfour did not muck about. He threw five 95mph fastballs to Ramirez. While he missed with a couple, the one he threw on the 2-2 count made Ramirez look ordinary. It tailed in beautifully across the plate, and Aramis turned to the ump knowing he was out looking. Grant worked quickly through the 6th, retiring the side on a grounder and two fly outs. He was removed from the game at the top of the 7th, after the Ryas scored the go ahead run in the bottom of the 6th - courtesy of a homer to Evan Longoria. Balf took the win, and totook his ERA to 2.08.
Balfour also took the win for the Rays today as they swept the Cubs. Rays' starter James Shields had a good outing, striking out 9 over 6.1 innings. He ran into trouble in the 7th though, and with runners on 2 and 3, the Rays turned to Trever Miller to tidy up the final two outs. He didnt though, and he gave up another run when Kosuke Fukudome smacked a double. Time for Balfour to come in and get out of the dig without any more damage. He wasnt able to do so today though, as he gave up a one-run single to Ryan Theriot, who then advanced to 2nd on a throwing error, to put runners on 2 and 3. Balfour bounced back, striking out Derrek Lee before getting Aramis Ramirez to fly out. At the middle of the 7th, the Cubs were up 3-1.
The Rays came out and pounded the Cubs in the bottom of the 7th, scoring 7 runs, to take the lead 8-3. Balfour found his rhythm again in the top of the 8th, retiring the side, - including strikeouts against Micah Hoffpauir and Mark De Rosa - on 14 pitches. The Rays went on to win 8-3, and Balf took the win. His ERA got below the 2.00 mark - down to 1.74.
Unlike the Rays, Ryan Rowland-Smith's Mariners are struggling. They just sacked their GM, and their manager, and they have under-performed all year. That said, Rowland-Smith has been pitching pretty well.
Following a bizarre turn of events on Tuesday, the Mariners turned to Rowland-Smith to calm things down. In the 5th inning, with one out, and with runners at the corners, Mariners starter induced a grounder from the Marlins' rightfielder Jeremy Hermida. The Mariners went to roll the double, and in a bang-bang call at first, the ump gave Hermida safe, meaning the run from third scored. Silva blew up, and got himself ejected.
Cold as a spud, Ryan Rowland-Smith came in to take over the pitching duties. He walked Jorge Cantu, before striking out Mike Jacobs looking. In the top of the 6th, RRS gave up a single to Dan Uggla, before getting Luis Gonzalez to pop out. Wes Helms then hit a single to left, advancing Uggla to third. Cody Ross then hit a sac fly to left, scoring Uggla, before RRS struck out Matt Treanor to end the inning. Rowland-Smith was removed in the top of the 7th. His figures were 1.1 IP, 2 hits, 1 run, 1 walk and 2 strikouts.
On Thursday, Rowland-Smith was called on to clean up after RA Dickey lost the plot again. It was not Rowland-Smith's best outing. He gave up 3 walks and 2 hits, including a 2 run shot to Dan Uggla. His line for the day was 2.1 IP, 2 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts, and his season ERA went up to 2.65. The Mariners ended up losing 8-3 (despite outhitting the Marlins 13-11; between the Mariners hitters they left 25 runners on base - eek).
It will be interesting to see if or how Rowland-Smith's role may or may not change given the changes in the Mariners' leadership this week.
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