We had two Aussies in action over the last few days, and they both made a impact, which is great to see.
Grant Balfour
...has now made two appearances with the Tampa Bay Rays, and has shown some real versatility. On Sunday (Sat in the US), Balfour made his first MLB appearance for the year, and picked up the save in the Rays' 2-0 win over the White Sox. He came into the game with 2 on and 2 out in the bottom of the ninth. He faced White Sox centrefielder Brian Anderson. He started him off with an 88mph slider for a ball and then hammered in a 96mph fastball to draw a fly out to shallow centrefield and pick up the save.
Today, Balfour showed his versatility, operating in relief when Rays Starter Andy Sonnanstine struggled. Balfour came in with 2 out and a runner on second in the 6th inning. He pitched 1.1 innings, giving up a double to Jim Thome, and striking out three. 16 of his 22 pitches were strikes, which ought to have pleased Rays' manager Joe Maddon.
Justin Huber
...finally got in a bit of a rhythm, making two appearances in two days!!! UNBELIEVABLE i know. After recovering from his back spasms from earlier in the week, Huber played an important role in the Padres' 13 inning win over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday (Fri in the US). Huber pinch hit for new Padres pitcher Cha Seung Baek (who was previously working alongside Ryan Rowland-Smith in the Mariners pen), in the top of the 13th inning. With loaded bases, and 2 out, Huber worked a full count before smacking a single to centrefield, scoring 2 runs. The Padres had already scored two runs earlier that inning, to take a 5-3 lead, but Huber's single resulted in quite an insurmountable lead. You can check it out on MLB Gameday. Its worth checking out, as the footage shows some good shots of Huber's swing. He even gets a wrap for his quality at bat from the commentators! Good stuff
Huber also played yesterday, getting the start and playing the whole game!!! Huber played in left and hit in the 7 hole. He - like the rest of the Padres - was off to a flyer, hitting a double in the first inning to drive in a run. Again, you can check it out on MLB Gameday, and you will find it was a monster of a hit to left centre. Huber ended up going 1-for-3, with a hit by pitch. This lifted his average back over .200 to .209.
Compared to other Padres players, Huber seems to be making the most of his opportunities. Im sure it is not any sort of official stat, and any stat geeks out there would probably crucify me, but looking at the number of RBIs per at bat, Huber has 6 RBIs from 43 at bats, which works out at an average of 0.14 RBI per at bat. Compared to some of his competitors, he fares pretty well. Paul McAnulty has 7 RBI from 88 ABs, for 0.08 RBI per at bat, and Jody Gerut has 6 from 83 for 0.07. Even starting leftfielder Scott Hairston only has 15 RBIs, from 171 ABs (0.09 RBI per at bat). These figures are probably more a reflection of the Padres overall hitting woes, rather than individual performances, but i think it shows that Huber is putting in when it counts.
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