Resides with his wife, Sarah, and their four children, in Crozet, Va...Played college baseball at Division III Ferrum College (Va.) of the USA South Athletic Conference...Went 17-3 in three season with the Panthers...Holds the single-season NCAA record for strikeouts per nine innings with 19.1 in 1992 and fewest hits allowed per game at 1.58 in 1992...Held the Division III mark for career strikeouts (327 in 182.1 innings)...Rated by Baseball America as the collegiate prospect with the best velocity among draft-eligible players in 1993...Inducted into the Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame in Salem, VA in February 2003...Was the 2005 recipient of the Tug McGraw Media Good Guy Award...Donated $1,000 per save in 2007 and 2008, which was matched by the Mets Foundation per save to the East Harlem Tutorial Program and the Second Chance Learning Center in Virginia...The total contribution was $122,000...Received the Ben Epstein Good Guy Award from the New York chapter of the BBWAA in January 2008 recognizing his accessibility, cooperation and candor...Breeds and sells the wool of 40 alpacas on his farm near Charlottesville, Va...His wife, Sarah, scored 1,200 points during her four-year basketball career at Ferrum.
2009
Combined to make 17 appearances between Boston and New York (NL), his lowest total since appearing in one game in 1995, his first season in the Majors...Began the year with NYM before being traded to the Boston Red Sox on 8/25 in exchange for 1B Eddie Lora and OF Chris Carter...Added to BOS roster on 8/27 and made his Red Sox debut three days later vs. TOR, his first career appearance in the American League. Allowed one hit while fanning three in 1.0 IP. Was the first pitcher since Frank Castillo (4/5/01 at BAL) to record three strikeouts in his first inning with BOS...Made season debut with NYM 8/20 vs. ATL, his first Major League appearance since undergoing Tommy John surgery on 9/10/08...Combined to make seven rehabilitation appearances with NYM, including five with Single-A St. Lucie and two with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Mets (7.0 IP, 3 H, 10 K).
2009 POSTSEASON: Division Series (LAA): Did not earn a decision in two appearances with BOS. His first outing was scoreless (0.1 IP) and he allowed one ER in his second appearance (0.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB).
2008
Underwent an MRI on September 8th at New York's Hospital for Special Surgery...The MRI revealed tears of both the medial
collateral ligament in his left elbow and the flexor pronator, a muscle in the forearm...Underwent "Tommy John" surgery on September 10th at the Hospital for Special Surgery...Mets Medical Director Dr. David
Altchek and Mets Team Physician Dr. Struan Coleman performed the procedure...Placed on the 15-Day Disabled List on August 5th, retroactive to August 3rd, with a strained left forearm...Converted 13 of his final 15 save chances...Finished 10th in the National League with 27 saves...Opponents have hit .189 against him for his career, tied for the third lowest mark among active relievers (Troy Percival-.186,
Joe Nathan-.188, Francisco Rodriguez-.189)...Was second among NL relievers with a .185 batting average against...Has a .189 average against him for his career, the
lowest mark of any active pitcher (minimum 750 innings pitched)...Was unscored upon in 36 of his 45 appearances...Posted a 1.40 ERA (four earned runs/25.2 innings) at Shea...Also had a 1.78 ERA (six earned runs/30.1 innings) at night...Righthanded batters hit .174 (23-132) against him...Tossed 10.0 shutout innings in 10 appearances from April 2nd-April 27th...Held opponents hitless in their first 28 at-bats of the season before Atlanta's Matt Diaz singled on April 27th...That stretch
set a Mets record for consecutive at-bats without yielding a hit to start the season...The 28 hitless at-bats to start the year
was the longest in the majors since 2005 when Cleveland's Rafael Betancourt also held the opposition hitless for 28 at-bats...Allowed his first earned run of the year on May 23rd at Colorado...Had tossed 18.0 innings without an earned run...Had a
0.36 ERA (one earned run/24.2 innings) through June 4th...Notched his 368th career save to move into sole possession of sixth place on the All-Time List, passing Jeff Reardon, on May
27th vs. Florida in New York's 5-3 win...Now has 385 saves...Dennis Eckersley is fifth on the List with 390 saves...Earned his 20th save in the Mets' 10-9 win on July 7th at Philadelphia...It was his eighth straight year of 20 or more saves
and his 11th year total...Named to the National League All-Star team for the sixth time in his career and second as a member of the Mets...Hurled
0.1 inning at Yankee Stadium on July 15th...His last outing maor league outing was August 2nd vs. Houston...Made a major league rehabilitation appearance on August 14th for Binghamton (AA) of the Eastern League vs. Reading...
Worked a 1-2-3 inning...Is second among NL relievers with a 2.11 ERA since 2005...Also is fourth with a .199 batting average during that span...After just three seasons, ranks fourth on the Mets All-Time Save List with 101 saves.
2007
Finished sixth in the National League with 34 saves...Registered his eighth season of 30 or more saves...Was ninth among NL relievers with 80 strikeouts...Moved into sole possession of seventh place on the All-Time Save List with his 348th career save on July 28th vs. Washington in
New York's 3-1 win in Game One of a doubleheader...Now has 358 career saves...Jeff Reardon is sixth on the List with 367
saves... Is third among active relievers in saves and third on the All-Time List by lefties...Struck out Josh Bard on August 21st vs. San Diego for his 1,000th career strikeout...Is one of only two lefthanded relief pitchers
with 1,000 or more strikeouts...The other is Jesse Orosco with 1,169 strikeouts...Now has 1,014 strikeouts...Selected to his fifth All-Star team and his first with the Mets...Pitched 1.0 inning in the game at San Francisco...Went 1-0 with a 1.64 ERA (seven earned runs/38.1 innings) in the first half...Righthanded batters hit .209 (42-201) off him...Opponents have hit .190 against him for his career, the lowest mark among active relievers...Is second among NL relievers with a 2.11 ERA since 2005...Also is fourth with a .199 batting average during that span...After just two seasons, ranks sixth on the Mets All-Time Save List with 74 saves...Roger McDowell is fifth with 84 saves...Named the DHL MLB Delivery Man of the Month for July...Was 8-for-8 in save opportunities and hurled 9.0 shutout innings,
permitting only two hits with seven strikeouts...Closed out his 12th one-run save of the year on September 12th vs. Atlanta in New York's 4-3 win...Earned his 350th career save on August 8th, working out of a bases-loaded, no-out situation in a 4-3 win over the Braves...Didn't allow a run in 21.0 innings (20 outings) from June 15th-August 8th...The scoreless streak was the second longest of his
career...Had a 22.0 scoreless inning streak from September 22, 2003-June 17, 2004...Earned his 31st consecutive save (dating back to 2006) on May 31st vs. San Francisco in New York's 4-2 win...Converted his 29th
consecutive save on May 23rd at Atlanta in New York's 3-0 win to establish a franchise record...The previous record was 28 straight
saves, done by Armando Benitez from 2000-2001...Earned a save in New York's 6-5 win on June 29th at Philadelphia (G1) by striking out the side in the ninth inning...Closed out the
Mets' 5-2 win in Game Two of the doubleheader with a scoreless inning...Tossed 9.0 shutout frames from April 28th-May 18th...Closed out the Mets' 1-0 win on April 29th at Washington with a scoreless ninth inning...Picked up his first win of the year on June 23rd vs. Oakland with a scoreless inning in New York's 1-0 win...Donated $1,000 per save, which was matched by the Mets Foundation for a total of $2,000 per save to the East Harlem Tutorial
Program and the Second Chance Learning Center in Virginia...The total contribution to the two establishments was $68,000.
2006
Finished tied for second in the Majors with the Angels' Francisco Rodriguez with 16 saves when entering a game with a one-run lead...San Diego's Trevor Hoffman was first with 18...Converted his last 18 save opportunities and saved 26 of his last 27 chances...Allowed four runs in his last 23.0 innings (1.57 ERA) dating back to August 2...Posted a 1.99 ERA (seven earned runs/31.2 innings) with 42 strikeouts after the All-Star break...Had 21 saves in 23 opportunities with a 1.85 ERA (seven earned runs/34.0 innings) against NL East opponents...Was second in the NL and fourth in the Majors with 40 saves, was sixth among NL relievers with a 2.24 ERA, was fourth with 94 strikeouts and was tied for seventh among NL relievers, allowing 10.45 base runners per nine innings...Reached the 40-save plateau for the second time in his career when he closed out New York's 4-3 win on Sept. 29 at Washington...Had a career-high 44 saves in 2003 with Houston...The only other Met to notch 40 or more saves in a season was Armando Benitez (43 in 2001 and 41 in 2000)...Had at least one strikeout in 55 of his 70 outings (94 strikeouts total/72.1 innings - 11.70 strikeouts per nine innings)...Moved into an 11th place tie with Troy Percival on the All-Time Save List with his 324th save after preserving New York's 4-3 win on Sept. 29 at Washington...Former Met Roberto Hernandez is 10th on the List with 326 saves...Passed Jose Mesa, Rick Aguilera, Rod Beck, Bruce Sutter, Doug Jones, Jeff Montgomery, Rich Goosage, Tom Henke and Robb Nen this year...Became the fourth Met to record 30 or more saves in a season with his 30th save on Aug. 19 vs. Colorado when he preserved a 7-4 win...The others are Jesse Orosco (1984), John Franco (1990, 1991, 1994, 1997-1998) and Armando Benitez (2000-2002)...Now has seven seasons of 30 or more saves (1998-1999, 2001-2003, 2005-2006)...Recorded his 12th career save of five or more outs and his second with the Mets on July 30 at Atlanta in New York's 10-6
win...Also had a five-out save on June 13 at Philadelphia in a 9-7 victory...Notched his 300th career save on July 4 vs. Pittsburgh in a 7-6 victory...Became the 20th pitcher to reach that plateau and only the third left-handed pitcher to do so...John Franco and Randy Myers are the others...Is tied for fourth among active relievers in saves and is third on the All-Time Save List by lefties...Preserved his 20th save on July 23 in a 4-3 win vs. Houston...Has saved 20 or more games nine times in his career including the last six years...Had a 13.1 scoreless innings streak from May 21-June 19...Struck out the side on 12 pitches on May 19 vs. the Yankees to earn the win in the Mets 7-6 triumph...Compiled 12.0 scoreless innings from April 9-May 1...Led the National League in pitches over 100 miles per hour with five.
POSTSEASON: Closed out New York's 2-0 win over the Cardinals in Game One of the NLCS...It was his third postseason save tying him for the most career saves in club history with Armando Benitez and Tug McGraw...Earned his first career postseason save in New York's 6-5 win in Game One of the NLDS vs.Los Angeles...Also notched a save in Game Two vs. LA in the Mets' 4-1 victory.
2005
Finished the season with a career-best 1.51 ERA, the lowest among all NL relievers and second lowest in the majors (Mariano Rivera, 1.38)...Ranks seventh among active relievers and 21st all-time with 284 career saves...Ranks third on the All-Time Save List among
lefthanded relievers...Led all major league relievers in games finished (70)...Among NL relievers, ranked second in opponents average (.165), third in save percentage (92.7), fourth in strikeouts, seventh in saves, tied for eighth in innings and ninth in strikeouts per nine innings (10.08)...Had the sixth 30-save season of his career and his fifth consecutive 20-save season (ninth overall)...Began the season with an 11.0-inning scoreless streak (10 games)...Earned the 250th save of his career, April 25th at Washington in a 5-4 triumph...Picked up his second career hit, May 1st vs. Florida...Named to the NL All-Star team, his fourth All-Star selection, but did not appear in the game...Suffered the loss on July 3rd vs. Atlanta to snap his streak of 82 consecutive appearances without a loss...Compiled a 0.54 ERA (two earned runs/33.1 innings) over his final 33 games, which began with a season-best 18.2-inning
scoreless streak from July 22nd-September 5th...Had a 19.0-inning scoreless streak in road games, May 25th-September 30th...The Phillies went 18-1 over a 19-game stretch of his appearances, July 19th-September 1st...Suffered losses on back-to-back days, September 6th and September 7th vs. Houston, only the second time in his career he took the loss in back-to-back appearances...Struck out six batters in his final 2.1 innings.
2004
Had a 1.69 ERA in 25 save situations...Finished first among National League relievers with 1.12 walks per nine innings and fifth with 10.99 strikeouts per nine innings...Earned a win or save in the club's first five wins (1-0, 4 saves)...Pitched in four consecutive games for second time in his career, April 15th-April 18th...Placed on 15-Day Disabled List on May 14th (retroactive to May 8th), with a strained right groin muscle...Activated on June 8th...The walk he issued on June 19th vs. Kansas City was his first of the season and snapped a 28.2-inning streak of not issuing an
unintentional walk, dating back to 2003...Did not allow an earned run in 18 straight appearances (19.1 innings) from July 1st-September 23rd...Placed on the 15-Day Disabled List for a second time on July 30th (retroactive to July 22nd), with a strained left rotator
cuff...Activated on September 4th...Had his first career ejection on September 11th at the Mets for throwing at Cliff Floyd...Served a two-game suspension, September
17th-September 18th, for his actions following the ejection...Phillies went 40-6 in his 46 appearances, including 17-0 to finish the season.
2003
Named Astros Pitcher of the Year by the Houston Chapter of BBWAA...Reached career highs in saves, innings and games...His 44 saves set a Houston franchise record, breaking his own of 39, set twice (1999 and 2001)...Finished third in majors in saves, behind Los Angeles's Eric Gagne (55) and Atlanta's John Smoltz (45)...Ranked third in the National League in save percentage (.936)...Among NL relievers, was tied for first in games finished (67), second in strikeouts, third in opponents average (.169), and fifth in
ERA, innings and strikeouts per nine innings (10.99)...Became 20th pitcher in major league history to record 30 or more saves in at least five seasons...Converted 16 straight save opportunities from May 2nd-June 17th, including 11 in May to tie with Eric Gagne for most in the majors...Recorded his 200th career save to set the all-time Houston record (surpassing Dave Smith's 199) on June 8th vs. Tampa Bay...Pitched perfect ninth inning to close out a combined six-pitcher no-hitter in an 8-0 win on June 11th at the Yankees...It was the
first no-hitter against New York since 1958...Had a season-best 20.2 innings scoreless streak from July 2nd-August 19th (eight hits, five walks, 28 strikeouts)...Made his third career All-Star appearance on July 15th at U.S. Cellular Field...Pitched 1.0 inning, yielding a run...Converted his final 22 save opportunities of season (July 8th-September 22nd), a franchise record...Also held the previous record
of 19 consecutive saves converted...Appeared in two games in the NLDS vs. Atlanta.
2002
Pitched in a career-high 70 games for the Astros, going 4-2 with a 2.52 ERA (21ER/75IP) and 35 saves...the 75 innings pitched were also a career-high total...ranked ninth in the National League in saves...had 35 saves in 41 opportunities...inducted into the Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame in Salem, Va., in February 2003...did not allow a run in his last 14 appearances, throwing 16.0 innings and lowering his ERA from 3.15 to 2.52 from Aug. 23-Sept. 25...allowed only six hits while walking three and striking out 18...his 35-save season gave him 181 for his career, trailing only Dave Smith (199) in franchise history...single-season save total also ranked fourth in franchise history...converted 181 of 216 (83.8 percent) save chances during his career...386 appearances rank fourth in club history...surpassed Joe Sambito (353, 1976-82, 84) on July 12 vs. Cincinnati, becoming the franchise leader for a left-hander...has 20-or-more saves in five seasons, one shy of Smith's franchise-record six...recorded 10 saves in August with a 3.00 ERA (5ER/15IP) in 14 appearances...recorded nine saves in 11 outings from Aug. 1-23...in his sixth blown save of 2002 on Aug. 9 vs. Atlanta, allowed a season-high three runs in the ninth inning, his most since giving up four on May 24, 2000 vs. Philadelphia...had saves in four consecutive appearances (8/1-6)...had eight saves and an 0.82 ERA (1ER/11IP) over 11 games from July 17-Aug. 6...charged with his fifth blown save when Pittsburgh's Aramis Ramirez hit a game-tying, ninth-inning, leadoff homer on July 27...earned his third win...also suffered a blown save when Ramirez hit a two-run homer on July 15...hit with his second blown save and first since April 18, but earned the win on June 16 vs. Texas...the win was his first since May 9, 2001, snapping a five-game losing streak from May 23, 2001-May 24, 2002...posted a 1.93 ERA (3ER/14IP) and five saves over 13 games in May...earned the 150th save of his big league career on May 4 against the Mets...allowed a game-tying, three-run homer (A. Boone) in the ninth on April 18 at Cincinnati for his first blown save...then worked 12.0 scoreless innings (4/21-5/23).
2001
Converted 39 of 41 save opportunities (95.1 percent) en route to being named to the NL All-Star team...Converted 18 straight save opportunities (25 games) from May 12th-July 26th...Placed on the 15-Day Disabled List on June 4th with a left forearm strain...Activated on June 18th.
2000
Missed the final three-and-a-half months of the season after suffering from a partially torn flexor tendon in his left elbow ... underwent surgery on June 27 and remained on the disabled list for the rest of the year ... Surgery was performed in Los Angeles by Dr. Lewis Yocum with Astros Team Medical Director David Lintner assisting in the procedure ... a partial tear in in the flexor tendon was reattached to the bone ... additionally, a buildup of scar tissue was removed ... Began the year in typical fashion, saving three of the Astros' first four wins while retiring 16 of the first 20 batters he faced in 2000 ... Notched his first save of the year on Opening Day at Pittsburgh on April 4 ... also recorded saves on April 9 vs. Philadelphia and on April 12 vs. St. Louis ... allowed just one run in his first six appearances ... Tagged with his first blown save and first loss of the year on April 23 after allowing the winning run to score in an 11-10 slugfest with the Padres ... Recorded a save on May 4, his fourth of the year, at Chicago (NL).retired all four batters he faced ... Earned his first win of the year on May 7 at Los Angeles in a 14-8 victory, working 1.1 innings ... retired the side after entering the game with the bases loaded and two out in the eighth inning ... Suffered back-to-back blown saves on May 12 and 13 vs. Cincinnati, his second and third of the year ... His fourth blown save occurred in the first game of a May 22 doubleheader at Milwaukee ... entered the game in the ninth inning with a 9-6 lead but allowed three runs as the Brewers overcame a seven-run deficit to win the game, 10-9, in 10 innings ... Suffered his fifth blown save and was charged with his third loss on May 24 in a 9-7 defeat vs. Philadelphia.gave up four, ninth inning runs including a go-ahead homer ... Yielded a game-tying run in the ninth inning in a 5-4, 10-inning victory over Atlanta on May 26 ... it was his sixth blown save and fifth in a row ... Notched his first save since May 4 on May 28 vs. Atlanta, preserving a 4-3 lead ... Suffered his seventh blown save on June 9 at San Diego but notched the win as Houston rallied for two runs in the ninth inning in a 7-6 victory ... Recorded his sixth save on June 13 at Colorado after pitching a scoreless ninth inning ... his eighth blown save came at the hands of Todd Helton's ninth inning game-tying solo homer two days later ... His last appearance was on June 17 at San Francisco when he walked four batters, allowing two inherited runners to score in addition to another run allowed via a walk ... his failure to retire a batter in that outing marked only the second time in his career that he has not recorded an out in a single appearance (also: April 28, 1999 vs. Arizona).
1999
Won the NL Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award...Named to the National League All-Star team at Boston...Pitched a scoreless inning...His 39 saves set an Astros single-season record...Received three third-place votes in Cy Young balloting...Had more saves than hits allowed (35)...Averaged 15.0 strikeouts per nine innings with a career-high 124 strikeouts...Had a 19.1-inning scoreless streak from May 23rd-July 6th...Struck out eight straight batters from August 13th-August 18th...Finished the season with a 23.1-inning scoreless streak.
1998
Had the third-best single season for saves in club history with 30 ... only Doug Jones in 1992 (36) and Dave Smith in 1986 (33) have had higher single-season totals for Houston ... his 62 career saves are tied for fourth on the club's all-time list with Doug Jones (1992-93) ... he converted 19 consecutive save opportunities between his first blown save on April 12 at Los Angeles and his second on July 11 at St. Louis ... rebounded from his blown save on July 11 to earn his 22nd on July 14 at Arizona ... the next night at Bank One Ballpark, he was struck on the left side of his head behind the ear by a line drive off the bat of Kelly Stinnett in the bottom of the ninth while trying to hold onto an 8-7 Houston lead ... he was alert and conscious on the field as his vital signs remained good ... he was removed from the field on a stretcher after suffering a concussion ... after being hospitalized overnight in Phoenix, he returned to Houston on July 16 and was placed on the 15-day disabled list that day ... he worked on balance and coordination exercises before being cleared by doctors to go to Double A Jackson on a rehabilitation assignment ... he pitched in three games for the Generals, working 3.0 innings with no walks and seven strikeouts ... he was recalled from his rehab assignment and reinstated from the DL on August 6 ... on August 9 in the Astrodome, he returned to the mound working 1.0 scoreless inning in an 11-2 win over the Phillies ... in his next outing on August 10 against Milwaukee, he faced three batters, striking out the last two, to earn his 23rd save in a 5-2 Astros' victory ... on August 15 in a head-to-head battle against the Cubs in the Astrodome, he entered a 4-4 tie in the top of the 10th ... he struck out the first five batters he faced, including Mark Grace, Sammy Sosa and Brant Brown in the 10th, before the Astros scored in the bottom of the 11th to give him a 5-4 win ... he established his single-season best when he earned his 24th save on August 19 at Philadelphia ... his previous high was 23 in 1997 ... the next night in Milwaukee, he suffered his third blown save of the season when he gave up a two-out double to Marc Newfield to tie the game 5-5 ... the Astros eventually lost 6-5 in 10 innings ... he converted his next five save opportunities through September 12 before blowing opportunities in consecutive outings on September 14 and 16 against the Mets ... his 30th save came on September 20 at Pittsburgh when he pitched a scoreless ninth behind Shane Reynolds (7.0) and Jay Powell (1.0) in a 2-0 shutout ... he retired 34-of-58 first batters he faced and did not allow any of the nine baserunners he inherited to score ... averaged 14.6 strikeouts per nine innings pitched (97 SO/60.0 IP) over his 58 appearances ... for his career, he is averaging 13.6 strikeouts per nine innings (270 SO/178.1 IP) ... he struck out the side 11 times ... his single-game high for strikeouts was five, which he did twice, including June 14 at Cincinnati over 2.0 innings and August 15 against Chicago over 2.0 frames ... earned Houston's lone postseason victory, winning Game 2 in relief ... had allowed a two-out, two-strike, two-run homer to San Diego's Jim Leyritz in the top of the ninth inning to tie the game at 4-4, but the Astros rallied in the bottom of the ninth with a run off San Diego's Trevor Hoffman for the victory.
1997
In his first full season as a major league closer he converted 23 of his 29 save opportunities, which tied for the ninth-best single season for saves in club history ... he struck out 106 batters in 66.1 innings, which established a major league record for strikeouts per nine innings pitched (minimum 50.0 innings) at 14.4 ... the previous record was 14.1, which was set by Cincinnati's Rob Dibble in 1992 (110SO/70.1IP) ... his 106 strikeouts established a club single-season record for relievers ... the previous mark was 104 by Danny Darwin in 1989 ... his 62 appearances topped the Houston staff ... had a strong April, going 2-1 with a 0.60 ERA and converting all five of his save opportunities ... he did not allow a run over his first 14.2 innings pitched to start the year ... the streak was snapped on April 28 in his final appearance of the month when Colorado's Vinny Castilla belted a two-out, solo homer in the top of the 10th to snap a 6-6 tie and deal the Astros a 7-6 loss ... he converted his first four save opportunities in May to run his season-opening streak to nine straight ... his first blown save came on May 21 against Cincinnati when he allowed the game-tying run in the eighth, even though the Astros won the contest 4- 3 in 14 innings ... his strong work continued through the end of July when his record stood at 7-3 with a 1.64 ERA (9ER/49.1IP) and 19 saves in 22 opportunities ... his month of July was similar to April in that he did not allow a run until his final appearance of the month on the 29th against St. Louis ... he pitched 12.2 innings before a two-out single by Delino DeShields drove in a run in Houston's 5-4 victory ... August proved to be his most difficult month of the year as he went 0-3 with a 9.72 ERA and failed to convert his two save opportunities ... he allowed nine earned runs in 8.1 innings in August, which was as many earned runs as he had allowed over the first four months of the season combined ... he bounced back with a strong September, going 0-2, but converting his last four save opportunities ... in the five appearances covered to convert those four saves, he did not allow a hit or walk in the 3.2 innings pitched and struck out eight of the 11 batters he faced ... for the season, he struck out the side 13 times ... some of his best work came against the two clubs chasing the Astros in the NL Central race, Pittsburgh and St. Louis ... his combined numbers against those teams were 1-0 with a 0.71 ERA and a perfect five-for-five on his save opportunities in 10 games ... in 12.2 innings combined, the Bucs and Redbirds could manage only five hits and one earned run against him, while he walked only five batters and struck out 28 ... in the post-season, he pitched in only one game of the NL Division Series against Atlanta ... he allowed three hits and two earned runs in one inning of Houston's 13-3 loss in Game Two at Turner Field.
1996
Started his year as a Triple A starter and finished by becoming a major league closer ... had a 6-2 record with a 3.28 ERA in 12 starts for Tucson to start the season ... his contract was recalled from Tucson on June 2 when the club asked for waivers for the purpose of granting an unconditional release to Greg Swindell ... he joined the major league club to work in relief and came out of the bullpen on June 6 against Colorado in the Astrodome ... he worked 3.1 innings in a 14-7 loss to loss, following starter Doug Drabek, who lasted only 1.2 frames ... earned his first major league decision in his next appearance on June 8 at home against the Phillies, a 7-3 win ... he entered a 3-3 tie in the sixth and left after seven innings with the Astros ahead 7-3 ... his first major league save came on June 14 at San Francisco ... he pitched three shutout innings in relief of Mike Hampton in a 9-1 Houston victory ... struck out a career-high seven of the 11 batters he faced on June 26 at Los Angeles, but did not get the save as Todd Jones came on to record the final out in a 4-2 win ... his second save came six days later at San Diego ... he allowed a hit and a walk, but held on to a 4-3 win for Donne Wall ... he fanned five batters on August 4 against San Francisco in the Astrodome, including Barry Bonds and Matt Williams on a combined six pitches with the bases loaded in the ninth inning, for his eighth save ... was placed on the 15-day DL on August 23 after suffering a strained left groin muscle at home on August 22 in an 8-6 loss to Pittsburgh ... he was reinstated on September 7 ... converted nine of his 13 save opportunities ... allowed only 28 hits and struck out 67 batters in 51.2 innings, an average of 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings ... opponents only hit .165 (28x170) against him and lefthanded hitters only .083 (2x24) ... named to the Topps Rookie All-Star Team following the season.
1995
Saw his first major league action after being drafted by Houston in the first round of the June, 1993 draft ... after spending much of the season at Double A Jackson and Triple A Tucson, his contract was purchased by the Astros on September 12 ... made his major league debut the next night at New York, retiring the only batter he faced in a 10-5 defeat ... it was his only appearance with the Astros in 1995.
