Matt Herges #49

Full name is Matthew Tyler Herges...he and his wife, Jane, have two sons, Tyler John and Bryce Matthew, and one daughter, Julia Taylor...Graduated from Centennial High in Illinois before playing college baseball at Illinois State University, where he ranks second on the school's all-time list in complete games (10)...His brother-in-law is former Major Leaguer Todd Hollandsworth.

2009

Began the season in the Cleveland organization at Columbus (AAA) before being recalled by the Indians on May 6...pitched well for Cleveland in 21 relief stints before being designated for assignment on July 4...Was signed by the Colorado Rockies on July 18 and began his second stint with the club...had his contract purchased on August 22 and compiled a 2.89 ERA in 9 relief appearances as the Rockies made their push toward the N.L. Wild Card...did not appear on the Rockies postseason roster...Held right-handed batters to a .219 (16-for-73) mark, allowing just 4 extra-base hits (2 doubles, 2 home runs).

2008

Pitched his first full season in a Rockies uniform in 2008, his 2nd consecutive season in the Rockies organization... His 58 games pitched in 2008 are his most appearances since 2006 when he pitched in 66 games for Florida...Opponents hit .304 (79-260) off Herges in 2008, with left-handed batters hitting .280 (35-125) and right-handed batters hitting .326 (44-135)...Now has 40 career wins as a reliever, which are the 14th-most wins among active relievers...Allowed more than half of his inherited runners to score (11 of 20)...Rockies went 16-42 in his 2008 appearances...Herges began the season more productive than he ended it; went 3-3 with a 3.72 ERA (46.0 IP, 19 ER) prior to the All-Star break before going 0-1 with an 8.35 ERA (18.1 IP, 17 ER) after the break...Spent a portion of the season 2nd-half on the disabled list with lower back stiffness, missing 14 games from 8/18-9/2...Posted his best month of the season in April, going 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA (17.1 IP, 4 ER) in 15 games during the opening month...His ERA was nearly a full run lower on the road than at home; posted a 4.55 ERA (29.1 IP, 19 ER) on the road and a 5.45 mark (34.2 IP, 21 ER) at Coors Field...After his return from the DL 9/2 made 7 appearances, 4 scoreless the rest of the season...had a 4.50 ERA (6.0 IP, 3 ER) in 7 games after his return from the DL.

2007

Signed a Minor League contract with Colorado on Feb. 18 and entered Spring Training as a nonroster invitee...went 5-1 with a 2.96 ERA (48.2 ip, 16 er) in 35 relief appearances for Colorado...his five victories were his most since earning nine wins for Los Angeles in 2001...held opponents at a .198 (34-for-172) average against with lefties at .216 (16-for-74) and right-handers at .184 (18-for-98)...posted a 3-0 record with a 1.40 ERA (19.1 ip, 3 er) in 12 games in August...his three relief victories during that span were tied for the most in the N.L...tossed more than 2.0 innings in 12 of 35 games, including 3.0 scoreless frames in the Wild Card tiebreaker win on Oct. 1...inherited 16 runners, four of which scored...had his contract purchased from Triple-A on April 19 and appeared in the game that day vs. Los Angeles...entered contest in the ninth inning with the Rockies trailing 5-1...faced seven batters and allowed three runs, three hits, and two walks in Colorado's 8-1 loss...pitched 2.0 innings the following night vs. San Diego, allowing one run on two hits...was designated for assignment on April 21, but cleared waivers and was outrighted to Colorado Springs where he appeared in 28 games before being selected to the big league roster on July 3...spent the remainder of the season with the Rockies...retired 29 of 34 batters faced from Aug. 16-31...gave up just two earned runs over 21.1 innings pitched (0.84 ERA) from Aug. 12-Sept. 11, dropping season ERA from 4.24 to 2.35...following that productive stretch, allowed runs in three of four games (3.1 ip, 6 er) to rise from 2.35 to 3.46, but closed out the year with 9.0 shutout innings his last five outings... spent the rest of the year with Colorado Springs, going 2-1 with a 1.27 ERA (35.1 ip, 5 er) in 32 relief appearances...struck out 33 batters against 10 walks, and held opposing PCL batters at a .194 (24- for-124) average, with lefties at .125 (6-for-48) and right-handers at .237 (18-for-76)...allowed just 3 of 15 inherited runners to score...held opponents scoreless in 26 of 32 games...posted a 0.61 ERA (14.2 ip, 1 er) over his first 14 outings and allowed just two earned runs in 24.1 innings pitched, covering his first 23 games...gave up runs in three of his final nine appearances in the PCL to rise from 0.74 to 1.27.

2006

A non-roster invitee to big-league camp, the veteran earned his first win as a Marlin on Aug. 1, tossing an inning of scoreless relief against the Mets. In the season finale, on Oct. 1 against the Phillies, he tossed two scoreless innings for his second win. Over his last 26 appearances, he was scored upon nine times.

2005

Spent time with San Francisco Giants then with Arizona and Tucson (AAA) in the Diamondbacks organization... went combined 1-1 with 7.14 ERA in 28 games at the Major League level, and 1-2 with 3.14 ERA in 26 games at Triple-A... Began season with Giants and went 1-1 with 4.71 ERA in 21 games... stats with San Francisco were hampered by a pair of rough outings against the Dodgers... without a three-run season debut on April 6 and a four-run day on May 27, his ERA with the Giants would have been 2.12... acquired by Arizona from San Francisco on June 3 in exchange for minor-league outfielder Doug DeVore... Made his Arizona debut in the first game of the June 4 doubleheader in Philadelphia, when he worked 2.0 scoreless frames with a hit, a walk and a strikeout... was scored upon in five of his seven trips to the hill for Arizona, totaling 12 runs on 12 hits over 8.0 innings with 12 walks and nine strikeouts... big league opponents hit .304 against him for the season, including a .343 clip during his brief time with the Diamondbacks... designated for assignment on June 18, he cleared waivers and reported to Tucson... best stretch of the year encompassed 11.2 scoreless frames over 12 minor league outings from July 5 to August 5.

2004

Played vital role on San Francisco's staff, helping engineer clubs' first half turnaround by becoming just ninth Giants pitcher to post at least 20 saves in season... only other Giants to accomplish feat are: Rod Beck (five times), Robb Nen (five times), Gary Lavelle (three times), Greg Minton (three times), Craig Lefferts (one time), Frank Linzy (one time), Dave Righetti (one time) and Tim Worrell (one time)... assumed closer duties to open campaign... shifted to middle relief role in early August, but still finished 13th in NL with career-high 23 saves, more than doubling his career total entering season (11)... combined with Dustin Hermanson (17 saves) to become first Giants duo to post double- digit saves in same season since Jeff Brantley (15) and Dave Righetti (24) did so in 1991... was at his best when SF climbed back into contention with 34-17 run from May 18 to July 11, fashioning 4-1 mark with 10 saves (12 chances) and 3.09 ERA in 22 games... earned first Giants save in impressive fashion, closing out 5-4 Opening Day victory at Houston with perfect ninth that featured game-ending strikeout of Jeff Bagwell... recorded 22 of 23 saves prior to All-Star Break... was 0-2 with 7.31 ERA over first 17 outings of second half.

2003

Quickly emerged as dependable arm out of San Francisco bullpen after being acquired from San Diego on July 13... was unscored upon in 19 of his 27 outings in Giants uniform, forging 1-0 mark with 2.31 ERA... struck out 28 against 9 walks, while holding opposition to .219 average against (28x128)... in 40 games with Padres (all in relief), logged 2-2 record with 3 saves and 2.86 ERA... originally went to Spring Training with Pittsburgh, but was released... signed minor league deal with Padres on April 1 and opened year at Portland (AAA)... posted first victory with Giants, earning win September 2 vs. Colorado by stranding pair of runners prior to Pedro Feliz' game-winning HR.

2002

Went to camp with Los Angeles, but was acquired by Montreal along with IF Jorge Nunez in exchange for RHP Guillermo Mota and OF Wilkin Ruan, March 24...made immediate impact in Expos unifom, earning victory in Stade Olympique opener April 2 vs. Florida...picked up 2nd win of year with 3.0-inning effort April 13 at Shea Stadium...recorded 1st save April 19 vs. Mets, beginning stretch in which he posted 6 saves over 10-game stretch through May 12...suffered career-high 5-game losing streak June 11-Aug. 17...matched career high with 4.0 innings of relief July 17 vs. Mets...made 5 straight scoreless appearances to end campaign (6.0ip).

2001

Spent 2nd straight full season with Los Angeles, establishing career highs with 75 appearances and 76 strikeouts...posted 9 relief victories to share NL lead with MON's Graeme Lloyd and SF's Felix Rodriguez...ranked 2nd among all ML relievers with 99.1 innings pitched, behind only CIN's Scott Sullivan (103.1)...lost 4 of his 1st 5 decisions, including 3 straight May 1-22...turned things around by winning 3 consecutive outcomes May 28-June 13...in fact, was 3-1 with 1.35 ERA (3er, 20.0ip) in 12-outing stretch May 12-June 30...recorded 4 straight wins June 30-Aug. 19...registered 2nd career save July 17 at Pittsburgh, tossing perfect 9th to close out 4-1 Dodgers triumph...excelled down stretch as LA battled for playoff spot, forging 1.29 ERA (2er, 14.0ip) in 12-outing span Sept. 2-Oct. 5...went 4-for-9 (.444) at plate, while tallying 1st big league RBI Sept. 7 at St. Louis...underwent arthroscopic surgery Oct. 11 to clear scar tissue from his left knee.

2000

Logged rookie campaign with Dodgers, tying STL's Rick Ankiel for most wins among NL rookies with career-high 11...also set career standards with 110.2 innings pitched and 3.17 ERA...was perfect 11-0 with 2.57 ERA (25er, 87.2ip) in relief and 0-3 with 5.48 mark (14er, 23.0ip) in 4 starts...59 appearances ranked 2nd on staff and tied for 2nd-most ever by Dodgers rookie (Steve Howe, 1980), behind only Pedro Martinez' 65 outings in 1993...began season in bullpen and won his 1st 8 decisions, most by ML rookie since FLA's Livan Hernandez won his 1st 9 in 1997...perfect 8-0 start was also best by LA pitcher since Fernando Valenzuela won his 1st 8 decisions in 1981...8-game winning streak was longest by Dodger hurler at any point since Pedro Martinez' 8-game skien in 1993...did not allow earned run in 1st 12 appearances through May 6 (19.1ip) before surrendering 8 hits and 7 runs May 8 at Arizona...picked up 1st ML victory with 2.2-hitless innings April 21 at Cincinnati...tied career high with 5 strikeouts June 16 vs. St. Louis...made 1st big league start Aug. 7 and suffered 7-3 loss to Cubs at Dodger Stadium (6.0ip,3er)...lost 2 of his next 3 opening assignments and returned to bullpen following final start Aug. 26...earned 1st ML save with 4.0-scoreless innings of work in 12-1 victory Sept. 10 at Colorado...went 1-for-13 at plate, picking up 1st ML hit off Cubs' Kevin Tapani Aug. 26 at Wrigley Field.

1999

Spent majority of year with triple-A Albuquerque in LA farm system, logging 8-3 mark with 4.73 ERA in 21 starts...picked up 1st win in 8th start May 19 vs. New Orleans and proceeded to win 8-straight decisions through July 17...had contract purchased by LA July 30 and made ML debut Aug. 3 at Houston...was scored upon in 3 of his 1st 4 games and was optioned back to triple-A Aug. 13...made final start with Albuquerque Aug. 17 and was recalled by Dodgers Aug. 23, spending rest of campaign in big leagues...tossed season-high 3.2 innings in final game Oct. 3 at Houston...finished 1st ML stint 0-2 with 4.07 ERA (11er, 24.1ip) in 17 relief outings.

1998

Split time between double-A San Antonio and Albuqurque for 3rd straight season...began year with San Antonio, but after 3 scoreless outings, was moved to triple-A level April 29...allowed 4 runs or less in 33 of his 34 appearances (8 starts) with Albuquerque.

1997

Failed to win game for 1st time in professional career, going combined 0-9 in 35 games (15 starts) between San Antonio and Albuquerque.

1996

Logged 1st season of San Antonio-Albuquerque commute, going combined 7-3 with 2.68 ERA in 40 games (10 starts)...won PCL Pitcher of Week honors for Aug. 11-17.

1995

Began season in San Antonio's bullpen...picked up saves in 5 straight appearances April 28-May 6...joined single-A San Bernardino in June and spent rest of campaign with California League champions...finished combined 5-5 with 9 saves and 3.63 ERA in 41 games (2 starts).

1994

Spent entire season with single-A Vero Beach and led club in wins (8), appearances (48) and innings pitched (111.0)...tossed 1st professional complete game.

1993

Led single-A Bakersfield with 51 appearances (all in relief), going 2-6 with 3.69 ERA...allowed only 70 hits in 90.1 innings pitched.

1992

Signed with Los Angeles as non-drafted free agent June 13...made professional debut with Yakima in short-season single-A ball Northwest League, leading club in saves (9) and appearances (27).