Full name MATTHEW DICUS CAPPS...Wife, Jennifer...Son, Maxwell (2/8/12)...2002 graduate of Alexander (GA) High School...Lettered in four sports: baseball, basketball, football and cross country...Prior to signing with Pittsburgh, he signed a Letter of Intent to play baseball at LSU...Played for Team Georgia and won the Sun Belt Classic (played in Oklahoma) along with Major Leaguers Brian McCann and Jeff Francoeur in 2001.
2013
Signed by Cleveland on January 31 and was relegated to 7 spring training and 6 regular season relief appearances (AAA Columbus) before undergoing season-ending right shoulder surgery on June 5...Surgery (right shoulder arthroscopy/debridement) was performed by Dr. Craig Morgan in Wilmington, DE...Last outing of the season came on April 20 as 5 of his 6 appearances with the Clippers were scoreless.
2012
Made Twins Opening Day roster for second straight year as club's closer, and converted first save opportunity with 1.0 scoreless inning, 4/11 vs. Los Angeles-AL... Converted first nine save opportunities 4/11-5/19, before blowing first save on 5/27 vs. Detroit...Converted next five save opportunities 5/28-6/6...Earned 45th save as Twin 6/6 at Kansas City, passing LaTroy Hawkins and moving into 10th place on Twins all-time saves list before being beset by shoulder issues the remainder of the season...Placed on 15-day disabled list with right shoulder inflammation on 6/ 24...Went on rehab assignment at A Fort Myers, 7/9-13, appearing in two games before being activated on 7/13... Made two appearances before being placed back on the 15-day disabled list with right rotator cuff irritation 7/17; reinstated 9/24...Made one appearance the rest of the season (Sept 24 vs NYY, 1.0IP, 2H, 0R) and for the year saved 14 of his 15 save chances and held batters to a .241 (28-116) average against with just 4 walks in 29.1IP...On the year lefties hit just .175 (10-57) off him with 2 extra base hits...Combined ERA in May/June was 2.45 (18.1IP, 15H, 5ER).
2011
Earned his first victory in his third appearance, tossing 2.0 shutout innings with no hits and
no walks, May 5 at New York (AL)...Moved into the closer's role in mid-April to replace Joe Nathan and converted five straight
save opportunities, April 17-May 4...Earned a five-out save with 1.2 scoreless innings, May 4 at Chicago (AL)...Blew consecutive save opportunities, May 21 at Arizona and May 23 vs. Seattle...Did not walk a batter in his first 16 appearances (18.1 innings pitched), April 2-May 14...
walked just one batter in his first 23 appearances (26.0 innings pitched), April 2-June 5...Posted a 0.90 ERA (10.0 ip, 1 er) in 10 games in June and a 6.17 ERA (11.2 ip, 8 er) in 14
games in July...Posted a 3.24 ERA (25.0 ip, 9 er) in his final 30 appearances, July 19-September 27, walking just seven batters and allowing two home
runs in that span...posted a 1.80 ERA (10.0 ip, 2 er) in 13 road appearances in that span...Did not walk a batter in 59 of his 69 appearances and walked multiple batters on just three occasions...His 69 appearances were the most on the Twins staff and tied for seventh-most in the American League.
2010
Started the season with the Washington Nationals after signing as a free agent, January 8...
earned his first save with the Nationals, April 8 vs. Philadelphia...allowed just one earned run
in his first 11 appearances (14.1 ip) for an ERA of 0.63 during that span...Converted his first 16 saves...suffered first blown save, May 23 vs. Baltimore...Won three consecutive appearances, July 1-6, beating the Mets (twice) and Padres...pitched
the ninth inning in each game as the Nationals won all three games in walk-off fashion...Was named to the National League All-Star team (first career), retiring the only batter he
faced (David Ortiz), and earned the win...He became the first National League pitcher to be named the winner of an All-Star game since John Smoltz in 1996...Acquired by Minnesota along with cash, in exchange for catcher Wilson Ramos and pitcher Joe Testa, July 29...ranked fourth in the National
League with 26 saves at the time of the trade...35 of his 47 appearances with the Nationals were scoreless...Converted his first save with Minnesota with a scoreless ninth inning, July 30 vs. Seattle...Suffered his first blown save with the Twins, allowing one run on two hits in the ninth inning, August 4 at Tampa Bay...Twins beat the
Rays 2-1 in 13 innings...Earned his first win with Minnesota, striking out three of five batters faced, August 5 at Tampa Bay...Earned his 15th save with the Twins, September 21 vs. Cleveland after recording 26 saves with the Nationals...according to the Elias Sports
Bureau, he became just the third pitcher to record 15-or-more saves for two different clubs in the same season, joining Jeff Shaw in 1998
(Reds and Dodgers) and Bob Wickman in 2006 (Indians and Braves)...Converted 12 consecutive saves, August 18-September 29...allowed 13 hits, two extra-base hits, struck out 12 and walked four in that time...Twins were 24-3 in the 27 games in which he appeared...gave up just one home run allowed while with Minnesota (Alexei Ramirez - August 17)...Finished with a career-high 42 saves between the Nationals and Twins and the highest save percentage (87.5%) of his career...His 74 games were the most since he had 76 with Pittsburgh in 2007...his 59 strikeouts were also his best since 2007 when he had 64...Was one of four Major League pitchers with 70-or-more games and 40-or-more saves (Cordero - CIN, Feliz - TEX, Wilson - SF)...Was one of just 27 different pitchers in baseball history to pitch in 70-plus games, collect 40-plus saves and post a save percentage of
87.0%-or-higher in a single season.
2009
Recorded career-best 27 saves in final season with PIT...ranked 10th in the NL in saves...successfully converted 84
percent (27 of 32) of save opportunities...went perfect 15-for-15 in save opportunities from May 16-July 31...issued just
14 unintentional walks...14 unintentional walks tied for 7th fewest in MLB among 28 closers to record 20-plus saves in
'09...posted more ground balls (77) than fly balls (71) for first time since '06 (101 gb, 92 fb).
Game-By-Game Highlights: Notched the save on Opening Day, April 6 at STL...struck out the side in perfect 9th for
9th save, May 24 at CWS...recorded 25th save on September 13 at HOU.
2008
Led staff in saves and established career high in that department despite missing close to two months
of Major League action due to bursitis in his right shoulder...Went 21-for-26 in save situations and allowed two of his five inherited
runners to score...Held left-handed batters to a .222 average (22-for-99) while righties hit .245 (25-for-102)...Walked two of the six
batters he faced and was charged with three runs on Opening Day in Atlanta; Pirates won the game 12-11 in 12 innings...Made 11
consecutive scoreless appearances from 4/3 thru 5/2 (12.0ip)...Posted 15 straight
saves to start the season before suffering first blown save on 6/10...Pitched careerhigh
3.0 innings on 5/24 vs. Chicago (no runs)...Also struck out in lone plate
appearance on 5/24...Picked up 11th save on 6/2 at St. Louis; his first since
5/17...Earned a save in five consecutive appearances between 6/2-9...Suffered first
blown save on 6/10 vs. Washington; surrendered two-run homer to Lastings Milledge
with two outs in the 9th inning, snapping streak of 16 successful save opportunities
dating back to 2007...Pitched in four straight games from 6/8-11, picking up his 16th
save on 6/11 vs. Washington...Suffered blown saves in back-to-back outings in Baltimore
on 6/14 and 6/15, giving him three blown saves in four appearances from 6/10-15...Received the loss on 6/14 and picked up his
first win of '08 in 6/15 contest...Served up walkoff home run to Ken Griffey Jr. and suffered fourth blown save on 6/30 at Cincinnati;
suffered second straight blown save on 7/1 at Cincinnati...Was diagnosed with bursitis in his right shoulder and internal rotation deficit
after undergoing an MRA in Pittsburgh on 7/2 and was placed on the 15-day disabled list...Threw 25 pitches in a simulated game
in Bradenton on 8/2...Made a rehab start vs. GCL Red Sox on 8/5 and retired the three batters he faced (1 K)...Made second start
with GCL Pirates on 8/8 (1.0ip/2h/1r/0er/0bb/1so)...Was transferred to Double-A Altoona and struck out two of the three batters
he faced at Portland on 8/12...Also whiffed two of the three batters he faced in second appearance with the Curve on 8/14 and
had assignment transferred to Triple-A Indianapolis following the game...Walked three batters while tossing 1.2 scoreless innings in
outing with Indy on 8/17 vs. Durham...Returned to Altoona for final rehab appearance on 8/20 vs. Portland (1.0ip/0r)...Was recalled
from rehab and reinstated from D.L. on 8/23...Tossed a scoreless inning for Pirates on 8/24 - his first game with Pittsburgh since
7/1...Pitched a perfect 9th inning and earned save on 9/2 at Cincinnati - his first save with the Pirates since 6/21...Also retired the
three batters he faced the following day to earn his 19th save...Pitched 2.0 perfect innings in 7-6, 12-inning Bucco victory vs. St.
Louis on 9/13...Earned 20th save on 9/20 vs. Houston - his first at PNC Park since 6/21...Picked up final save on 9/26 at San
Diego...Went 4-for-4 in save situations, posted a 2.70 ERA (13.1ip/4er) and surrendered a hit in just three of his 12 appearances
after being reinstated from D.L....Did not issue a walk in his final 19 games (21.1ip) and walked just three batters in 48 outings
(53.0ip) after walking two on Opening Day...Ended season with 40 career saves to rank tenth on club's all-time list.
2007
Led club in appearances and tied for 14th among N.L. relievers in that department...Ranked fifth among
N.L. relief pitchers in ERA (minimum: 70.0ip)...Held right-handed hitters to a .181 average (32-for-177) and all opposing batters to
a .220 average...Moved into closer's role on 6/1 and converted 18 of his 20 saves from that point on; the fifth-best ratio (90%) in
the majors in that time...Issued just six non-intentional walks...Was a member of Pittsburgh's Opening Day roster for the second
straight year...Tossed a scoreless 9th inning on Opening Day in Houston (4/2) and picked up the victory in Pittsburgh's 4-2, 10-inning
win (his ninth straight win dating back to the 2006 campaign)...Picked up first career hit (an infield single along the first base line)
off Cincinnati's Todd Coffey on 4/8 at Great American Ball Park (was his only plate appearance of the season)...Did not allow a run
in first six appearances (6.1ip) and was scored upon just once in his first 16 outings (15.1ip/1er) thru 5/3....Picked up second victory
with a scoreless inning of work on 4/30 vs. Chicago...Did not allow a run in nine straight outings (8.1ip) before giving up two
runs on 5/5 at Milwaukee...Was ejected from 5/5 contest after hitting Prince Fielder with a pitch (was suspended by Major League
Baseball for four games, but was later reduced to three games)...Had personal 10-game winning streak snapped while also suffering
first blown save after allowing a pair of runs in 1.0ip on 5/16 vs. Florida...Lost second straight decision on 5/19 vs. Arizona
after the Pirates blew a 7-1 lead and lost 9-8...Moved into closer's role on 6/1 and picked up first save the next night vs. Los Angeles
(NL)...Converted each of his first nine save opportunities after moving into closer's role...Retired all six batters he faced and picked
up second win on 6/7 at Washington...Suffered third loss the next night in Pittsburgh's 5-4, 10-inning setback at Yankee Stadium.
...Served his three game suspension from 6/19-21...Did not allow a run in eight appearances (8.0ip) in July, picking up saves on
7/4 and 7/5...Suffered first of two blown saves as the closer on 8/4 vs. Cincinnati...Did not surrender a run in next 12 appearances
thru 8/28 (13.0ip) while going 6-for-6 in save opportunities...Saved both games of a doubleheader vs. Cincinnati on 8/28, the first
Pittsburgh pitcher to do so since Kent Tekulve on 7/22/79 vs. Atlanta...Suffered loss while snapping scoreless streak on 8/30 vs.
Cincinnati...Gave up walk-off home run to Scott Hairston with two outs in the 9th inning at San Diego and suffered seventh loss and
a blown save on 9/19...Was scored upon just three times in his last 36 appearances (36.2ip/7er - 1.72 ERA) and twice in final 22
outings (22.0ip/4er - 1.64 ERA)...Recorded a 0.68 ERA (26.1ip/4r/2er) and held opposing batters to a .183 (17-for-93) average in
26 day games.
2006
Appeared in a club rookie record 85 games; previous mark of 72 was set by Rich Loiselle in 1997...Led all major league rookies in appearances and tied for second among all National League pitchers...Allowed the second-fewest walks among all pitchers in the majors (minimum 80.0 innings)...Won each of his last eight decisions; only Chicago's Carlos Zambrano and New York's Tom Glavine produced a longer winning streak (nine)...Was a member of Pittsburgh's Opening Day roster for first time...Was scored upon in each of his first three games (3.1ip/4er)...Went 13 straight appearances (14.2ip) without allowing a walk from 4/10 to 5/7...Was scored upon just twice in 12 games from 4/12-5/7 (13.2ip/2er), lowering ERA from 10.80 to 3.18...Made eight consecutive scoreless appearances (8.2ip) from 4/21 thru 5/7 before allowing a pair of runs on 5/10 vs. Arizona...Retired 17 of the 19 batters he faced from 4/26 thru 5/7...Suffered a blown save but also picked up his first major league win on 5/12 vs. Florida. ...Suffered first career loss and second blown save on 5/18 vs. Cincinnati...Had a total of four blown saves in seven appearances from 5/12-27...Made 15 consecutive outings without allowing a walk from 5/12 thru 6/13 (12.2ip)...Picked up second win on 6/11 at San Francisco...Tossed 2.0 shutout innings and picked up third win on 7/1 vs. Detroit...Surrendered just two hits (22 at bats) in seven outings from 6/28 thru 7/8...Made 14 consecutive scoreless appearances (15.1ip) before allowing an unearned run on 7/9 at Philadelphia...Tossed a 1-2-3 9th inning to earn first career save on 7/17 vs. Colorado...Had ERA at a season-low 3.10 following his outing on 7/19 vs. Colorado...Suffered sixth blown save on 7/23 at Florida...Was scored upon in seven of his 15 appearances from 7/23 thru 8/22 (13.2ip/9er - 5.93 ERA), raising ERA from 3.10 to 3.68...Picked up fourth win on 8/23 at Atlanta with 200 members of his high school in attendance (entered game with bases loaded and struck out Matt Diaz to end inning)...Issued non-intentional walk on 8/24 vs. Houston - his first since 6/14 vs. St. Louis (a span of 35.2 innings without a non-intentional base on balls). ...Tossed 2.0 innings of a combined 1-0 shutout and picked up sixth win on 9/2 at St. Louis...Was scored upon in three consecutive games from 9/6-13 (1.1ip/6r/5er)...Suffered ninth blown save but picked up win on 9/9 at Cincinnati...Worked 0.2 scoreless frames vs. New York on 9/16 for third win in six appearances...Retired the one batter he faced and picked up the victory in the final game on 10/1 vs. Cincinnati...Went 1-for-10 in save situations and allowed 22 of his 60 inherited runners to score (37%)...The Bucs posted a 24-14 record in his 38 appearances after the All-Star break...Went 0-for-2 with a walk and a run scored as a batter...Made his first major plate appearance on 5/29 vs. Milwaukee and received a walk off righthander Chris Mabeus...Committed two errors; a fielding miscue on 6/27 vs. Chicago (AL) and a throwing miscue on 7/9 at Philadelphia.
2005
Went 3-6 with 21 saves and a 2.44 ERA (73.2ip/20er) in 52 minor league relief appearances during the regular season...His 21 saves ranked third among Pittsburgh farmhands behind Mark Corey (28) and Justin Kaye (22)...Began season with Hickory (A)...Was charged with just two earned runs in his first 14 games thru 5/16 (27.0ip - 0.67 ERA)...Posted a 0.48 ERA (18.2ip/2r/1er) and two saves in nine outings during the month of April...Pitched a season-high 3.1 innings on 5/16 vs. Lake County...Earned seven saves in his 10 appearances in July...Struck out each of the four batters he faced and picked up save in final appearance with Crawdads on 7/28 @West Virginia...Did not surrender a home run while pitching with Hickory...Was promoted to Altoona (AA) on 8/1 and tossed 1.2 scoreless frames in his Double-A debut on 8/2 @Erie...Made three straight scoreless outings (5.1ip) before giving up two runs in a loss vs. Bowie on 8/10...Also suffered loss on 8/14 @Reading...Earned his seven saves with Altoona in his final 11 appearances from 8/16 (game two) thru 9/5...Was scored upon in three straight games from 8/23-30 (3.0ip/5r/4er), but made four consecutive scoreless outings to end the regular season (3.2ip)...Recorded the save in Game Four of the semi-final playoff series vs. Akron on 9/10...Also surrendered one unearned run in Game Five on 9/11 (1.0ip)...Was promoted to Indianapolis (AAA) for the Indians' Championship Series against Toledo...Tossed 2.0 scoreless innings in Game One on 9/13 and was charged with an unearned run in Game Three on 9/15 (0.1ip)...Had contract purchased by Pittsburgh on 9/16...Made major league debut on 9/16 vs. Cincinnati (game one) and was charged with one earned run in 1.0 inning of work...Did not allow a run in his next two appearances (1.2ip) before surrendering one run in final appearance on 9/25 @Los Angeles.
2004
Split season between Hickory (A) and Williamsport (A)...Went 5-8 with a 6.31 ERA in 23 games (19 starts) with the two clubs...Began season as a starter with Hickory and received a no-decision in each of his first four starts...Surrendered 12 hits and eight runs (seven earned) in his first start on 4/8 vs. Lake County (4.0ip)....Posted a 12.46 ERA (17.1ip/38h/26r/24er) in his four starts during the month of April...Suffered first loss on 5/2 @Lake County...Won his two games in back-to-back starts on 5/7 vs. Lakewood and 5/12 @Asheville...Lasted just 1.0 inning in his final start with Crawdads on 5/17 @Greensboro (ND, 8h/8r/6er). ...Tossed 3.0 innings of relief on 5/28 (1r/0er) and made last four appearances with Hickory in relief (9.2ip/19h/13r/9er/5bb/9so). ...Suffered losses on 6/3 vs. Charleston (WV) and 6/13 vs. Kannapolis...Was assigned to Williamsport on 6/18...Picked up victory in first start on 6/19 vs. Brooklyn and went 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA (11.0ip/3er) in first two starts...Pitched 8.1 innings for win @Aberdeen on 7/21...Lost last three decisions after winning for final time on 7/21...Tossed season-high 8.2 frames on 8/11 vs. Aberdeen, but received a no-decision (2r/0er)...Lasted just 0.2 innings in loss vs. Mahoning Valley on 8/31 (7h/7r/7er)...Issued the fewest BB/9.0ip among New York-Penn League starters (0.69).
2003
Spent majority of season with Bradenton (Rookie)...Tied for fifth among Gulf Coast League pitchers in ERA...Was named to the league's post-season All-Star team...Surrendered just one hit and no runs in first start on 6/19 vs. GCL Yankees, but received a no-decision...Picked up first victory in third start on 7/1 vs. GCL Phillies...Went 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA (24.0ip/4er) in first four starts and held opponents to a .159 average in his first six trips to the mound...Suffered lone loss on 7/12 vs. GCL Tigers (5.0ip/2h/2r/2er)...Tossed 7.0-inning complete game vs. GCL Tigers on 7/18 (game one)....Won each of his last four decisions while pitching with Bradenton...Went 4-1 with a 1.70 ERA (37.0ip/7er) in six starts during the month of July...Pitched 8.0 shutout frames on 7/30 vs. GCL Yankees...Was promoted to Lynchburg (A) and made lone start on 8/13 @Kinston...Returned to Gulf Coast League and whiffed 10 batters in final start on 8/19 vs. Yankees (8.1ip/2h/1r/1er)...Was charged with two earned runs or less in all but one of his 10 starts with Bradenton; lone exception came on 8/5 vs. Yankees (5.0ip/5r/3er)...Was named by Baseball America as the 15th best prospect in the GCL following the season.
2002
Spent first professional season with Bradenton after being selected by Pittsburgh in 7th round of June draft...Made debut on 7/23 and picked up victory vs. GCL Orioles...Earned lone save and tossed season-high 3.0 innings on 8/12 vs. GCL Red Sox...Was scored upon in just two of his seven appearances and did not surrender a home run.
