Brian Matusz of the Bowie Baysox is named the Eastern League's Player of the Month for July
August 7, 2009 - Eastern League (EL1) News Release
Portland, ME - The Eastern League is pleased to announce that Bowie Baysox starting pitcher Brian Matusz has been selected as the Eastern League Player of the Month for the month of July, edging out Akron catcher Carlos Santana for the award. Brian had an outstanding month for the Baysox, posting a perfect record of 5-0 with 30 strikeouts and a 1.85 ERA in five starts during the month. The 6'5", 200 lb. southpaw did not allow a run in three of the five starts he made during the month and allowed four hits or less in all but one of his appearances during the month. His five wins during the month was the second highest total among all pitchers in the league and he ranked third in the league in strikeouts (30) and fourth in ERA (1.85) during the month. The 22-year old was especially impressive in his first two starts of the month. He kicked off his month by throwing a four-hit shutout in a 3-0 victory over the Akron Aeros in the opening game of a doubleheader at Prince George's Stadium on July 2nd. Matusz was even more impressive in his second start of the month, striking out 11 batters without a walk while limiting the Harrisburg Senators to just one hit over eight shutout innings in a 6-0 win at Prince George's Stadium on July 7th. His performance in that game earned him Eastern League Pitcher of the Week honors for the week ending July 12th.
The Grand Junction, Colorado native earned a win in each of his first seven starts with the Baysox following his promotion from the Class-A Frederick Keys on June 15th. The Orioles were so impressed with his performance with Bowie that they promoted Matusz to Baltimore, where he made his Major League debut against the Detroit Tigers on August 4th. He gave up one run on six hits and three walks while striking out five batters over five innings to earn the win as the Orioles downed the Tigers 8-2 at Comerica Park.
Brian, who entered the season ranked by Baseball America as the third best prospect in the Orioles organization, was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the first round of the 2008 draft as the fourth overall pick after posting a record of 12-2 with 141 strikeouts and a 1.71 ERA in 105 innings pitched during his junior season at the University of San Diego.
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- Brian Matusz of the Bowie Baysox is named the Eastern League's Player of the Month for July - EL1
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