IL1 International League

International League Names Players Of The Week

Published on May 18, 2009 under International League (IL1) News Release


The International League announced today that Durham first baseman Chris Richard and Louisville pitcher Matt Maloney have been named the League's Batter and Pitcher of the Week for the period from May 11-17. Richard is the first Durham player to win an IL weekly award in 2009, while Maloney makes Louisville the first team to have three players be so honored this season.

CHRIS RICHARD, Durham Bulls IL BATTER OF THE WEEK

Durham first baseman Chris Richard knocked in an IL-best 13 runs this week, 8 of which came Friday night when he became the first International League player in more than half a century to hit two grand slams in one game. Richard, who entered Friday's affair with a 7-game hitting streak, helped the Bulls to an unforgettable comeback win over Louisville. The Bats led the Bulls 8-3 in the bottom of the 8th when Richard clubbed a one-out grand slam off of Pedro Viola to bring Durham to within a run. After tying the game in the 9th, and again in the 10th, Durham finally won in the 11th when Richard crushed a two-out walk-off grand slam to give the Bulls a dramatic 13-9 victory. It was the second time in three days Richard homered to beat Louisville. He completed the scoring in Wednesday's game with a two-run homer in the 7th inning to give the Bulls a 4-3 victory. For the week, Richard paced the IL with 13 RBI, 12 hits, and 8 extra-base hits, while also finishing near the top with a .429 average (3rd), three home runs (T-2nd), 6 runs scored (T-4th), and a .929 slugging percentage (2nd).

34-year-old Chris Richard is in his third season in the Tampa Bay organization after signing as a free agent in December of 2006. He is a two-time Triple-A All-Star (Memphis, 2000 and Durham, 2008). Last season Richard was 3rd in the International League with 26 home runs and 88 RBI. He's also spent time in the IL with Rochester (2002) and Indianapolis (2006). Richard is a native of San Diego.

G AVG H AB R 2B 3B HR RBI SLUG BB SB

Week: 7 .429 12 28 6 5 0 3 13 .929 2 0

Season: 33 .281 34 121 21 10 0 9 29 .587 18 0

MATT MALONEY, Louisville Bats IL PITCHER OF THE WEEK

Southpaw Matt Maloney posted a 0.64 ERA in 14.0 innings this week, striking out 15 while allowing just 2 walks and 10 hits, but he has just a 1-1 record to show for it. Maloney set the tone for his week early Monday night against the IL's winningest team, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, as he struck out the first four Yankees he faced. Maloney went on to shut out Scranton/WB over 7.0 innings, allowing just four hits and one walk while fanning ten, and the Bats prevailed 3-0. Saturday night against IL South-leading Norfolk, Maloney was only slightly less dominant. He surrendered his lone run of the week in the 1st inning when Matt Wieters tripled and was singled home by Oscar Salazar. Neither team scored again the rest of the evening. Maloney, who ended up on the short end of the decision, allowed just four more hits the rest of the way, striking out five and walking one in 7.0 innings. For the week, Maloney tied for the League-lead with 15 strikeouts and was 2nd with 14.0 innings pitched. Now tied for 3rd in the League with 44.1 IP on the season, Maloney is 3-2 with a 2.64 ERA.

25-year-old Matt Maloney was acquired by Cincinnati in the 2007 trade with Philadelphia for Kyle Lohse. Since making his Triple-A debut that season for Louisville, Maloney has posted a 16-8 record with a 4.06 ERA in 35 starts for the Bats. Last season he finished 4th in the IL with 132 strikeouts. Maloney is a native of Sandusky, Ohio.

G GS CG SHO W-L ERA IP H R ER BB K SV

Week: 2 2 0 0 1-1 0.64 14.0 10 1 1 2 15 0

Season: 7 7 1 0 3-2 2.64 44.1 44 14 13 6 38 0

Check out the International League Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



International League Stories from May 18, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central