by Pim Van Nes
After having lost their first games in Major League season 2008, both FLORIDA MARLINS and ATLANTA BRAVES booked their first victory with a Dutch starting pitcher. In game two, the MARLINS beat the NEW YORK METS 5-4 with Rick van den Hurk as starting pitcher, who kept the Mets scoreless during his first three innings. In their game three on last night the BRAVES sent their debuting pitcher Jair Jurrjens to the mound of Turner Field in Atlanta. The second Dutchman kept the PITTSBURGH PIRATES scoreless during the first five innings and the Braves got their first victory: 10-2.
Robert Eenhoorn picked the two pitchers for the national team of the Netherlands, which is heading for the Haarlem Honkbalweek and the Beijing Olympics. As long as they are part of the 25 men roster of their Major League clubs, it will be out of question that the two 2007 Major League debutants can help their compatriots during the two 2008 tournaments. However in the 2009 version of the World Baseball Classic Van den Hurk and Jurrjens are supposed to be available for Eenhoorn’s selection. Recently Van den Hurk declared to have two dreams to come true: playing in the World Series and playing in the orange uniform of the Netherlands national team.
Last Tuesday Van den Hurk opened in the Dolphin Stadium of Miami with one single out of the first four NEW YORK batters. He came back on the mound in the second with a 2-0 lead for the Marlins and faced five batters, who produced a walk and a single. Batting pitcher Pedro Martinez became the third out with a strikeout after twelve pitches including seven foul balls. With a 4-0 lead for the MARLINS Van den Hurk defended the Miami mound versus four batters in the third, allowing only one single. During those first three innings he collected three strikeouts, one walk and scattered three singles.
In the fourth frame he conceded three singles on a row before the first out was made. Leading 4-1 manager Fredi Gonzalez sent reliever Renyel Pinto to the MARLINS mound. Resting in the dugout Van den Hurk saw the METS coming back to tie the contest 4-4 in the fifth inning, but the 15,000 attendance applauded the game winning two-out-two-strike homerun by substitute Robert Andino in the bottom of the tenth inning for a final score of 5-4.
The BRAVES opened the 2008 season in Washington with starter Tim Hudson (tenth Major League deployment) but lost 2-3 to the NATIONALS. In ATLANTA Tommy Glavine started his 22nd Major League season back home with a 4-2 lead in five innings, but the BRAVES lost again 11-12 in twelve innings versus the PITTSBURGH PIRATES. Last fall the BRAVES acquired Dutch pitcher Jair Jurrjens from the DETROIT TIGERS (7 starts, 3 wins and 1 loss, 4.70 era). Last night BRAVES game three was Jurrjens debut for his new club in front of an attendance of 18.000 in Atlanta. He presented the Pirates with strikeouts in each of his first four innings, limiting the number of batters to four, three, four and five scoreless batters. His fifth inning was his fastest with three groundouts to first baseman Mark Teixeira.
At that time the BRAVES were leading 3-0, but Jurrjens‘ first sixth inning of the season turned out too much for the 22-year-old from Willemstad. A coaching trip to the mound with the bases loaded in the sixth was followed by a two-run-single. Only then manager Bobby Cox sent reliever Jeff Bennett to replace Jurrjens. Bennett immediately created a double play closing the inning with a 3-2 lead for the Braves. After seven more Atlanta runs in the eighth the 10-2 final victory meant the pitcher’s win for Jurrjens with five strikeouts, one walk and six hits in 5 1/3 innings.
by Pim van Nes
Baseball writer for
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