Strike 3 Foundation

The Strike 3 Foundation heightens awareness, mobilizes support, and raises funding for childhood cancer research.

Craig Breslow Career Highlights

2014

Craig Breslow, Boston Red SoxHighlights: Made 60 appearances for BOS, 5th most on the staff despite missing the 1st week of the season while on the DL...Began the season on the disabled list with a mild left shoulder strain...Made 3 scoreless appearances (1 start) during a rehab assignment at Triple-A Pawtucket before being activated on 4/9...Threw 1.0 scoreless inning in his season debut on 4/10 at NYY...Had a 3.91 ERA (11 ER/25.1 IP) in 28 games on the road compared to a 7.71 ERA (25 ER/29.0 IP) in 32 at Fenway...Pitched more than 1.0 inning 10 times and posted a 2.25 ERA (4 ER/16.0 IP) in those games...Stranded 14 of 16 inherited runners...Made 10 straight scoreless appearances, 5/2-24 (9.2 IP) and held opponents to a .188 AVG (6-for-32) in that span...Had 4 separate appearances in which he allowed at least 4 ER...All together, those 4 games amounted to 18 of his total 36 ER allowed on the season...Earned the win in consecutive team games, both against CIN at Fenway Park, 5/6-7...Threw a scoreless 10th inning to record the save on 8/25 at TOR...Was his 1st save since 10/3/10 for OAK at SEA.

2013

Craig Breslow, Boston Red SoxHighlights: Began the season on the 15-day disabled list with left shoulder tendinitis...Made 5 rehab appearances between both Double-A Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket. Reinstated from the DL on 5/6 and made his season debut that night vs. MIN (1.0 IP, SO). Made 61 appearances after his activation on 5/6 which were 6th most among AL pitchers (T-8th in MLB) beginning on that date. No runs allowed in 52 of his 61 appearances...Had 23 perfect appearances, 2nd most on the staff. His 5 wins tied for the lead among Sox relievers and were his most since a single-season career-high 8 in 2009 with OAK and MIN. Was 3-1 with a 0.56 ERA (2 ER/32.1 IP) in 29 appearances on the road and 28 of those appearances were scoreless... Was 2-1 with a 3.29 ERA (10 ER/27.1 IP) in 32 games at Fenway Park. Threw more than 1.0 inning 14 times (4-1, 1.14 ERA, 3 ER/23.2 IP)...Pitched 2.0 or more innings 5 times. Earned his 1st win of the season in the Sox' 6-5 walk-off victory over CLE on 5/26...BOS trailed 5-2 entering the bottom of the 9th inning. Posted a career-best 16-game scoreless streak (13.2 IP), 7/22-8/31...Held opponents to a .140 AVG (6-for-43) over that span...All 12 of his appearances in the month of August were scoreless (8.2 IP). Went 2-0 with a 0.35 ERA (1 ER/25.2 IP), 12 H, 9 BB, 14 SO, .146 opp. AVG (12-for-82), and a 0.82 WHIP over his final 28 appearances of the season beginning 7/22. Each of his final 11 appearances of the season were scoreless (11.0 IP) and held opponents to a .143 AVG (5-for- 35)...Lowered his ERA from 2.22 on 9/1 to 1.81 at the season's end.

2012

Craig Breslow, Boston Red SoxHighlights: Split the season between ARI and BOS...Acquired by the Red Sox at the 7/31 trade deadline for RHP Matt Albers and OF Scott Podsednik. Held left-handed batters to a .222 AVG (24-for-108) overall...Posted a .074 opponent clip (2-for-27) vs. the AL East while tossing 9.2 scoreless frames over 10 outings against the division. Began the year with the D-backs and went 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA (13 ER/43.1 IP) in 40 relief outings...Fanned 42 batters with ARI, 8th-most among left-handed NL relievers at the time of the trade...16 of his 1st 18 appearances were scoreless, including 8 straight from 5/2-18 (9.1 IP). Made 300th career appearance on 4/17 vs. PIT. Tossed a season-high 2.1 innings on 4/20 vs. ATL (0 R), his 6th career outing of more than 2.0 innings. Did not walk a batter in a career-high 11 consecutive games from 5/29-7/ 2 (11.2 IP). 27 of his last 31 games were scoreless beginning at the start of July (2.22 ERA, 7 ER/28.1 IP)...Recorded 36 K's over 33.0 IP over his last 34 tilts beginning 6/23. Tallied at least 1 strikeout in a career-high 7 straight outings from 7/15-8/1 (10 K's), with the last of those appearances coming with BOS. Added to Red Sox active roster on 8/1 and appeared in 23 games with BOS, posting a 2.70 ERA (6 ER/20.0 IP) and holding opponents to a .206 AVG (14-for-68) with 19 K's...Allowed runs in just 3 outings with the Sox. Recorded 5 holds with the Sox, tied for the club lead beginning 7/31 (also Tazawa). Tossed 9.0 scoreless frames over 10 games to end the season beginning 9/2, holding opponents to .143 clip (4-for-28) with 9 K's during that span...15 of his final 16 outings of 2012 were scoreless beginning on 8/15 and had 15 strikeouts in that time (2.45 ERA, 4 ER/14.2 IP).

2011

Craig Breslow, Oakland AthleticsHighlights: Was 0-2 with a 3.79 ERA (25 ER in 59.1 IP) in 67 appearances in his second full season with the A's...his .296 (69-for-233) opponents average and 3.79 ERA marked career highs...Led all relief pitchers with a career-high 5 pickoffs and topped American League relievers in caught stealing (7)...also ranked 11th in the AL in inherited runners scored percent (21.1, 8-of-38)...Right-handers hit .261 (37-for-142) compared to .352 (32-for-91) vs. left-handers...Had a 3.06 ERA (11 ER in 32.1 IP) prior to the All-Star Break and a 4.67 ERA (14 E R in 27.0 IP) after...Compiled a pair of 11-game scoreless streaks (April 13- May 3 and June 11-July 15), tying his career high.

2010

Craig Breslow, 2010 Roberto Clemente AwardHighlights: Made a team-leading 75 appearances for the A's, registering a 4-4 mark with five saves and 3.01 ERA... the games pitched tied for the fifth highest single season total in Oakland history...also set an Oakland record for strikeouts by a left-handed reliever with 71...broke the previous mark of 69 set by Bob Lacey in 1977...ranked second among American League relievers in appearances, tied for fourth in innings pitched (74.2), tied for sixth in strikeouts and 10th in opponents batting average (.194)...the opponents batting average was a career low and marked his second consecutive season under .200...now has a .204 opponents average in his career...also had a career low .272 on-base percentage while posting career-highs in saves, innings pitched, hits (53), strikeouts and home runs (9)...matched his high in walks (29)...the nine home runs tied for eighth most among AL relievers...first batters faced were 9 for 69 (.130) with six walks (.200 on-base percentage)...the batting average was sixth lowest in the AL and the on-base percentage tied for sixth...tied for second in first batter strikeouts (23)...allowed 7 of 33 (21.2%) inherited runners to score, which was the seventh lowest percentage in the AL...his opponents batting average broke down to .181 (17 for 94) against left-handed hitters and .201 (36 for 179) against right-handers...allowed a .236 average with runners in scoring position but opponents were 0 for 11 with no RBI with the bases loaded...the 11 at-bats were the most among major league pitchers that did not allow a RBI with the bases loaded and were the most by an AL pitcher with no RBI since the stat was tracked beginning in 1974...opponents are 2 for 30 (.067) with six RBI with the bases loaded in his career...compiled a 5.17 ERA in 18 appearances on no days rest, a 2.44 ERA in his other 57 games... now has a 3.91 career ERA on no days rest and 2.56 ERA with one day of rest or more...had a 2.48 ERA on the road compared to 3.63 in Oakland, where he allowed six of his nine home runs...did not yield a run in his only appearance against Detroit and has not allowed a run in 11 career outings against the Tigers (11.0 ip)...tossed at least one inning in 56 of his 75 outings, including a season-high 2.0 three times.

2009

Craig Breslow with OaklandHighlights: Began the season with Minnesota and had a 6.28 ERA in 17 appearances when he was claimed off waivers by the A's May 20...went 7-5 with a 2.60 ERA in 60 games with Oakland and combined for an 8-7 record and a 3.36 ERA in 77 appearances overall...the games pitched were a career high and second most in the American League...his losses tied for the lead among AL relievers but he ranked second in wins...his .197 opponents batting average tied for 10th lowest...now has a .209 (109 for 521) opponents batting average in his career...allowed 12 of 50 (24.0%) inherited runners to score, which was 10th lowest in the AL...has allowed 26 of 118 (22.0%) to score in his career...was 1-4 with a 4.46 ERA in 44 appearances before the All-Star Break but then went 7-3 with a 2.29 ERA in 33 games after the break... the seven post-break wins led the A's pitching staff and tied for eighth among all AL pitchers...the ERA tied for fourth lowest in the AL among pitchers with at least 35.0 post-break innings...his opponents batting average included a .191 (26 for 136) mark against right-handed hitters and .204 (22 for 108) against left-handers...allowed a .143 average with runners in scoring position and opponents are batting .154 (24 for 156) against him with RISP for his career...first batters faced hit .302 (19 for 63) with 11 walks (.405 on-base percentage)...the walks tied for second most in the AL...tied for the AL lead in first batter grounded into double plays (4) and tied for third in home runs (4)...compiled a 1.35 ERA in 28 games in the Coliseum, fanning 26 in 26.2 innings...had a 4.60 ERA with 29 strikeouts in 43.0 innings in 49 games in all other ballparks...now has a 1.41 ERA (5 er in 32.0 ip) in 32 career appearances in Oakland...had a 4.29 ERA in 25 outings on no days rest and a 2.96 ERA in 52 appearances with at least one day of rest...allowed a .478 batting average against the opponents number one hitter in the order and .167 against everyone else...tossed less than one inning in 31 of his 77 outings while throwing a season high 2.0 innings four times.

2008

Craig Breslow with MinnesotaHighlights: Claimed off waivers by Cleveland from Boston March 23made Cleveland debut at Oakland on April 4 working 1.1 scoreless inningstossed 8.1 innings allowing three runs on 10 hits with five walks and seven strikeouts in seven appearances with the Indiansfive of those seven appearances with the Indians were scorelesstossed 2.0 innings, allowing three hits with three strikeouts, May 10 vs. Torontodesignated for assignment by Cleveland on May 23claimed off waivers by the Twins from Cleveland on May 29made Twins debut, tossing 1.2 innings with three strikeouts, May 31 vs. New York (AL)did not allow a run in 11 appearances (10.2 ip), May 31-June 30tossed a season-high 3.0 scoreless innings and recorded his first career save, August 29 at Oaklandposted a 0.55 ERA (16.1 ip, 1 er) in 18 appearances from August 16-September 25opponents hit just .148 during the spantied career-high three strikeouts, September 13 at Baltimorepitched a scoreless inning in back-to-back games vs. the White Sox, September 24 and 25 (he retired all six batters he faced in the series)did not allow a run in 13 appearances in September (9.0 innings)allowed just 8 of his 42 inherited runners to score.

2007

Craig Breslow as Pawtucket All-StarHighlights: Pitched exclusively for Triple-A Pawtucket, earning mid-season International League All-Star honors for the 2nd straight seasonRanked 3rd on the club with 49 appearances (all but one as a reliever), going 2-3 with a 4.06 ERAStruck out 73 in 68.2 innings, an average of 9.6 Ks per 9 inningsWas a September 1 call-up to Boston, but did not pitch before being optioned back to Pawtucket the following day. In 2007 was again selected to represent the Paw Sox at the Triple A all star game. Craig pitched 2/3 scoreless inning including the pick off of a baserunner.

Inside the Numbers: Enjoyed most of his success in the first half of the season, posting a 1.85 ERA (9 ER/43.2 IP) in 29 games before the All-Star break and a 7.92 ERA (22 ER/25.0 IP) in 20 appearances after the breakHad ERAs of 2.13 in April, 0.61 in May, 2.03 in June, 9.00 in July, 6.17 in August and 6.75 in SeptemberWas scored upon in 10 of his final 16 outings of the seasonHad a streak of 12.1 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run from June 14-July 3 (9 appearances), but lifted his ERA from 1.48 to 4.06 over his final 21 outings (24 ER/26.0 IP)Held the opposition to a .208 average (30-144) with the bases empty, but was hit at a .325 clip (40-123) with runners on, including a .321 mark (26-81) mark with runners in scoring position and .667 (4-6) with the bases loadedWorked more than 1.0 inning in 24 of his 48 relief appearances, including a season-high 3.0 innings 3 times (excluding a 3.0-inning start in Game 2 of a doubleheader on August 9 at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre).

More highlights: Recorded at least one strikeout in 35 of his 49 games, including a season- high 5 punchouts in 2.0 innings on June 26 vs. NorfolkAlso fanned 4 batters in an outing on 5 occasionsEarned a save and a win in his 3rd and 4th appearances of the season, respectively (April 11 and 19), and then did not record another victory until August 21Allowed one hit in 0.2 scoreless innings in the Triple-A All-Star Game on July 11 in Albuquerque, NMHis start on August 9 (1 ER/3.0 IP) was the first of his professional career after 231 relief outings.

2006

Craig Breslow with BostonWith Boston: Had 3 separate stints with Boston, going a combined 0-2 with 3 holds and a 3.75 ERA (5 ER/12.0 IP) in 13 relief appearanceshad 12 strikeouts n his 12.0 innings9 of his 13 outings came at Fenway Park, where he posted a 3.00 ERA (3 ER/9.0 IP) with all 12 of his strikeoutsoriginally had his contract purchased from Pawtucket on July 13 and made his Red Sox debut the following night vs. Oakland, allowing just one hit with 2 strikeouts in 1.2 inningswas optioned back to Pawtucket the next day before being recalled on August 14pitched that night vs. Detroit, fanning 3 in 1.2 scoreless innings, but was again optioned to Pawtucket on August 18earned a September 1 call-up to Boston, where he stayed for the remainder of the seasonappeared in 11 games with the Sox to close the year, going 0-2 with a 5.19 ERA (5 ER/8.2 IP) allowed one run in 1.0 inning to suffer his first career big league loss on September 9 vs. Kansas Cityhowever, recorded all 3 of his outs via the strikeout in that gamealso took the loss in night game of September 16 split doubleheader at Yankee Stadium, giving up 2 runs in 0.1 innings.

With Pawtucket: Went 7-1 with 7 saves and a 2.69 ERA (20 ER/67.0 IP) in 39 relief appearances with Pawtucket and was selected as the team's Most Valuable Pitcher in a vote of his teammateswas also Pawtucket's lone representative on the International League team for the 2006 Triple- A All-Star Game (did not pitch)led the PawSox in appearances and ranked 2nd in saves while holding opposing batters to a .200 averagehad 77 strikeouts in 67.0 innings, an average of 10.3 Ks per 9 inningsdid not allow an earned run in his final 11 appearances covering 17.1 innings, going 2-0 with 2 saves in that span.

Inside the Numbers: Did not allow a run in his first 4 big league games (4.1 innings) before being charged with 2 runs in 1.0 inning on September 3 vs. Torontooverall, pitched scoreless ball in 10 of his 13 big league outingswith Pawtucket, held lefties to a .179 (10-for-56) average and righties to a .206 (39-for-189) markallowed just 3 homers in 67.0 Triple-A innings and did not give up a long ball in his 13 big league appearances.

2005

Craig Breslow's Major League debutWith San Diego: Made his major league debut with 3 separate stints with the Padres, posting no record and a 2.20 ERA (4 ER/16.1 IP) in 14 games out of the bullpenwith San Diego, limited left-handed hitters to a .063 (1-for-16) averageaveraged 8.1 Ks per 9 innings between Double-A Mobile, Triple-A Portland and San Diego, recording 70 strikeouts in 77.2 inningsbegan the season with Mobile, going 2-1 with a 2.90 ERA (16 ER/49.2 IP) in 39 relief appearances to earn a July 23 promotion to San Diegomade his big league debut that night in Philadelphia, striking out 3 in 1.2 innings of scoreless reliefwas optioned back to Mobile the following day before being recalled by the Padres 5 days laterwas optioned to Triple-A Portland on August 11, and he made 7 appearances before his 3rd recall to San Diego September 1.

2004

Highlights: Began his 3rd season in the Brewers organization with Single-A High Desert, going 1-3 with a 7.19 ERA in 23 games before being released July 6signed with the New Jersey Jackals of the Independent Northeast League in late July, and went on to post a 3-1 record with a save and a 4.10 ERA in 19 gamesheld Northeast League foes to a .204 average and recorded 37 strikeouts in 26.1 innings, an average of 12.6 Ks per 9 inningsdid not allow a run in his first 6 games (9.1 IP) with the Jackals.

2003

Highlights: Averaged 11.1 strikeouts per 9 innings for Single-A Beloit, fanning 80 batters in 65.0 inningsissued only 27 walks for a 3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratioheld Midwest League batters to a .254 average and surrendered only 4 home runs in 65.0 innings, an average of one homer per 16.1 inningsposted a 3.86 ERA (12 ER/28.0 IP) and a .204 opponents average in 15 games on the road, but owned a 6.08 ERA (25 ER/37.0 IP) and a .292 batting average against in 18 outings at home.

2002

Highlights: Ranked 5th in the Pioneer League with 6 wins in his first professional campaign, going 6-2 with a 1.82 ERA (11 ER/54.1 IP) in 23 appearances out of the pen for Rookie-level Ogdenstruck out 56 in 54.1 innings and limited the opposition to a .218 averageallowed just 2 earned runs in his final 6 games (13.1 IP), collecting 2 wins and a save, striking out 17 and walking only 3.

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The Strike 3 Foundation heightens awareness, mobilizes support, and raises funding for childhood cancer research.

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