Bidding farewell to local arms

The following are highlights from the 2012 season for local athletes playing Major League Baseball.

ESTRADA MAKES

PITCH TO BE STARTER

At the onset of the 2012 season, the Milwaukee Brewers seemed to be set on using former Glendale Community College standout Marco Estrada as a long reliever/spot starter out of the bullpen.

The club may have to reassess those plans going forward, as Estrada proved himself to be a more than viable option for every-fifth-day duty when he was thrust into the Brewers’ rotation after returning from a stint on the disabled list due to a strained right quadriceps on June 26.

Sitting at 0-3 with a 4.50 earned-run average to that point, Estrada went on to finish the season 5-7 with a 3.64 ERA, striking out 143 batters to just 29 walks. He finished the year out on a dominant run in which he went 5-2 over his last eight starts with a 2.03 earned-run average over 48 2/3 innings.

Estrada, who is currently eligible for salary arbitration, flirted with a shutout in his final start of the season on Sept. 29 at home against the Houston Astros. He held the Astros scoreless on four hits and a walk while fanning 11 through eight innings, but did not come back out for the ninth after throwing 114 pitches.

“To finish the regular season like that, it was amazing,” Estrada told mlb.com. following the Brewers’ 9-5 win.

That win kept Milwaukee (83-79 for third in the National League Central) in contention for a wild-card spot, but ultimately the Brewers would fall short in their bid to reach the postseason after making it as far as the NLCS the previous year.

McCARTHY PITCHES

WELL, WHEN HEALTHY

Glendale native Brandon McCarthy pitched as well as he ever has in his seven–year Major League career in 2012 and led the A’s staff when he was healthy. Unfortunately for the big right-hander, his pattern of being injury prone — and in one particular case, just plain unlucky — continued to plague him.

McCarthy wasn’t a factor in Oakland’s remarkable surge to overtake the favored Texas Rangers and claim the American League West Division title, as he made his last appearance of the season on Sept. 5 against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in a game where he was struck in the head with a batted ball.

A CT scan performed later that day showed McCarthy had suffered a skull fracture, brain contusion and epidural hemorrhage and he underwent surgery to relieve pressure in his head on Sept. 6.