STANDISH, ME – Former Saint Joseph's College pitcher Charlie Furbush (South Portland, ME) earned his first Major League victory in his first appearance on the mound for the Detroit Tigers on Monday night.
Furbush, called up on Saturday to replace the injured Brad Thomas, allowed two hits and a walk with three strikeouts in 3.2 innings of scoreless relief against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday. The 6'5 lefthander entered the game with one out and runners on first and second in the top of the fourth after Tigers starter Phil Coke sprained his ankle.
Furbush walked the first batter he faced, second baseman Sean Rodriguez - on what appeared to be a low strike - to load the bases before fanning first baseman Felipe Lopez and catcher Kelly Shoppach to escape unscathed. Fans at Comerica Park gave Furbush a standing ovation for the effort.
He allowed a lead-off single to Rays shortstop Elliot Johnson in the top of the fifth and Johnny Damon slapped a double to left to lead off the sixth. Furbush struck out center fielder B.J. Upton to close out the fifth inning.
The move to the majors caps Furbush's meteoric rise through the Tigers' system. Drafted by Detroit in the fourth round (151st overall) of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft, Furbush pitched well at two levels during his first professional season but missed the entire 2008 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery during the offseason. He returned in 2009 looking to regain his status as one of the Tigers' top pitching prospects.
That summer, he pitched in 24 games for Lakeland, where he registered a 3.96 ERA with 93 K's and 32 walks in 111.1 innings.
His quick ascent began last summer, when Furbush made appearances at three Minor League levels and tossed 159 innings with 183 K's, 40 walks and a 4.25 earned run average in his fourth minor league season. He posted an 8-9 record in 27 starts and recorded a 1.24 WHIP with 10.4 K/9 and 4.6 K/BB ratios last summer. His strikeout total ranked second among all minor-league pitchers in 2010.
After his breakout season, Furbush was added to Detroit's 40-man roster and was invited to the Tigers' Major League Spring Training camp this spring. He opened eyes during his time in big league camp and was one of the last players to be sent to the Minors after striking out 13 in 11.2 innings over five relief appearances during his Spring Training stint.
While at Triple-A Toledo this season, Furbush posted a 4-3 record with a 2.91 ERA and 55 K's in 46.1 innings. He led the International League in strikeouts and WHIP (0.93) through eight starts before being called up.
Recruited by St. Joe's Head Coach Will Sanborn '86 out of South Portland High School, Furbush was a two-way player for the Monks for two seasons before transferring to NCAA DI powerhouse Louisiana State University for the 2007 season. In two years at St. Joe's, Furbush went 17-2 and notched a 2.38 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP and an astounding 12.2 K/9 ratio with 185 K's and just 33 walks in 136.1 innings.
As a sophomore at St. Joe's, Furbush earned ABCA Second Team All-America, First Team All-NAC, NAC Player of the Year, NEIBA All-New England and NCBWA New England Pitcher of the Year honors. That year he went 10-1 with a 2.89 ERA and fanned a program-record 115 batters in 74.2 innings. He led all of NCAA DIII Baseball with a 13.9 K/9 rate and was second in the NCAA- across all levels - in the pitching category behind just one hurler: Washington's Tim Lincecum, the two-time Cy Young Award winner for the 2010 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants.
As one of the Monks' top hitters, Furbush hit .340 (83-244) with 54 runs, 14 doubles, three home runs and 50 RBI over two seasons.
He currently owns the program's career records for ERA (2.38), K/9 rate (12.2) and WHIP (0.95) and set single-season records for wins (10), strikeouts (115) and K/9 (13.9). Furbush helped lead the St. Joe's Baseball program to it's first-ever NCAA DIII Tournament appearance in 2006 and registered a victory against Bowdoin in his only tourney start.
His talent was discovered during two seasons with Hyannis in the Cape Cod Baseball League, considered by many to be the finest college summer league in the nation. In 2005, he showed flashes of his ability with 55 K's in 50 innings but his coming out party came in the summer of 2006, when he went 3-2 with a 1.83 ERA, 50 K's and 13 walks in 54 innings. He threw 133 pitches and fanned 12 batters in a no-hit performance and garnered the John Claffey New England Top Player Award that summer.
In one season with LSU, Furbush went 3-9 with a 4.95 ERA and 88 K's in 87 innings as one of the Tigers' top starters.
More:
Rookie Charlie Furbush stellar in relief, Tigers beat Rays - Lynn Henning, Detroit News
Tigers need help from rookies Charlie Furbush, Andy Dirks - Michael Rosenberg, Detroit Free Press
Furbush collects a victory in debut - Portland Press Herald
Prospect of the Day: Charlie Furbush, LHP, Detroit Tigers - Minor League Ball
Charlie Furbush dazzles in debut, Tigers get over .500 - Lynn Henning, Detroit News
Mainer gets first win in majors - WCSH Channel 6 (includes video interview)
Path to the Show: Furbush - MLB.com video interview
First big league strikeout - MLB.com video highlight
