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Ron Tugwell

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

West Springfield's Joe Saunders Debuts with the Orioles

Saunders is slated to take the mound Wednesday, three days after being traded to Baltimore by Arizona.

West Springfield High School graduate Joe Saunders will debut with the Baltimore Orioles Wednesday night, as they continue their four-game series against the Chicago White Sox. Saunders was traded on Sunday by the Diamondbacks, in return for reliever Matt Lindstrom. The Orioles are making a run for the playoffs, something they have not reached since 1997, and the team wanted a veteran pitcher who can help them get there. “We’ve liked Joe Saunders for quite awhile,” said Baltimore general manager Dan Duquette. “He’s pitched in the American League. He’s pitched in the playoffs. He’s pitched in a tough ballpark in Arizona. And we just like his experience," he said. "I also like the fact that he’s left-handed," added Duquette. "I think that …

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

West Springfield Grad Joe Saunders Set to Pitch Against the Nats

The Diamondbacks pitcher says he's not getting caught-up in the Bryce Harper hype.

Bryce Harper, 19, the rookie slugger for the Washington Nationals, will most likely face some tough left-handed pitchers during his career in the Major Leagues. And among the first may be Joe Saunders, who is no stranger to baseball fans in Northern Virginia. Saunders is a former standout pitcher at West Springfield High School who played at Virginia Tech before he was a first-round draft pick of the Angels in 2002. Now a left-handed starter for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Saunders is slated to take the mound against Washington at Nationals Park on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. "You want to go out and pitch well. You want to go out there and keep them in check," Saunders told Patch, sitting in front of his locker before Tuesday's game in which the …

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