Stephen Zachary (Zach) Day graduated from LaSalle High in Cincinnati in 1996...named prep player of the year in Cincinnati in 1995...attended the University of Cincinnati...Resides in Cincinnati with his wife, Megan.
2006
Split his season between the Colorado and Washington organizations, recording
a 2-5 record with a 6.75 ERA in 8 combined starts....Was 1-2 with a 10.80 ERA in 3 starts for Colorado before being released on
April 21....Claimed by Nationals on April 26 and made 5 starts for Washington, posting a
1-3 mark with a 4.73 ERA before being shut down following his May 22 start
with right shoulder tendinitis...Underwent season-ending surgery to repair a partial tear in his right rotator
cuff on June 6...the surgery was performed by Dr. Tim Kremchek.
2005
A member of the Washington Nationals to begin the year, Zach was traded for the 3rd time in his career on the day after the All-Star Game...had 2 stints with the Rockies after being acquired before his season was ended by a fractured right thumb...sustained the injury during the 3rd start of his 2nd stint with Colorado on Sept. 16 at Arizona, as he took a Craig Counsell liner off his right hand while attempting to catch the ball...maintained control of the liner to record the out, which was hit on Day's 2nd pitch of the game, but had to leave the contest as it would be his last pitch of the season...was placed on the 60-day disabled list on Sept. 21 to make room on 40-man roster for pitcher Mike Esposito...marked 3rd straight season to spend time on the DL, as his number of major league appearances has declined in each of those years...overall for the season, went 1-3, 6.85 (47.1 ip, 36 er) in 17 games/8 starts with Washington and Colorado...was 1-3, 5.45 (36.1 ip, 22 er) in 8 starts and 0-0, 11.45 (11.0 ip, 14 er) in 9 relief appearances...had a 4.15 ERA (26.0 ip, 12 er) in 7 games/4 starts in home parks, and a 10.13 figure (21.1 ip, 24 er) in 10 games/4 starts on the road...stranded his only inherited runner in relief...first batters were 0-for-6 with 3 walks...started the Nats' 2nd game of the season on April 6 at Philadelphia, taking no decision in club's eventual win...5 of first 6 outings with Washington were starts, lone relief effort coming April 16 vs. Arizona...in 3rd start on April 20, tossed 7.0 scoreless innings in a combined shutout against the Braves, longest outing of the year...last 6 appearances with Nats were in relief...was placed on disabled list on May 31, retroactive to May 26, with a hairline fracture in his right radius (arm)...the injury canceled Day's option to minors on May 26...injury occurred when Reds' Ken Griffey Jr. hit a line drive on May 23 in Cincinnati that struck Day on the wrist...Day picked the ball up and threw out Griffey to end the inning...initial X-rays were negative and Day pitched 2 days later before the injury was discovered...was on a rehab assignment with Harrisburg (AA) when traded...added to major league roster when he joined Colorado...made 2 relief appearances before option to Triple-A July 25...made Colorado debut in relief July 16 at Cincinnati, allowing an unearned run in 1.0 inning...endured some inflammation in his right shoulder after being acquired...made 7 starts for Sky Sox, going 2-3 with a 5.89 ERA (36.2 ip, 24 er) with 17 strikeouts against 15 walks...made consecutive quality starts Aug. 20 vs. Tucson and Aug. 25 vs. Salt Lake, earning his 2 wins in those contests...was recalled Sept. 4 and started that night at LA, taking no decision in Rockies' comeback win despite allowing just 2 runs in 5.0 innings...took loss in next start Sept. 10 vs. Arizona...was knocked out of final start Sept. 16 at Arizona after 2 pitches when struck by a line drive and would end season on the disabled list...marked 2nd-fewest pitches by a starter in a game in Rockies franchise history, behind only Pedro Astacio's one pitch on Sept. 6, 2000 vs. Chicago-NL.
2004
Registered solid numbers in full 2nd big league season, but a shocking lack of run support lowered win total to 5 from
9...support per 9 innings (2.47) was the lowest in MLB...was the only starting pitcher whose run support was less than
3.0...SEA's Ryan Franklin (3.14) ranked a distant 2nd...remarkably, the Expos scored only 32 runs while Zach was still
in the game...the Expos scored more than 4 runs only twice and were blanked 3 times in Zach's 19 assignments...run
support dipped more than 2.1 runs per 9.0 innings compared to 2003...again battled various injuries...was placed on
the 15-Day DL on July 6 with right-shoulder tendinitis...missed 13 games (approx. 2 starts) before being activated on
July 22...3 starts later on August 1 at FLA, fractured right middle finger while bunting against Carl Pavano...game was
eventually postponed due to rain...missed the remainder of the season...posted 14 quality starts in 19 assignments
(74%)...quality start percentage was the highest on the club...sinkerballer again proved to be ground-ball machine,
posting a 2.09 ground ball-to-fly ball ratio that would have ranked 3rd in the NL with enough innings to qualify (trailing
only ARI's Brandon Webb and STL's Jason Marquis)...induced 15 GIDPs in 19 starts...reduced walks (3.47 BB per 9
innings pitched) in 2004 compared to '03 campaign (4.04 BB per 9 innings)...at the same time, increased strikeouts
to 4.70 per 9 innings (from 4.18 in '03)...tossed the 2nd shutout of his career in the first game of a doubleheader, June
10 at KC...scattered 6 hits, did not walk a batter and struck out 4...Montreal won, 4-0, and added a 7-2 victory in the
nightcap to post its first road doubleheader sweep since August 13, 1999 at COL...at the plate, launched the first
home run of his career on May 12 at MIL off Wes Obermueller...became the first Expos pitcher to homer since Britt Reames went deep on May 21, 2001 at NYM...threw fewer pitches per inning
(15.7) than in '03 (15.8)...turned in both 14.0 (April 20-25) and 13.0 (June 4-10) consecutive scoreless innings
streaks in 2004...Zach's 3.11 ERA in June led Expos starters...cut down on wild pitches (5 in '04, 13 in '03)...was 3-
2 with a 3.11 ERA in 7 starts on grass fields...despite a solid 3.65 ERA, went just 1-5 on the new Field Turf at
Olympic Stadium...true to last name, went 2-1 with a stellar 1.18 ERA in 5 day games...ERA at night was 5.26....went
1-2 with a 2.88 ERA in 4 interleague starts...Montreal went 8-11 in Zach's 19 starts.
Game-By-Game Highlights: Scattered 9 hits and 2 walks in 8.0 shut-out innings as the Expos topped PHI, 2-0, on
April 25 at Stade Olympique and thus became the first Expos starter to win back-to-back starts in 2004...earned the
win in front of family and friends on June 4 at CIN...the Cincinnati-native allowed 2 runs on 4 hits in 6.0 innings in his
first career appearance at Great American Ballpark...walked 3 and fanned 5...Adam Dunn's broken-bat 2-run homer
in the 2nd inning was his only blemish...lasted only 1.1 innings, June 15 vs. MIN, allowing 4 runs on 4 hits in the
shortest start of his career.
2003
Day posted nine wins in first full big league season ... entered Spring Training with no guarantees, but earned the fifth spot in the rotation ... the Expos went 14-9 in his 23 starting assignments ... his .609 winning percentage led all Montreal starters who made at least 20 starts ... his season was put on hold for 50 days due to an inflamed right
shoulder ... was 4-3 with a 3.44 ERA in 11 starts before being placed on the 15-day disabled list on May 31 ... after a rehab assignment in Florida, returned to the rotation on July 26 ... in 12 starts after coming off the DL, he went 5-5 with a 4.91 ERA.
2003 Highlights:
- THANKS, BUT ... : Went 2-1 in April, posting a 2.48 ERA (9 ER/32.2IP) in five starts...named NL Rookie of the
Month for April...however, was stripped of the award one day later, when MLB determined he had accumulated 52 days
of service in 2002, seven days over the limit of 45.
- COMPLETE & BLANK: On May 1 at Milwaukee, tossed the first complete game and the first shutout of his career
by recording the most ground balls to result in an out or outs (20) in a single game since April 17, 1996, when
Philadelphia's Terry Mulholland registered 21 at Montreal...the 20 grounders to result in an out or outs were the most
recorded by a Montreal pitcher since STATS, Inc. began tabulating ground-ball and fly-ball statistics in 1987 (Courtesy
Jeff Chernow at STATS, Inc.).
- KRAZY DAY: Ejected from the game on May 17 at Colorado after walking Ronnie Belliard to lead off the third
inning...had tossed 2.0 scoreless innings when he decided to remove the Krazy Glue he had placed on a his finger to
protect a blister...after a quick conference between the umpires, was tossed for having a foreign substance on his
right throwing hand.
- DAY TRIPPER: With a last name like Day, is should be noted that Zach is 4-3 with a 2.86 ERA (21 ER/66.0 IP) in 10
career day games...went 3-3 with a 2.83 ERA (17 ER/54.0 IP) in day games in 2003.
- Z MAN: Was the second of three players to play for the Expos with a first or last name beginning with the letter
"Z"...the first was Zane Smith (1989-90)...the latest was teammate Todd Zeile, who was the first to sport a last name
beginning with the letter "Z".
- GROUND BALL MACHINE: A ground-ball pitcher, posted a 2.72:1 ground ball-to-fly ball ratio (269 ground outs, 99
fly outs) in 2003...would have ranked 4th in the baseball-3rd in the N.L.-with enough innings to qualify...only Derek
Lowe (3.92), Brandon Webb (3.44) and Kevin Brown (3.37) ranked higher...for his brief 2-year career, ground ball-tofly
ball ratio is 338-to-121 (2.8/1)...induced 18 GIDPs in 2003...posted 4 in '02...was predictably better on grass as
opposed to artificial turf in 2003...posted a 3.77 (26 ER/62.0 IP) on grass fields, as opposed to a 4.54 ERA (35 ER/
69.1 IP) on the plastic.
- PRIZED PROSPECT: Entered the 2003 season rated by Baseball America as the No. 4 prospect in the Expos
chain...was rated by the same publication as Montreal's No. 8 prospect entering the 2002 campaign...rated the
Indians' No. 6 prospect in 2001.
- THIS AND THAT: Struck out a career-high 7 on August 11 vs. Colorado in a 3-1 win...allowed more than one homer
only once in 23 starts in 2003 (2 on August 26 vs. Philadelphia)...went 3-5 with a 6.39 ERA (36 ER/50.2 IP) against
N.L. East foes...laced an opposite-field RBI single on August 16 off Jason Schmidt...finished the season 2-for-47
(.043) at the plate...posted 13 quality starts...Montreal has scored 15 runs in Day's 8 losses this year.
2002
Day made his major-league debut with the Expos, being recalled from AAA-Ottawa June 14... Pitching primarily out of the bullpen, the freshman supplied the Expos with a reliable righthanded option while giving the organization a taste of the future... He spent two stints with Montreal, going an overall 4-1 with a 3.62 ERA (15 ER-37.1 IP)... Made 19 appearances in total, including two starts... Was 4-0 with a 2.43 ERA (8 ER-29.2 IP) in 17 relief outings, while posting an 0-1 record and an 8.22 ERA (7 ER-7.2 IP) in two starting performances... Wrote his name into the Major League Baseball history books when he became the first pitcher to win his ML debut on his birthday, doing so June 15... Made a total of 15 appearances over the final two months of the season, including eight relief appearances in September – tied with LHP Scott Stewart for third-most on the team (LHP Joey Eischen and RHP Dan Smith, 11 each)... Aside from his two separate stays at the major-league level, also spent time with the AAA-Ottawa Lynx on two occasions during the season... Went an overall 5-6 with a 3.50 ERA (35 ER-90.0 IP) in 17 games, making 16 starts... During the month of December, replaced Matt Blank on the Culiacan roster in the Mexican Pacific League... In two starts, gave up only one run in nine innings.
- IT'S A WINNER: Made his major-league debut June 15 against Toronto and earned the decison as he helped the Expos past the Blue Jays 9-3...Tossed 3.0 innings in relief of starter RHP Carl Pavano, entering the game in the fourth inning... Marked his 24th birthday, making him the first-ever player in baseball history to win his ML debut on his birthday...
- TWICE AS NICE: Earned his second victory in only his second career game with a 5-4 decision over Kansas City June 18 at Olympic Stadium... Tossed 1.0 inning of relief, retiring the first three batters in the Royals' lineup...
- FOR STARTERS: Made his first start June 22 against Cleveland... Picked up his first career loss, falling 5-4 to the Indians... Gave up five runs on six hits in 5.2 innings of work... Gave up his first home run to Travis Fryman, a two-run shot in the fourth inning... Also picked up his first ML hit in his first at-bat and his first run scored during that game... Hit a single to right field off CLE's Bartolo Colon in the third inning and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Jose Vidro...
- CALLING LONG DISTANCE: Pitched at least 4.0 innings of relief twice during the season... Went 4.0 IP August 8 at St. Louis, relieving starter Britt Reames in the Expos' 5-3 loss... Also pitched 4.2 relief innings for starter Sun Woo Kim September 22 at Shea Stadium... Picked up the win in the Expos' 5-1 victory over the New York Mets... Marked his fourth and final win of the season...
- HOLD: Hurled 1.1 scoreless inning in a 7-2 win on the last day of the season September 29 against Cincinnati to help the Expos sweep the Reds...
- MAY FLOWERS: Named the Expos' Minor League Pitcher of the Month in May, after going 4-1 with a 2.77 ERA (12 ER-39.0 IP) in six starts with AAA-Ottawa... Walked 14 batters and struck out 32, holding batters to a .201 average in the month...
- TOTAL RECALL: Was first recalled by Montreal June 14 before being optioned back to AAA-Ottawa June 29 after going 2-1 with a 5.40 ERA (7 ER-11.2 IP) in four games, making two starts... Returned to Montreal for the remainder of the season when recalled from the Lynx July 27...
- ON THE FARM: Opened the season with the AAA-Ottawa Lynx before being promoted to the Expos June 14... Returned to the Lynx after being optioned June 29, only to return to the Expos for good July 27... In two stints with Ottawa, went 5-6 with a 3.50 ERA (35 ER-90.0 IP) in 17 games, starting in all but one of his appearances... Won three consecutive starts May 21-31, logging a total of 22.0 innings over the three games... Pitched at least 7.0 innings in five of his starts...
2001
Day played for three teams in two different organizations in 2001 — including his third since making his entrance into the professional ranks — while rising to the AAA level for the first time in his career... Began the season with Cleveland's AA-Akron, where he compiled a 9-10 record in 22 starts before being promoted to AAA-Buffalo... Made one start for the Bisons before being traded to Montreal and being assigned to AAA-Ottawa... Compiled a 12-12 overall record with all three teams, posting a 3.72 earned run average in 29 games (28 starts), throwing a career-high 169.1 innings... Finished the season ranked ninth among AA-Eastern League pitchers with a 3.10 ERA...Has a three-pitch mix with a 90-94 mph fastball.
Day was the winning pitcher in Akron's opening match, tossing 8.0 shutout innings in a 3-0 win over Reading... Retired 18 batters in a row after allowing a leadoff base hit in the second inning... Allowed two runs or fewer in four straight starts May 29-June 13, recording a 2-1 record and a 1.63 ERA... Excelled in June and July, compiling a 6-4 record and a 2.81 ERA (22 ER-70.1 IP) in 11 starts... Graduated to Buffalo, picking up the win in his AAA debut July 29, allowing one run on three hits in 6.0 innings in a victory at Durham... Repeated his performance for his arrival to Ottawa August 6, blanking the AAA-Rochester Red Wings for 7.0 innings to get the win... Considered by Baseball America as the eighth-best prospect in the Expos' organization.
2000
Day joined Akron on July 28, 2000 after being acquired three days earlier from the Yankees organization...Started the year at A-Greensboro of the South Atlantic League before being promoted to A-Tampa of the Florida State League on June 10...Won his first four starts at Greensboro and his last four with the Bats, including a 9.0 inning, 4-hit shutout (2 BB, 9 SO) on May 29 vs Piedmont...Struck out 10 batters in four starts with Greensboro...Went 2-4 in seven starts with Tampa and compiled a 4.19 ERA despite not getting out of the third inning in two of the seven starts...In his other five starts his ERA was 2.61...At the time of his acquisition, he was leading all Yankees farm hands in wins (11) and strikeouts (137) and was second in ERA (2.56), the 10th lowest ERA in A-ball among pitchers with at least 112.0 IP...Over his three stops, he was a combined 15-9 with a 2.82 ERA in 28 starts...Averaged 9.8 strikeouts per 9.0 innings of work on the year (180 SO/165.2 IP).
1999
Day split the season between the Yankees' Gulf Coast League rookie team and Greensboro...Was limited to just seven appearances - six starts - and 24.2 innings due to a right shoulder strain...In 1998, spent the first half of the season at Tampa as a 19-year-old...Allowed 142 hits in 100.0 innings and was sent down to Greensboro on July 13...In 1997, spent the season at Oneonta of the New York-Penn League...Was named to the NYPL post-season all-star team and finished third in the league in strikeouts (92), tied for fourth in wins (7) and fifth in ERA (2.15).
