Brian Stokes #43

Brian Alexander Stokes...Graduated from Jurupa HS (Riverside, CA) in 1997...Member of the Mountain View League Championship team his senior year...Attended Riverside (CA) Community College from 1997-98, majoring in Criminal Justice...Originally signed by the Tampa Bay Rays as a non-drafted free agent, October 2, 1998.

2009

Spent second season with New York, posting a 2-4 record and a 3.97 ERA (70.1 IP - 31 ER) in 69 relief appearances... Allowed 72 hits (6 HR), walked 38 and struck out 45...Finished season with 10 holds...Established career-highs in games, innings pitched and strikeouts and equaled his career-high in wins...Held righthanded batters to a .219 (34-155) mark... Retired 50 of 69 first batters faced...Opponents were 2/15 (.133) with the bases loaded... Posted a 2.21 ERA (nine earned runs/36.2 innings pitched) at Citi Field...Put together a 9.2 scoreless inning streak, April 16 - May 10...Surrendered one earned run in first 17.1 innings of work (16 games) for a 0.52 ERA through May 18th...Surrendered one run over 21.1 innings (0.42 ERA) from July 9th-August 27th before permitting four runs on August 28th vs. Chicago (NL)....Allowed three runs in 26.1 innings (1.03 ERA) from June 30th-August 27th... Tossed a career-high 12.2 scoreless frames from August 3rd-August 27th...His previous career-best was 12.0 scoreless innings from August 23-September 9, 2008...34 of last 46 appearances were scoreless and did not yield an earned run in 56 of 69 outings.

2008

Had his contract purchased from New Orleans (AAA) of the Pacific Coast League on August 9th...Earned four holds with New York...Had a 2.04 ERA (four earned runs/17.2 innings) on the road...Opponents were 5-25 (.200) with runners in scoring position...Allowed nine runs over 27.2 innings (2.93 ERA) while pitching in relief...Made his fifth career start on August 9th vs. Florida...Notched six strikeouts in 5.2 innings in a no-decision...The Mets won, 8-6...Fired 4.0 scoreless innings on August 13th at Washington for his first career save...Notched three strikeouts...Earned his first win as a member of the Mets on August 27th at Philadelphia with 1.0 scoreless inning of relief in the Mets' 6-3 victory...Worked 2.0 scoreless frames on September 2nd at Milwaukee, August 26th at Philadelphia and August 23rd vs. Houston...Didn't surrender a run over 12.0 innings from August 23rd-September 9th...The scoreless streak was a career-high...His previous longest streak was 7.0 innings from June 22-July 4, 2007...Tossed 2.0 shutout innings to close out New York's 9-5 win at Atlanta on September 19th...At the time of his promotion from New Orleans, he led the Zephyrs in wins, innings pitched, and strikeouts...Recognized as the Sterling Award winner at New Orleans, emblematic of the team MVP...Allowed two runs or fewer in 13 of his 22 starts with New Orleans...From May 9th-May 26th, he surrendered two or less runs in four consecutive starts and posted a 2.39 ERA (seven earned runs/26.1 innings).

2007

Joined Gary Glover as the only two relievers to be on the active roster all season ... His 59 appearances were 4th among AL rookies and 4th most by a rookie in club history behind Esteban Yan (64 in 1998), Ruddy Lugo (64 in 2006) and Lance Carter (62 in 2003) ... Tied with Baltimore's Chad Bradford for most relief losses in the American League with 7 ... his 49 runs allowed were the most among AL relievers and his 90 hits were second ... his 7.07 ERA and .344 opponents average against were the highest among league relievers with 50+ innings pitched ... Appeared in 50 of the Rays first 103 games, but only 9 of the final 59 ... Allowed the game-winning run to score in the 9th inning or later six times including four game-winning home runs: Justin Morneau, MIN, April 12, walk-off; Aubrey Huff, BAL, May 9, walk- off; Ryan Garko, CLE, April 22, at home, and Nick Swisher, OAK, May 4 at home ... threw the last pitch in 3 of the Rays 10 "walk-off" losses. Pitched in all three of the Rays games at Disney Sports Complex and didn't allow a run in Tampa Bay's sweep of Texas, May 15-17 ... earned the win in the first game played there with a score- less inning on May 15 ... His other win came at Minnesota on April 15 over Joe Nathan ... worked one scoreless inning in the Rays first-ever win over the Twins closer. Allowed 12 of 29 inherited runners to score, 41.4%...the AL average in 2007 was 31.3%.

2006

Twenty-six year-old was recalled from AAA Durham on September 2...Made his major league debut the following night getting the start against SEA and Felix Hernandez (ND - 4.0-IP, 7-H, 2-R/ER, 3-BB, 1-SO, 1-HR-Sexson)...game see-sawed as Rays won 7-6...Was the 24th different pitcher to appear in a game for the Rays and the 12th different starter...was one of 9 Rays to make his ML debut this season...Was 1-0 with a 4.88 ERA in 5 games, 4 starts...limited the opposition to 3 runs or less in each start...Best start came in his final outing Sept 29 in Cleveland...held the Indians to just one run on 5 hits in 7.0 IP with a walk and 6 strikeouts...left with game tied 1-1...Rays lost on a walk-off, bases loaded walk in the bottom of the 9th...Earned his first major league win Sept 24 against New York...limited the Yankees to 3 runs on 7 hits in 5.1 IP (HR-Cano) ...was backed by an 11-run Rays attack, tying their most ever runs scored against NY at home...win gave the Rays 41 home victories, their most ever in one season at Tropicana Field...Appeared in 29 games for the Bulls making 23 starts in his first injury-free season since 2002...Was 7-7 with a 4.11 ERA (133.0-IP, 61-ER) striking out 103 while walking 49 with Durham...Limited opponents to 3 ER or less in 21 of his 27 combined starts (majors and minors)...Appeared in 3 games for the Rays in spring training, all in relief (5.0-IP, 2-H, 1-R/ER, 1-BB, 3-SO).

2005

Returned to the mound following "Tommy John" surgery making 20 starts at Visalia (A) and Montgomery (AA), his most outings since 2002 ... Was 1-2 with a 4.24 ERA in 4 starts with the Oaks striking out 21 in 17.0 IP ... Promoted to Montgomery on May 4...Tossed 6.0 shutout innings in his Biscuits debut that night at Jacksonville (Dodgers) - no-dec., H-2, BB-3, SO-5 ... Was sidelined the month of July with a strained left hamstring ... Went 2-2 with a 3.08 ERA after his return from the DL holding opponents to 2 ER or less in five of his final six starts of the year ... Fanned a season-high 9 in a no-decision Aug 17 vs. Tennessee (Diamondbacks) ... Was credited with a complete game in his final turn of the season Sept 5 at Tennessee ... allowed the game's only run (solo HR) on 3 hits in 8.0 innings striking out 3 and walking two ... carried a no-hitter through 5.0 ... was his 3rd career CG and first since July 14, 2002 ... Got stronger as the game went on holding the opposition to a .181 average from the 4th inning on ... Pitched in seven games, two starts, with the Arizona Fall League champion Phoenix Desert Dogs ... was 3-0 with a 2.81 ERA striking out 17 in 25.2 IP.

2004

Missed the entire 2004 season recovering from "Tommy John" surgery on his right elbow.

2003

Made 10 starts with Double-A Orlando in 2003 before heading to the disabled list May 26 with a right shoulder strain ... Was shelved the remainder of the season and underwent "Tommy John" surgery on Aug 27 ... Was 0-3 through the season's first month despite carrying a 2.13 ERA (25.1-IP, 6-ER) ... Pitched 6.0 scoreless innings on May 2 (3-H, 0-BB, 3-SO) in Orlando's 6-1 win over Birmingham (White Sox) for his first victory of the year.

2002

Led Bakersfield in wins (10) and strikeouts (152) in 2002 ... Bakersfield led all of minor league baseball with 1,281 K's ... For the second straight year, finished in the top 10 in ERA in the California League ... Was 4th with a 3.26 mark ... was also 4th in the league with 165.2 innings pitched ... Made 28 starts, 3rd in the league ... Allowed 3 ER or less in 26 of the starts including 17 quality starts ... Fashioned a 5-game win streak over 7 starts, June 8-July 14, while posting a 2.06 ERA (IP-43.2, H-36, ER-10) ... Tossed his first career 9.0-inning, complete-game shutout, July 14 against San Jose (Giants) allowing just three hits while striking out seven with no walks ... Recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts in 8.0 innings of work Aug. 25 vs. Lake Elsinore (Padres) in a no-decision.

2001

Had the 9th-best ERA (3.92) in the California League in 2001 ... Began the year in the bullpen until moving into the starting rotation in mid-May ... His first 11 appearances were in relief and he was 4-0 ... His first 90 appearances as a pro had been out of the bullpen...His first start came against Lancaster (Diamondbacks) on May 14 ... Went 3-0 in his first 4 starts giving him a 7-0 mark overall ... Went 1-6 the rest of the season in 13 games, 12 starts ... Had only one win over his last 6 starts despite pitching to a 1.55 ERA (IP-34.2, ER-6) ... Had his first complete game June 23 at Mudville - 8.0-IP, 7-H, 5-R/ER, 1-BB, 5-SO in the losing effort.

2000

Appeared in a career-most 46 games in 2000 for Class-A Charleston ... Was 5-3 with 3 saves and a 1.70 ERA (IP-59.1, ER-11) in 35 games heading into the final month of the season before going 0-3 with a 7.59 ERA (IP-10.2, ER-9) over his last 11 games ... Did not allow a run in his first 5 appearances (8.0 IP)...Surrendered just 2 hits and fanned 9 over the stretch with no walks ... Allowed just 1 HR (July 12) in 70.1 IP ... In fact, allowed only 3 homers in the first 2 seasons of his career (107.1 IP), or 1 every 152 batters faced.

1999

Spent his first professional season with Princeton (R) in 1999 ... Led the Appalachian League in games finished (35) and was 3rd in saves (9) ... Had a win or save in 11 of the P-Rays' 25 victories.