Brandon Lyon

Infobox MLB player


width = 150
name = Brandon Lyon
team = Arizona Diamondbacks
number = 38
positionplain = Closer
birthdate = birth date and age|1979|8|10
birthplace = city-state|Salt Lake City|Utah
bats = Right
throws = Right
debutdate = August 4
debutyear = 2001
debutteam = Toronto Blue Jays
statyear = September 14, 2008
stat1label = Win-Loss
stat1value = 20-29
stat2label = Saves
stat2value = 51
stat3label = Earned run average
stat3value = 4.52
stat4label = Strikeouts
stat4value = 258
teams =
*Toronto Blue Jays (by|2001-by|2002)
*Boston Red Sox (by|2003)
*Arizona Diamondbacks (by|2005-present)

Brandon James Lyon (born on August 10 1979, in Salt Lake City, Utah) is a baseball pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks in Major League Baseball. He throws a 4-seam fastball, curveball, slider, and changeup.

Lyon made his major league debut halfway through the 2001 season, posting a respectable 5-4 record for the Toronto Blue Jays, with a 4.29 ERA from 11 starts. He was the 2nd youngest winning pitcher in Blue Jays' history after winning on debut (2-1 over Baltimore).

2002 however, was a different story. Lyon started the season as a starter for the Jays, but lost his first decisions of the season, including a career-high 7 earned runs at Yankee Stadium against the Yankees on April 10, and against the San Francisco Giants at the Rogers Centre on June 11. One month later, Lyon was kicked from the rotation, and placed as a reliever. He made his debut in this role at Fenway Park, against Boston, pitching 3 1/3 innings. In 5 games of relief, Lyon had no decisions against him with a 5.19 ERA. During the postseason, the Red Sox claimed Lyon off waivers.

Boston made Lyon a permanent reliever, and Lyon appeared in 49 games in 2003, converting 9 saves in 12 opportunities with 50 strikeouts in 59 innings pitched. Lyon missed the entire 2004 season due to injury, after having been traded along with Casey Fossum, Michael Goss and Jorge de la Rosa to Arizona in exchange for Curt Schilling.

Lyon improved in 2005, converting 14 saves in 15 opportunities while pitching in 32 games and spending part of the season as the Dbacks' closer, replacing the injured Jose Valverde. However, he spent most of the second half on the disabled list. In 2006, Lyon had a very solid season, posting a 2-4 record and a 3.89 ERA in 68 appearances. In 2007, Lyon had probably his best season yet, with a 6-4 record, 2 saves, and the best ERA of his career, at a sparkling 2.68 in 73 games. Lyon found his niche as the Diamondbacks' primary setup man, pitching in front of Valverde, as Arizona won the NL West division title. For the most of 2008, Lyon served as the closer for the Diamondbacks following the offseason trade of Valverde to the Houston Astros. However, he lost the job to Chad Qualls following second-half struggles. Brandon is married to wife Sara, and have a son, Isaac, born January 26 2004.

External links

*Baseballstats |mlb=407193 |espn=4830 |br=l/lyonbr01 |fangraphs=1312 |cube=l/brandon-lyon