Two Ottawa-area francophones snag major league roster spots

Philadelphia Phillies' Phillippe Aumont throws a pitch to the Cincinnati Reds in the ninth inning of a baseball game on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012, in Philadelphia. The Phillies won, 4-3 in eleven innings. (AP Photo/Michael Perez)

MONTREAL - Quebecers looking for something to cheer for in major league baseball this season might want to keep an eye open for two Gatineau-area francophones now hurling in the bigs..

Twenty-three-year-old reliever Phillippe Aumont, a 6’7”, 260 lb giant from Gatineau, Quebec has snagged a roster spot on the Philadelphia Phillies.

Aumont, a highly-touted first-round draft choice for the Seattle Mariners in 2007, was dealt to the Philadelphia Phillies organization in the Cliff Lee trade two years later.

He suffered an elbow injury and bounced around the low minors before getting a call back to the major leagues last fall.

Aumont appeared in six pre-season games this spring, going 2.84 over six innings.

Meanwhile, 34-year-old Erik Bedard, from the Ottawa suburb of Navan, Ontario has also notched a roster spot as the fifth starter for the Houston Astros.

Bedard, who previously kicked around in Baltimore, Seattle, Boston and Pittsburgh, came in from the bullpen to record a save Sunday.

The Astros, considered one of the weakest teams in baseball, are playing their first season in the American League after being transferred in the off-season.

Bedard pitched three-and-one-third innings Sunday, allowing only a single hit to earn the save over in an 8-2 victory over the Texas Rangers.

After the game Bedard, explaining his reaction to being asked to warm up, offered an offbeat quote to a Houston Chronicle reporter.

“I knew that if I would warm up in the game I was going in. … I didn’t want to get dry-humped and stuff,” Bedard said.