Former Major League Baseball all-star David Nilsson has been named manager of Team Australia as it aims to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Baseball Australia said Wednesday that the former Milwaukee Brewers catcher would lead the team in games at the 2019 Premier 12 tournament Customized Seattle Seahawks Jerseys , which doubles as the first chance for 2020 Olympic qualification. He could also manage Australia at the 2021 World Baseball Classic.

Nilsson returned to the national team staff as an assistant coach for the 2018 Japan Series after winning three consecutive Australian Baseball League titles with the Brisbane Bandits, who went 86-48 while winning ABL titles in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

The 48-year-old Nilsson says: ”It was really special to get back to international competition, I love the environment and I really missed it.”

Regarded as Australia’s best-ever MLB player, Nilsson finished his MLB career with a .284 batting average, 105 home runs and 470 runs batted in.

He created history in 1999 when he became the first Australian to be named an MLB All-Star after finishing with a .309 batting average in 115 games for the Brewers.

He remains the only position player ever named from Australia for an All-Star Game. Grant Balfour, while with the Oakland A’s, was named as a replacement pitcher for teammate Bartolo Colon in 2013 and is the only other player from Down Under to appear in an All-Star Game.

Nilsson also played for Australia’s Olympic team in 2000 and 2004, when it won silver at the Athens Games.

BALTIMORE — The resilient Los Angeles Angels can finish a three-game sweep of the struggling Baltimore Orioles on Sunday at Camden Yards.

Los Angeles won the opener 7-1 on Friday and beat the Orioles 6-2 on a sweltering Saturday afternoon.

The Angels entered the series on a six-game losing streak, but will leave Baltimore very much alive in the American League wild-card race.

On Saturday, Mike Scioscia managed his 3,000th regular-season game for the Angels Customized Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jerseys , not that he has kept count.

“You don’t think about it,” said Scioscia, who has been with the club since 2000 and is 1,613-1,387 (.538 winning percentage). “It’s 3,000, one game at a time.”

The Orioles have lost seven straight and fell to 0-15 against AL West opponents. Manager Buck Showalter vows the team will keep fighting and try to find bright spots.

“It’s been tougher on our fans and our players. I don’t look at it that way,” said Showalter, whose team has lost 17 of 18 at home. “All things considered, it’s an unbelievable way to do something you love and be able to pay the bills with it.”

Deck McGuire (0-0, 6.08 ERA) will start for the Angels in place of John Lamb, who had an MRI on his left elbow that revealed a torn ulnar collateral ligament. Lamb will undergo UCL reconstruction surgery in Los Angeles.

The Angels have seven starting pitchers on the disabled list.

As a result Customized Tennessee Titans Jerseys , they will be leaning on McGuire to help stabilize the rotation. However, he has made only two previous major league starts among his 12 appearances and has never faced Baltimore.

Los Angeles had a positive development with phenom Shohei Ohtani, who hit in a simulated game Saturday at Angel Stadium. Ohtani has a Grade 2 sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament of his right elbow. The team is hoping he can avoid Tommy John surgery.

“There definitely be a consensus from the medical staff on how he feels,” Scioscia said. “We’ll see if he has enough velocity to go out there and play.”

Ohtani underwent stem-cell therapy and received a platelet-rich plasma injection to heal a damaged ligament. He was given the OK to begin batting practice Thursday.

Kevin Gausman (3-6, 4.20 ERA) is looking to help pull the Orioles from their doldrums. However, he lost his last four decisions and has not completed seven innings in any of his last eight starts.

In his last outing, Gausman was solid in earning a no-decision, allowing one run and five hits in six innings of a 3-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners. He was effective managing his pitch count throughout the game.

“That’s huge,” he said. “Kind of seems like that’s what I do every start lately is kind of get in jams the first inning, throw a lot of pitches. It’s always big to kind of bounce back and have a quick inning.”

Gausman is 1-3 with a 5.97 ERA in five starts against the Angels.

Baltimore also received some bad news on the injury front. Reliever Darren O’Day opted to have season-ending surgery on his injured left hamstring. The recovery time is six months, according to Showalter.

O’Day also missed more than a month with a hyperextended elbow. The sidearmer is 0-2 with a 3.60 ERA in 20 games this season. He was placed on the 60-day disabled list Friday.

Showalter said O’Day has not yet finalized the time and place of the procedure.