ST. PETERSBURG — The funny thing about the Rays employing the Major League leader in saves is that they weren’t even supposed to have a closer this season.
Tampa Bay reported to Spring Training with the expectation that the bullpen would function in a less traditional manner without former closer Pete Fairbanks. There were four relievers with late-inning experience and high-leverage stuff, so it seemed logical that Griffin Jax, Edwin Uceta, Garrett Cleavinger and Bryan Baker would mix and match their way through a lot of different situations.
Fast-forward to Saturday night at Tropicana Field, where Baker picked up four outs to seal the Rays’ 3-2 win over the Astros with his 40th save.
“That’s a bigger number,” Baker said, smiling. “It’s just something I never would have really thought of.”
Can you blame him? Tampa Bay doesn’t just have a closer. The American League leaders feature an All-Star closer who can claim the ninth 40-save season in the Majors dating back to 2019.
“It’s a team stat, so just us as a unit being able to give me those situations throughout the year, it’s been amazing,” Baker said. “Really just using everybody around me to seal those saves, it’s been an honor.”
His consistency has set him apart, as Saturday was also his franchise-record 29th consecutive save opportunity converted, surpassing Mason Miller (28 straight) for the longest streak in the Majors this season.
“He’s been just spectacular for us,” manager Kevin Cash said.
So did the circumstances of Saturday’s game, with the Rays holding a one-run lead over the Astros while looking to gain more ground against the Yankees in the AL East race during the final weeks of the season. But Baker was rested, having only pitched twice since a combination of illness and fatigue knocked him out of a shaky outing in Texas on Sept. 4.
“It definitely speaks to that,” Cash said. “That’s not something we’re going to do too frequently.”
Still, this one was hardly smooth sailing. With two outs and the tying run on second, Baker immediately gave up a single that second baseman Nick Madrigal kept in the infield to stop Jeremy Peña in his tracks at third base. Then the right-hander recovered by striking out Daulton Varsho with a high, 96.2 mph fastball.
After sitting through a long but ultimately scoreless rally by the Rays in the eighth, Baker clearly lost some juice on his fastball when he returned for the ninth. He didn’t throw a heater harder than 93.9 mph, but he still got through it unscathed.
“I felt a little low on energy, but I think it’s pretty easy to find and tap into some adrenaline of some sort in that scenario,” Baker said. “I was able to dig deep and get to the finish line some way or another.”
Just barely, anyway. With two outs, Taylor Trammell sent a 3-1 fastball to the wall in right field, but Victor Mesa Jr. was there to catch it. Baker stood on the mound, both arms held high.
Where did he think it was going?
“Honestly, in probably the second or third row,” he said. “Off the bat, yeah, it felt like he got it pretty good. I think he just got underneath it just enough, so we’ll take it.”
Baker was quick to deflect some praise about reaching the 40-save milestone, noting it “worked out pretty perfectly” that he picked up No. 40 while throwing to “Forty,” aka catcher Nick Fortes.
But Baker’s teammates understand what an impressive accomplishment it was, and they’ve marveled at his work all season.
“How awesome is that, huh?” left-hander Ian Seymour said. “There’s just such a safety of knowing that he’s coming into the game.”
Safety, followed by a lot of saves.