Clase passes Allen to become Cleveland's all-time saves leader
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CLEVELAND -- Emmanuel Clase's save on Friday night looked a lot like the other saves he’s recorded in his nearly four years with the Guardians.
The only difference was this one came with a little more history.
In closing out the Guardians’ 10-8 win over the Pirates at Progressive Field, Clase nailed down his 150th save with Cleveland, which is the new franchise record, surpassing Cody Allen’s mark of 149.
Clase’s record-setting ninth inning was emblematic of his dynamic tenure at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.
After allowing a leadoff home run to Andrew McCutchen, Clase struck out Connor Joe with a wicked 91.5 mph slider. Then, Clase induced a weak grounder from Nick Gonzales, and lastly, Clase got Bryan De La Cruz to line out to first baseman Jhonkensy Noel -- who took over at first after Josh Naylor exited in the bottom of the eighth after suffering a left ankle bruise while hitting an RBI single -- for the final out.
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Every 100+ mph cutter and primal game-ending scream is just a reminder of the masterclass trade that the Guardians pulled off to acquire Clase.
After Cleveland missed out on the playoffs in 2019, president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti and the rest of Cleveland’s front office decided to move on from longtime ace Corey Kluber, who won two Cy Young Awards with Cleveland but missed most of 2019 due to a forearm fracture.
That December, Cleveland shipped Kluber to the Rangers for a package of Clase and outfielder Delino DeShields.
While the other players in the deal didn't produce much (Kluber only managed to throw one inning with the Rangers due to an arm injury and DeShields hit .252 in his lone season in Cleveland), Clase has turned into baseball’s best reliever, and perhaps the sport’s most dangerous relief arm since Mariano Rivera wore Yankees pinstripes.