Félix comin': Bautista embraces closer role with five-out save

BALTIMORE -- Félix Bautista has been alerted as to where his viral entrance originates, though he hasn’t seen the entirety of “The Wire” quite yet. That doesn’t change what the message -- both on T-shirts and to the public -- is when Omar Little’s famed whistle blares over the sound system at Camden Yards:

“Félix comin’.”

And Bautista has fully arrived, never asked to do more than what he did on Tuesday night, a five-out save in a 5-3 win over a White Sox squad the Orioles are trying to stave off in the race for the final American League Wild Card spot. Bautista, in this closing role full-time since the trade of Jorge López, responded -- to the task at hand, to the shakiness he faced in the moment and to the moment itself.

“He impresses every time he goes out there,” said starter Austin Voth, who set the stage with two runs allowed across 5 2/3 gritty innings. “Like, his stuff is just unhittable right now. I would not want to be a hitter.”

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde, with each of his back-end bullpen arms moved up a peg since López’s departure, felt he needed to turn to Bautista in that spot, with the heart of the White Sox order due up with runners on the corners and one out. The right-hander’s emergence has permitted such trust.

But Bautista’s greatest hurdle may have been of his own doing. He threw back-to-back pitches 103.1 mph and 102.3 mph to Eloy Jiménez. The former was the fastest of his career, sent to the backstop. The latter plunked Jiménez on the left elbow, forcing him from the game (X-rays were later negative) and loading the bases. Bautista bore down to strike out José Abreu to strand the bases loaded. Then he required just 13 pitches for a 1-2-3 ninth.

“He's definitely embraced [the closer role]. Love it,” said Hyde. “ ... He has been a great story for us this year.”

That belief has long been simmering -- and it was capped by a bright orange “Player of the Game” belt resting above his locker postgame on Tuesday.

"I think the trust is something that I earned over the course of the season with the way I've competed, the way I've pitched out there,” Bautista said through team interpreter Brandon Quinones. “It's helped my confidence in a sense, too, to just go out there and compete and feel confident every time I go out there I'm going to do a good job."

Félix has been “comin’” for weeks now. But where Bautista comes from is far more significant, cast off from the Marlins’ organization after the 2014 season at just 19 years old, then unsigned for half a year before the Orioles signed him. He didn’t pitch until the following season, when he tossed just 6 2/3 innings and walked six batters. That last nugget would be foretelling of the control issues that followed him through his young career.

And then Bautista showed up to this past Spring Training, a 27-year-old rookie a year after starting the 2021 season in High-A. The Orioles were not sure what he would provide -- both during spring and in the long term. But they got some positive signs, enough to award him a surprise spot on the Opening Day roster.

Now they remain shocked about Bautista's ascension. Did he expect it?

“In reality, no,” Bautista said. “I always envisioned myself being a part of the team this year, and luckily I've been able to do just that, and even more so.”

Bautista’s rise has captivated both the Orioles’ orbit and baseball’s writ large. He’s a darling of the PitchingNinja Twitter account, an appearance almost guaranteed any time he pitches in a game. In parts of just one season, he’s become a cult hero around Baltimore.

When Bautista clinches a save, he’s met on the mound by a jovial Adley Rutschman, the Orioles’ clubhouse leader for AL Rookie of the Year candidacy. Truthfully, each could be in contention; Bautista is now sporting a 1.68 ERA across 55 appearances and 53 2/3 innings, striking out 71 batters against only 16 walks.

Baltimore will take Bautista’s production, knowing the homers may come with his strike-throwing focus, regardless of how it shakes out in season-end accolades. O’s fans will take the excitement he brings, the way his entrance now captivates the ballpark. Bautista will take it all and more -- unsure if it ever might come just a few short years ago.

"It feels really good, and I love seeing that the fans are really into the game when I come in,” Bautista said. “Whenever we do something really good, it definitely gets our adrenaline going, and I think it helps me and the team as a whole when the fans get into the game.”