Cold-blooded Finnegan earns huge save in 'playoff' atmosphere

TORONTO -- On a warm late-August evening, with the low sun beaming into Rogers Centre, manager Dave Martinez saw something in Kyle Finnegan.

“He’s ice,” Martinez said. “He really is.”

Finnegan overcame a no-out, bases-loaded jam to cool off the Blue Jays’ rally and seal the Nationals’ 5-4 win on Tuesday night.

“He goes out there and nothing seems to frustrate him,” said Martinez. “He’s going to try to attack you and try to get you out.”

Finnegan overcame his fair share of frustrations before earning save No. 25 of the season.

The Nats held a 5-3 lead when the right-hander took the mound in the ninth. The Blue Jays had scored a run in each of the previous two innings, but three outs were all Finnegan needed with the bottom two spots in the order coming up.

But he quickly realized this was not going to be a quick save.

On the first pitch of his appearance, Finnegan allowed a single to Cavan Biggio. The next pitch was another single, this time to No. 9 hitter Kevin Kiermaier. When George Springer came to the plate, Finnegan said he “got caught thinking through the situation in my head,” which led to an automatic ball for a pitch-timer violation. Only three pitches later, Finnegan walked Springer to load the bases.

“Not the ideal start there,” Finnegan said. “Two hits and a walk on five pitches -- I wasn’t sure that was even possible, but I managed to do it.”

Davis Schneider stepped into the batter’s box with a home run and two RBIs already on the day, but Finnegan was unmoved. He worked back from a 2-1 count to catch Schneider swinging on a pair of splitters. He considered that his biggest at-bat of the night.

“He’s hurt us this series, and I told myself that I needed to strike him out,” Finnegan said. “I was able to get it done. When you can kind of compose yourself in those situations and do something you’re trying to do, it’s a big momentum booster.”

But the line kept moving and the heart of the Blue Jays’ order continued to step up.

Finnegan induced a chopper to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who was nabbed on an impressive defensive play by third baseman Ildemaro Vargas. It was enough, however, to drive in Biggio and make it a one-run game, adding even more pressure to Finnegan’s outing.

As the crowd of 39,722 roared for Danny Jansen to keep the rally going, Finnegan soaked in the energy. The fans were rooting against him, but that didn’t matter in the high-adrenaline moment.

“I definitely feed off of it,” Finnegan said. “I put myself into that moment, but those are the moments that you dream about when you’re a kid. … It was fun.”

Nothing came easily for the reliever on Tuesday, and that last at-bat was no exception.

Jansen worked a full count, and Finnegan needed seven offerings, but he finally got the batter to pop out to Dominic Smith in foul territory to seal the win and earn an adrenaline-filled save. Finnegan is tied for most saves in the Majors this month with 10.

“Usually, every ball that’s hit in the air off me, I think is a home run,” said Finnegan. “But that one, I had a good idea. Right off the bat, I was like, ‘He’s got it, he’s got it, he’s got it.’ The visual when you look up here [at Rogers Centre] is different, so he did a great job of seeing it all the way in and sealing the win.”

The 31-year-old Finnegan, who is in his fourth MLB season, helped lift a developing Nationals team to 62-71 against a Wild Card contender in front of an electric crowd. The Nats are 34-24 since June 24, and they improved to 34-35 on the road this season.

“It was awesome for them to feel that adrenaline,” said Martinez. “That was a playoff game, that’s what it felt like. Fans were into it, you’ve got a good team on the other side there, the boys stepped up and played well. You can’t ask for more than what they did today.”