Osuna youngest to 100 saves, passes K-Rod
BALTIMORE -- Roberto Osuna broke down a lot of barriers by becoming the full-time Blue Jays closer at age 20. Now he's the youngest pitcher in Major League history to reach the 100-save milestone.
Osuna picked up his fifth save of the season -- and No. 100 for his career -- in the Blue Jays' 2-1 victory over the Orioles on Tuesday night at Camden Yards. He reached 100 saves at 23 years and 62 days, passing Francisco Rodriguez, who previously was the youngest at 24 years and 246 days.
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The native of Mexico also tied Billy Koch for third on Toronto's all-time saves list. Tom Henke is the Blue Jays all-time leader with 217 saves, while Duane Ward is second with 121.
"I'm really happy with this," Osuna said after the game. "I've been working hard to win games, and to do something like this is really special. I feel proud of myself and all the hard work."
Osuna has three solid seasons as a closer under his belt, but his performance early this year has been arguably even more impressive. He has yet to allow a run over 6 1/3 innings, and after he experienced a drop in velocity last season, he is consistently hitting the mid-90s once again with his fastball.
The 100 saves for Osuna since 2015 are the most of anyone in the Major Leagues over that same span. He converted just one of his first four save opportunities last season, but so far this year he is a perfect 5-for-5.
"I'm not even so sure he gets enough credit around the game for what he's done. I forget how old he is," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "You'd never know. You'd think he was an old man out there the way he handles himself.
"There's nothing like that ninth inning. A lot of people think anybody can do it. They can't. That's what makes him so special. It was actually kind of cool tonight seeing his old buddy, [Miguel] Castro came in to pitch for them. They were together a couple of years ago when they both broke in. I enjoyed that from a personal standpoint."