Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Francisco Rodriguez survived a rocky ninth inning to pick up his 390th career save in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Kansas City Royals, moving into a tie with Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley for sixth place on MLB's all-time saves list, per MLB.com's Jason Beck.
The 34-year-old reliever appeared to have an easy save coming, as he entered Wednesday's contest with a 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth inning after Jordan Zimmermann, Mark Lowe and Justin Wilson combined to keep the Royals off the board through eight frames.
The final inning started innocently enough on a groundout by Royals designated hitter Kendrys Morales, but outfielder Alex Gordon and catcher Salvador Perez then hit back-to-back home runs to bring Kansas City within one run with only one out in the frame.
Royals second baseman Omar Infante followed with a groundout, but speedy outfielder Jarrod Dyson then drew a walk and proceeded to swipe second base.
After shortstop Alcides Escobar drew another walk for the Royals, Rodriguez finally put the game away by striking out third baseman Mike Moustakas.
Although the poor outing dropped his ERA to 7.11 for the season, Rodriguez has now converted four consecutive saves since blowing one in his first appearance.
Assuming he holds onto the closer's job for the rest of the season, he'll have a good chance to move up to fourth place on the all-time saves list, as Billy Wagner (422) and John Franco (424) are both within striking distance.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
- Login to post comments