Jeurys Familia joins elite company by converting 50th consecutive save
Welcome to The Walk Off, the nightly MLB recap from Big League Stew. Here we’ll look at the top performers of the night, show you a must-see highlight and rundown the scoreboard. First, we start with a game you need to know about.
It hasn’t necessarily been pretty this week, but New York Mets closer Jeurys Familia continues getting the job at a remarkable rate.
In Friday’s 5-3 win against the Marlins, the first-time All-Star recorded his 50th consecutive regular season save dating back to July 30 of last season. That put himself some pretty elite company among closers, as he became just the fourth ever to convert 50 straight save chances.
Jeurys Familia (@Mets) 4th pitcher in MLB history to convert 50 straight save chances (Eric Gagne, Tom Gordon, José Valverde)
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 23, 2016
Familia was scored upon for the first time since June 4, allowing one run on two hits and a walk. He escaped by retiring Adeiny Hechavarria, who represented the winning run. On Tuesday, Familia escaped a bases loaded, nobody out situation at Wrigley Field in Chicago, ultimately getting a strikeout and double play to protect a 2-1 win.
A closer’s job often requires a slow heartbeat and a lot of confidence in their best pitches. Familia showed he has both this week, and that’s why he figures to continue as one of baseball’s best closers.
TOP PERFORMERS
Dexter Fowler: How much did the Cubs miss their leadoff hitter during his … stint on the disabled list? Quite a lot we’d say, but it only took his one at-bat and one swing to confirm he’s back. Fowler started Friday’s 5-2 win against Milwaukee with a leadoff home run. One inning later, he added a two-run double, and the Cubs looked back. Overall, Fowler finished just a triple shy of the cycle of the Cubs improved their record with him in the lineup to 44-18.
#Cubs in 2016
Dexter Fowler starts: 43-18 (.705)
Fowler does not start: 14-19 (.424)Leadoff home run in his first plate appearance back.
— Ryan M. Spaeder (@theaceofspaeder) July 23, 2016
Matt Kemp: San Diego may soon be sellers, but there were spoilers on Friday thanks to two big home runs from Matt Kemp. The veteran outfielder smacked a solo shot in the first inning and then a game-changing three-run in sixth as the Padres topped the Nationals 5-3. Both of Kemp’s came against Washington starter Tanner Roark, and they a winner of Luis Perdormo.
Zach Effin: Not to be confused with Zac Efron, this Phillies rookie right-hander was absolutely dominant on Friday. Effin went the distance, completing his first complete game shutout in on only his eight career start. He limited the Pirates to three hits, walked none and struck out three as Philadelphia cruised to a 4-0 win.
Matt Adams: The Cardinals and Dodgers played deep into the night on Friday, and it was Matt Adams who provided. With one out in the 16th inning, Adams launched a majestic walk-off home run to give St. Louis a 4-3 win, and he capped with an equally epic bat flip. Adams’ walk-off came seven innings Jedd Gyorko tied it with a home run against Kenley Jansen. What a night in St. Louis.
MUST-SEE HIGHLIGHT
Miguel Cabrera became the 56th player in MLB history to reach 1,500 career RBIs in the Tigers 7-5 win against the White Sox. Cabrera’s milestone moment was also pretty clutch, as he drove home the go-ahead runs with a two-run single in the seventh. The puts him at 1,501 for his career, and that number figures to keep climbing as there’s still plenty of life left in his bat.
THE REST OF THE SCOREBOARD
Yankees 3, Giants 2: The always sure-handed Brandon Crawford committed three errors, including one that allowed the winning to score for New York in the eighth inning. San Francisco has now lost a season-high six straight games.
Mariners 2, Blue Jays 1: An old-fashioned pitcher’s duel went the way of Seattle as James Paxton (seven innings, one run, three hits) topped All-Star Marco Estrada (six innings, seven hits, two runs).
Orioles 5, Indians 1: Baltimore got home runs from Mark Trumbo (No. 29) and Manny Machado (No. 20).
Twins 2, Red Sox 1: Right-hander Kyle Gibson was brilliant, limited to one run — a Mookie Betts home run — on just two hits over eight innings.
Reds 6, Diamondbacks 2: Arizona losses again as rumors swirl around Chip Hale’s job security.
Royals 3, Rangers 1: Kansas City gets the win despite a huge 11-strikeout performance from Texas starter Yu Darvish.
Astros 2, Angels 1: The Angels won’t go undefeated in the second half. After winning six straight out of the All-Star break, they were done in by a masterful performance from Lance McCullers. Houston’s right-hander tossed eight innings of one-run ball, striking out 10 and allowing four hits.
Rockies 4, Braves 3: Colorado got two-run home runs from Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story to pick up their second straight win over Atlanta.
A’s 1, Rays 0: It took 13 innings, but Coco Crisp finally ended this epic struggle with a walk-off single.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
