TORONTO – In the aftermath of his bend-but-don’t-break first appearance as Toronto Blue Jays closer this season, Ryan Tepera popped into John Gibbons’ office and thanked the manager for sticking with him in a tight spot.
Moments earlier, the right-hander had narrowly worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam at Citizens Bank Park, catching Rhys Hoskins looking at an outer edge fastball before inducing a weak grounder from Odubel Herrera to seal a 6-5 win May 25 over the Philadelphia Phillies. The outs came right after an on-mound pep talk from Gibbons, the gist of which was for him to trust his stuff and take advantage of his opportunity, although surely in saltier language.
Tepera appreciated the message even though initially, when he saw Gibbons walking out from the dugout, he flashed back to last June 23 in Kansas City, when he was in a two-on, two-out jam in the ninth and got pulled with lefty Alex Gordon coming up. Two batters later the Blue Jays lost the game, and he didn’t want that to happen again.
Given the chance to clean up a mess of his own making, Tepera rewarded Gibbons.
“I wanted him to know I appreciated that he stuck with me,” he says. “That adrenaline, game on the line, that’s what we live for.”
Tepera’s outings have gone much smoother since that white-knuckle night in Philly, bringing some stability to a role left in flux with Roberto Osuna on administrative leave after he was arrested and charged in the assault of a woman on May 8. He’s converted all three save chances since that outing, and Sunday he escaped trouble in the eighth to keep the game tied before shutting the door on the Washington Nationals in the ninth to seal an 8-6 win.
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Tellingly, he’s looked increasingly comfortable each time out, acclimating to a job that “is not for everybody,” according to Gibbons.
“It’s still relieving but the game is on the line, it’s win or lose so it’s a whole different mentally. I still don’t buy the argument that anyone can do it,” he says. “Stuff is a big part of it, no doubt there, but the personalities, the confidence level, that’s a big part of it, too.
“There are guys who can really pick it apart, like Osuna can, or guys who have that one pitch they can go to. But there’s something different about the insides of a guy that’s a good closer. It’s not always because they’ve got the better arm, I don’t think.”
Tepera certainly has the arm part – he’s averaging 96.23 m.p.h. on his sinker and 95.96 m.p.h. on his four-seamer, topping out at 98.45 m.p.h., per Brooks Baseball – but the ninth inning did take some getting used to. He earned a save in 2015 and two more last year, when he emerged as a trusted set-up man to Osuna, but knowing the job was open with Osuna gone indefinitely and after Tyler Clippard struggled in the role was different.
“That whole (May 25) game in the bullpen I had a feeling I was closing that day, and I kept telling myself, ‘It’s the same three outs, just go out there and get three outs whether it’s the eighth inning or the ninth inning, what’s the difference?’” says Tepera. “We try to tell ourselves that but it is a different animal. The batters battle a little more, they almost focus a tad more because it is their last chance, the last three outs. With the batters battling a little more, you have to be more fine and trust your stuff a little more.
“I’m still going to try to treat it like any other three outs, but the truth is they’re the hardest three outs to get in the game.”
They certainly were that first night against the Phillies, as he went flyout, single, double, wild pitch, walk, walk to land himself in a jam. The emotions of the moment could easily have overwhelmed him, as they have to many a pitcher who’s tried unsuccessfully to move from a set-up role into the closer’s job, but Tepera managed to reel himself back from the precipice.
“I thought about it that night and talked about it the next day with some guys, it was just a matter of staying calm,” he explains. “When I try to overthrow and get an adrenaline rush, I miss out of the zone and everything is flat and straight. When I stay nice and easy and think 85 per cent, it helps, I get more life on the fastball and the command is better.
“Ever since then, I’ve felt more calm and comfortable. I just feel more relaxed.”
Tepera has been the Blue Jays’ most-used reliever this season in terms of innings pitched with 36 in 34 appearances, while Clippard, who picked up his third save Saturday with Tepera needing a rest day, has those numbers reversed with 34 innings in 36 games.
Since that May 25 save, the 30-year-old allowed only two earned runs in 11 innings over eight games, with three walks and 11 strikeouts.
“The ninth inning is a big moment, obviously, if you get that role there’s a little extra added pressure,” says catcher Luke Maile. “I give him a hard time about being that hard-nosed guy, kidding around with him, but it’s true, that’s how he is. I think he’s perfect for it.
“He’s had this opportunity put in front of him, executed big pitches in key situations, he’s done a great job for the most part, and he’s only going to get better.”
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