First to 100: A look back at Roberto Osuna’s most memorable saves

Roberto Osuna talked about his path to hitting 100 saves in his career, saying his first phone call will be to his family back home.

Whenever Roberto Osuna enters a game at Rogers Centre, Don’t Panic plays at Rogers Centre as fans drown out the song with cheers of their own.

And understandably so, as on Tuesday Osuna became the youngest closer in MLB history to reach 100 saves at 23 years and 62 days old. Previously the youngest ever to 100 was Francisco Rodriguez, who got there at 24 years, 246 days old.

Osuna got the historic save at Camden Yards against the Baltimore Orioles, securing a narrow one-run lead to go to a place no MLB pitcher his age has ever been to before.

In the aftermath of this milestone, here’s a look back at some of Osuna’s more memorable saves…

June 22, 2015

The first of many: Osuna entered the game with two runners on for the Tampa Bay Rays. He held them scoreless through two innings, giving up a walk and striking out five players, en route to his first MLB save.

October 14, 2015

Bonus save: Although it’s not included in his career total of 100 saves, Osuna completed one of the most important saves of his career in Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS. In a pressure-filled situation at the Rogers Centre, he pitched 1.2 innings without allowing a baserunner to secure an ALDS win for the Blue Jays over the Texas Rangers in the bat flip game. The Jays moved on to face the Kansas City Royals in the ALCS, while the Rangers went home.

 
September 24, 2016

Osuna recorded his 35th save of the season against the New York Yankees. It was a significant personal accomplishment, and one that was even more important for the Blue Jays, who were still fighting for a spot in the post-season late in September. He came into the game in the ninth inning, and worked around a base hit to record save No.35.

October 2, 2016

With help from Osuna, the Blue Jays clinched the AL’s top wild-card berth. He picked up save No. 36 of the season in game No. 162 against the Boston Red Sox. Osuna got David Ortiz and Mookie Betts on ground-outs, before giving up a walk and a single to centre, but a Jackie Bradley Jr. groundout preserved a 2-1 lead for the Jays. With the win, the Blue Jays earned a wild card matchup at home against the Orioles–a game they’d eventually win.

October 1, 2017

On the last day of the Blue Jays’ 2017 season—a year that ended without the promise of the post-season for the first time since 2014—Osuna set a personal milestone by collecting his 39th save of the season against the Yankees. With this save he became the youngest player after Neftali Feliz to record 39 saves in a single season.

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