BALTIMORE – One word pops into Russell Martin’s head almost immediately when asked to describe what he likes best about the way Roberto Osuna handles himself on the mound.
“Fearless,” replies the Toronto Blue Jays catcher. “He’s just fearless. He’s just never intimidated, never scared. He has never shown me any jitters, even when he was 19 or 20, or whatever. He’s cold-blooded, like an assassin, just not afraid of anything.
“That’s kind of what it takes. I mean, that’s probably the best quality you can have as a closer.”
Martin would know better than most, having caught 145 of Osuna’s 212 games in the big leagues, including the right-hander’s 100th career save in Tuesday night’s 2-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles.
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At 23 years, 62 days, Osuna became the youngest player to ever reach that plateau, surpassing Francisco Rodriguez, who accomplished the feat in 24 years, 246 days, coincidentally enough against the Blue Jays on Sept. 10, 2006. Craig Kimbrel is next on the list at 24 years, 346 days.
“I’m not even so sure he gets enough credit around the game for what he’s done,” says manager John Gibbons. “I forget how old he is – 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.”
Osuna reached the century mark with saves in five of the Blue Jays’ eight wins through Tuesday’s action, and he’s yet to allow a run, giving up only two hits so far. An Adam Jones fly ball to open the ninth went a long way to centre but Kevin Pillar was able to settle under it comfortably before Pedro Alvarez popped up to short and Chris Davis lined out softly into the shift.
“I’m really happy with this,” Osuna says of reaching 100. “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 added 11 pounds over the winter after feeling he needed to carry more strength following a strange 2017, during which he became an all-star for the first time and improved in virtually every statistical measure but also blew 10 save opportunities in 49 chances.
Lacking the velocity on his fastball, he leaned heavily on a cutter that allowed him to tear through the American League for two months but ultimately took him away from his strengths. He vowed to primarily use his fastball again and so far this season, his usage rates are more similar to those from his first two seasons in the big leagues.
“I’m definitely feeling much better than last year,” says Osuna. “(Pitching coach) Pete Walker and (bullpen coach) Dane Johnson are doing an unbelievable job with me. They’ve been telling me to keep it up and do the stuff I need to do to keep my velo high, and getting better. They do a great job. I’m really happy with what I’m doing right now.”
TAKING ON O’DAY
Even when you factor in his memorable battles with Jose Bautista, Darren O’Day has for the most part been very tough on the Blue Jays, holding them to a .647 OPS and 11 runs against in 51.1 career innings.
That’s what made Curtis Granderson’s ninth inning homer off the right-hander in Tuesday’s 2-1 win all the more notable.
“We’ve always been primarily right-handed, now we have some lefties to throw at him,” says manager John Gibbons. “It’s almost a must.”
Granderson was 1-for-4 with a hit by pitch in his career versus O’Day before the homer.
“It’s tough because I haven’t faced him in a long time. But at the same time, I have faced him,” he says. “I just remember he does a bunch of different things, from throwing in, throwing out, throwing up and throwing down, plus changing speeds. So you just got to stay with what works for you and hopefully that he puts something in that spot because he’s able to keep guys off balance.”
SHORT HOPS
Feeling they’d get more use from another arm rather than a position player, the Blue Jays opted for left-hander Tim Mayza rather than outfielder Teoscar Hernandez when Kendrys Morales was placed on the disabled list with a mild hamstring strain. “I think our bullpen can use a little breather,” explains manager John Gibbons. “We’re covered position-player wise. He almost made the team. We liked what we saw last year. The second lefty should definitely help but we’re not going to limit him to one guy, one type of hitter all the time because we need to give those other guys a break, too.” … Illustrating his point, Gibbons sat Randal Grichuk for a second straight day with Steve Pearce hot at the plate right now. … Morales isn’t expected to be out for long, as he’s slated to resume hitting in Cleveland on Friday.
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