Britton passes Familia for 3rd-longest consecutive save streak
Zach Britton is moving closer to history.
The Baltimore Orioles closer shut down the Toronto Blue Jays in the ninth inning on Thursday to nail down the Orioles' 2-1 victory and successfully convert his 53rd consecutive save - a feat that moved him past Jeurys Familia for the third-longest save streak since it was made an official statistic in 1969.
| Pitcher | Team | Years | Consec. SV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Gagne | Dodgers | 2002-04 | 84 |
| Tom Gordon | Red Sox | 1998-99 | 54 |
| Zach Britton | Orioles | 2015-Present | 53 |
| Jeurys Familia | Mets | 2015-16 | 52 |
| Jose Valverde | Tigers | 2010-11 | 51 |
But for the second time this year, the Blue Jays made the nearly untouchable Britton sweat for his save during a tense ninth inning.
Two men reached base in the frame when Troy Tulowitzki singled and Russell Martin walked; both advanced 90 feet on a Britton wild pitch one batter later. But the 29-year-old relief ace steadied himself quickly by getting a groundout from Kevin Pillar, before getting ex-teammate Steve Pearce to line out for the record-setting save, his fourth of 2017.
Britton has now allowed five Toronto baserunners this season, though none of them have come around to score. His ERA for the season remains at 0.00, and he's allowed just 18 earned runs since the beginning of 2015.
He last blew a save on Sept. 20, 2015, against Tampa Bay.
While Britton's next save will tie him with Tom Gordon for the second-longest save streak ever, he's got a long way to go before catching Eric Gagne's record of 84 straight saves.