Nationals' Albers earns 1st career save in 461st appearance
At last, Matt Albers is on the board.
It only took the journeyman reliever 12 years, 461 career appearances, and 103 games finished to get there, but Albers finally racked up save No. 1 of his career when he closed out the Washington Nationals' 4-2 victory - their MLB-best 20th win of the season - over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night. Fittingly, the 34-year-old did it in perfect fashion, sitting down the Phillies in order in the ninth with a pair of strikeouts.
Albers came into Friday's contest holding the dubious distinction of having finished the second-most games in big-league history (102) without having converted a save. Ryan Webb, who's currently pitching in Triple-A and last appeared in the majors with Tampa Bay a year ago, holds the all-time record, having finished 105 games without a save over his eight-year career.
Albers' save moved San Francisco Giants reliever George Kontos - who owns zero saves and 63 games finished - into second place on the active list behind Webb.
MOST GAMES FINISHED W/O 1 CAREER SAVE, ALL TIME
| PITCHER | YEARS | GP | GF | SV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Webb | 2009-16* | 375 | 105 | 0 |
| George Kontos | 2011-17* | 270 | 63 | 0 |
| Jose Mijares | 2008-13 | 324 | 63 | 0 |
| Carlos Almanzar | 1997-2005 | 210 | 63 | 0 |
| Rich Monteleone | 1987-96 | 210 | 61 | 0 |
*indicates active pitcher
That Albers is even finishing a game for the first-place Nationals is remarkable, given that he was cut by the club near the end of spring training, before re-signing on a minor-league deal. But with uncertainty and injuries decimating their relief corps, Nationals skipper Dusty Baker had no choice but to call on the veteran for the ninth on Friday.
A 23rd-round draft pick of the Houston Astros in 2001, Albers made his big-league debut with Houston in 2006 and has worn seven different uniforms over his 12-year career. He's yet to allow a run for the Nats this season in 11 1/3 innings pitched.