Mariners’ Edwin Díaz AL Reliever of the Month for 2nd time this year
Jul 2, 2018, 10:31 AM
Mariners closer Edwin Díaz is the 13th pitcher ever to hit 30 saves by the All-Star break. (AP)
(AP)
For the third time in his young career and second time in just three months, Mariners closer Edwin Díaz is the American League Reliever of the Month.
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The 24-year-old Díaz takes the honor for the month of June after converting 12 of 13 save opportunities with a 1.88 ERA over 14 appearances (14 1/3 innings). The Mariners went 14-0 in games Díaz pitched in during June. He previously won the award for April 2018 and July 2017.
Díaz became the 13th pitcher in MLB history to record 30 saves by the All-Star break with his June 27 outing, and he is just the third pitcher to hit 30 saves by the end of June since saves became an official statistic in 1969, joining Cincinnati’s Danny Graves (2004) and Anaheim’s Francisco Rodriguez (2008).
A little Sugar with your ☕?#TrueToTheBlue pic.twitter.com/3xmL6yQQZK
— Mariners (@Mariners) July 2, 2018
For the year, Diaz has 32 saves in 35 chances with a 2.45 ERA, 71 strikeouts and 13 walks in 44 appearances (44 innings). He leads the majors in saves, eight more than second-place Craig Kimbrel of Boston.
The Mariners are 40-0 when Díaz enters a game with a lead, including 2—0 when he takes over a one-run lead.
In just three seasons in the majors, Díaz ranks fourth all-time in Mariners history with 84 career saves, and his 13.81 strikeouts per nine innings is best in Seattle history ahead of Hall of Famer Randy Johnson.
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