Kimbrel works extra for milestone save; Cubs beat Pirates
Craig Kimbrel had to work a little harder to earn career save No. 350 on Thursday, but he still made it look easy.
Manager David Ross had to call on Kimbrel with one out in the eighth inning to protect a 4-2 lead at Pittsburgh, after Dan Winkler walked the bases loaded.
Kimbrel struck out Dustin Fowler and Wilmer Difo to end that threat, then returned in the ninth to secure the victory. It was the first 5-out save of Kimbrel's career in the regular season, though he did have a 6-out save in the 2018 ALCS. The Cubs pounded out a season-high 11 hits and scored their runs on homers by Kris Bryant, Javy Baez and Anthony Rizzo.
“It's just part of my job, coming in and being in the biggest situations of the game,” Kimbrel said after the game. “I felt great, didn't throw many pitches yesterday (against Milwaukee). Me and Willy (Contreras) were able to put the right combination together.”
The 350 saves is certainly significant. Kimbrel is the active leader in MLB and ranks No. 12 on the all-time list. He's got a long way to go to catch career leader Mariano Rivera (652) or Trevor Hoffman (601), but then there's a significant gap before third-place Lee Smith (478), the longtime Cubs closer.
But just as significant is Kimbrel's current run of success. This was his 12th consecutive appearance without allowing a run, going back to last September. Also dating back to last year, Kimbrel has retired 24 consecutive batters, 14 by strikeout.
Here are his numbers since Sept. 1 2020: 12 innings pitched, 22 strikeouts, 0 earned runs, 3 hits and 0 walks.
“Let's take a moment to just appreciate the greatness of Craig Kimbrel and what he's been able to do over the course of his career — 350 saves is truly remarkable,” said Jake Arrieta, Thursday's winning pitcher. “He's got 95-98 (miles per hour) with a wipeout slider. He's not fazed by anything. An incredibly difficult at-bat.”
Kimbrel also managed to get back on the highway after rolling into the ditch a few times. He had some rough times after first joining the Cubs as a midseason free agent in 2019, and was so out of sync at the start of last season, he lost the closer's role to Jeremy Jeffress.
“It was definitely tough times,” Kimbrel said. ‘I had to work through some things and have definitely got back on a good streak right now. The focus is doing what I need to do to stay here. I still have a lot of goals and things that I came to Chicago to do.
“It was not just to go out there and perform and do my job, it was to help this team go through the playoffs and win a World Series. At the end of the day, that's what I came to Chicago to do.”
Kimbrel also talked about how going through the rough stretches helped him improve in some areas.
“What's the best option to go to based on where I am on a certain day?” he said. “Some days it might be throwing a curveball. Another day, it might be running a fastball up and in. Those are some of the things I figured out.”
Arrieta wasn't sharp early, but lasted 6 innings to improve to 2-0 on the season. The Cubs went ahead for good in the sixth when Baez took a pitch practically in the dirt and sent it into the left-field seats for a 2-run homer. Rizzo's solo shot in the eighth boosted the lead to 4-2.
Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls