Mariano Rivera Ties All-Time Saves Record
By Editorial Staff
Mariano Rivera continued his march into the record books Saturday night, notching career save 601 and tying Trevor Hoffman for the all-time record.
Rivera came on to throw another perfect 9th inning, striking out the first batter he faced before inducing ground and fly outs to end the game. It marked Rivera’s 42nd save of the season, matching the number of years the future Hall of Famer has spent on this earth.
Early on Sunday, it didn’t look like Rivera would be getting an opportunity to tie Hoffman’s mark. The Toronto Blue Jays put a pair of crooked numbers on the board early against starter Bartolo Colon, and the Yankees found themselves trailing 6-1 entering the 5th inning.
But then New York started putting on an offensive display of its own. Alex Rodriguez reminded fans that he was back, sending a Henderson Alvarez pitch deep to left for a three run bomb. Curtis Granderson followed in the 7th frame with his 40th home run of the season, a two run shot that put the Yankees up for good.
Relievers Hector Noesi and Rafael Soriano were able to bridge the gap to Rivera, logging a pair of perfect innings while striking out 4 of the 6 batters they faced.
Rivera then shut the door as he had done 600 times before.
The only question remaining is where Rivera is going to become the new all-time saves leader. Rivera says he’d love nothing more than to break Hoffman’s mark at Yankee Stadium but understands that it is out of his control.
New York finishes up their 3 game set with the Blue Jays this afternoon. If Rivera doesn’t get number 602 today, the Yankees will return home for an 8 game stretch.
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