Monday, June 29, 2009
Yankees.com: Rivera notches 500th save
NEW YORK -- Mariano Rivera became just the second member of baseball's prestigious 500-save club on Sunday, getting four outs to preserve a 4-2 Yankees victory in a sweep of the Mets at Citi Field.Mo didn't just pick up save #500, he's now OBP-ing .500 as well.
Rivera was summoned in the eighth inning after Chien-Ming Wang went 5 1/3 innings and the bullpen brought the Yankees close to a series sweep of their cross-town rivals.
He answered the call, striking out Omir Santos looking to strand two Mets aboard in the eighth -- and working a bases-loaded, full-count walk in the ninth against fellow closer Francisco Rodriguez -- before setting down the side in the ninth, locking down his 18th save in 19 opportunities this season to reach the round "500" number.
Reader Ryan asked if Mo recorded his first RBI at the oldest age ever.
| Player | Year | Age |
| Satchel Paige | 1952 | 46 |
| Fred Johnson | 1938 | 44 |
| Diomedes Olivo | 1962 | 43 |
| Orlando Hernandez | 2006 | 41 |
| Chuck Hostetler | 1944 | 41 |
| David Wells | 2004 | 41 |
| Joe Berry | 1944 | 40 |
| Roger Clemens | 2002 | 40 |
| Chuck Finley | 2002 | 40 |
| Ed Green | 1890 | 40 |
| Frank Tanana | 1993 | 40 |
| Mariano Rivera | 2009 | 39 |
| Lou Koupal | 1937 | 39 |
| Connie Marrero | 1950 | 39 |
| Alex McColl | 1933 | 39 |
| Bill McGhee | 1944 | 39 |
| Bill Morrell | 1931 | 38 |
| Chi-Chi Olivo | 1966 | 38 |
| Steve Reed | 2003 | 38 |
| Lee Riley | 1944 | 38 |
| Bob Thurman | 1955 | 38 |
| Paul Abbott | 2004 | 37 |
| Buzz Clarkson | 1952 | 37 |
| Minnie Mendoza | 1970 | 37 |
We are lucky to have Mo playing for our favorite team.
Chien-Ming Wang wasn't great, but he was decent and he appears to be getting stronger with each outing. He's finally picked up his elusive first win of the year, working up to 85 pitches and recording 11 of his BIP outs via grounder. His season line is going to suck regardless of how he does from here on out, but I think he's shown enough to remain in the rotation for now. Over his last seven outings including tonight (two relief appearances and five starts), he's got an ERA of 5.21 but a FIP of 4.07. Here are his batted ball splits as well:
| Dates | GB% | FB% | LD% |
| Apr 8 - May 22 | 30% | 46% | 24% |
| May 27 - Jun 28 | 56% | 32% | 12% |
While I wouldn't say he's back just yet, I'd say he's heading in the right direction.
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