Osuna’s precision closes out win, clinches series
Reliever executes with pressure on in the ninth
TORON TO • With two outs in the ninth inning and the potential tying run on third base, the rookie closer summoned the veteran catcher to the mound.
The batter was Mitch Moreland, a left-handed batter with a .309 average and .933 OPS against right-handed pitching. So Roberto Osuna, a righthander, sought advice.
“He called me out to the mound and was like, ‘ Hey, how do you want to attack him?’ ” Russell Martin said. “I’m like, ‘Fastball up at the hands and we’ll go from there.’ Once he got that first pitch out of the way, it was kind of smooth sailing.”
And a thrill ride for roughly 42,000 fans who were on their feet and cheering at the Rogers Centre, beseeching Osuna and the Blue Jays to nail down a 3-2 win over the Texas Rangers.
Osuna’s first pitch to Moreland whizzed past him at 98 miles an hour, up at the hands, just as Martin drew it up. Moreland swung and missed.
Then, a change-up at 85. Moreland missed again. Before the 0-2 pitch, Martin raised his target almost to eye level. Osuna threw a high fastball at 97. Swing, miss and game over. Martin came up grinning. “He said, ‘Osuna, that was unbelievable. That pitch was right there — right in the glove,’ ” Osuna said with a smile after recording a four-out save.
Afterward, Martin said the Moreland at-bat proceeded exactly as he mapped it out.
“Moreland’s a good hitter,” Martin said. “I feel like he’s a good low-ball hitter. (His bat) stays in the zone for a long time up there. And we had beaten him up in the zone. I knew that he was going to be pumped up with adrenalin, and Osuna threw a perfect pitch, up at the hands, up and in. Got ahead of him, probably got him worried about the velocity a little bit.
“Then he executed a perfect change-up down and away. And then, at that point, I felt like we had him in between. We just threw another fastball up and he executed that pitch also.”
Best-laid plans often go awry, of course. Osuna had given up a loud double and two hard-hit outs before Moreland came up. Then came a rare and exquisite sequence of perfect pitches.
“It’s fun when it works out,” Martin said with a smile.
The Jays tried a 20-year-old closer at the beginning of the season. That didn’t work out. Miguel Castro lost his edge, went to triple-A, got hurt and is now at Class A Dunedin.
As Osuna emerged as the Jays’ best reliever, manager John Gibbons liked him as a versatile setup man who could pitch the seventh or eighth, or both. But as Brett Cecil continued to struggle in the closer’s role, Osuna crept toward the ninth.
Finally, early last week, Gibbons removed Cecil as closer and said he would use Steve Delabar and Osuna as his finishers. Since then, Osuna has two saves — each covering more than one inning — and Delabar has one.
Against Texas, Osuna relieved Delabar with two out and runners at the corners in the eighth and struck out Shin-Soo Choo on three pitches — a change-up at 83 and two fastballs at 97.
Gibbons praised Martin for forcing Osuna to use his change-up often in spring training. Martin said that was only logical once he discovered how nasty the pitch was.
But Osuna has another pitch that has improved even more than the change-up, Martin said.
“He’s got a slider that’s short. It’s tight,” Martin said. “(Batters) can’t pick it up. It works off the same plane as the fastball. We haven’t seen it that much, but I feel like it’s his most improved pitch so far.”
It is hardly certain that Osuna, who is only 20, has solved the Jays’ closer problems. But he is a compelling candidate, with his 2.02 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 42 strikeouts in 35 2/3 innings. And when he enters a game, Jays fans — like a lot of batters — are starting to experience an adrenalin rush.
The Jays also found reason for optimism in the work of Drew Hutchison, who allowed one unearned run in 5 2/3 innings. He too benefited from an effective change-up. Hutchison struck out eight and allowed just four hits.
Josh Donaldson’s 18th home run gave the Jays a 1-0 lead in the fourth. It was his first homer since June 10.
“I’ve really felt, probably my last two weeks, my quality of swings haven’t been up to par,” Donaldson said. “Within the last two or three days, I’ve felt the quality of my swing was getting up higher.”
The Jays, who took two of three from Texas, won for only the third time this season when scoring three or fewer runs. They sit one game behind firstplace Tampa Bay as they enter a four-game home series with Boston.