Bryan Baker Dominance as Closer Leads to Rays History
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On Saturday night, Tampa Bay Rays’ closer Bryan Baker picked up his 40th save of the season. He entered with two outs in the eighth inning and completed the four-out save, locking down a 3-2 win over the Houston Astros at Tropicana Field.
“That’s a bigger number,” Baker said of his 40 saves. “It's just something I never would have really thought of.”
Baker is the first MLB reliever to reach 40 saves this season, and it’s just the ninth 40-save season for any pitcher in the league since 2019.
He also became the first Rays pitcher to record 40+ saves in a season since Alex Colomé did so back in 2017, a season in which he picked up a league-leading 47 saves. He is just the seventh pitcher in Tampa Bay history to reach the 40-save plateau in a single campaign.
Bryan Baker is having special season for Rays
Additionally, Baker’s 40th save of the season was also his 29th consecutive save opportunity converted, which is a franchise record. He also set a new record for the longest consecutive save streak in the Big Leagues this season, passing San Diego Padres’ closer Mason Miller, who converted 28 straight save opportunities.
“He’s been just spectacular for us,” Rays’ manager Kevin Cash said.
Baker redirected credit back to the team for making those opportunities possible, to be able to appear in those situations in the first place.
Baked to perfection 👨🍳
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) September 13, 2026
Baker serves up his 40th save of the season! pic.twitter.com/gvPqWQ9GUS
“It's a team stat, so just us as a unit being able to give me those situations throughout the year, it's been amazing,” Baker said. “Really just using everybody around me to seal those saves, it's been an honor.”
While Baker spoke humbly about his accomplishment, his teammates gave him the praise he deserved, including fellow hurler Ian Seymour.
“How awesome is that, huh?” Seymour said. “There's just such a safety of knowing that he's coming into the game.”
Ironically enough, the Tampa Bay went into the 2026 season without a closer. Their initial plan was to mix and match four players- Griffin Jax, Edwin Uceta, Garrett Cleavinger and Baker to piece together late-inning, high-leverage situations.
Save tonight 🤗 https://t.co/zhJYRvROnH pic.twitter.com/GWtpJGNkwJ
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) September 13, 2026
Here they are in mid-September, and the Rays have one of the most dominant closers in the game in Baker, with Uceta and Cleavinger sidelined and Jax in the starting rotation.
It’s been a special breakout season for Baker, who emerged as one of the best closers in the game and was named to his first All-Star Game earlier this year.
Potentially the best of all, he will now have the opportunity to close playoff games for one of the best teams in baseball, as Tampa Bay has already clinched a spot in the postseason and is closing in on an American League East division title.
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