Pitcher who gets to Strut
Craig Kimbrel continues to be among the most dominant relievers in the game. He tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings last week, striking out 7 batters for an insane 22.63 K/9.
He’s even proving that he can thrive in non-traditional closing situations – an Achilles heel for Kimbrel in the past. The closer entered a tie game in the 8th on Thursday and struck out a pair of hitters to end the inning with the winning run on base.
He capped off the outing in the ninth with an immaculate inning, joining Pedro Martinez (2002) and Clay Buchholz (2012) as the only Red Sox pitchers to accomplish that rare feat.
Kimbrel was credited with the win in that game, while also picking up his league-leading 11th save of the season in his next appearance on Saturday. He now owns an incredible 1.08 ERA, 0.48 WHIP and 17.82 K/9 this season.
After posting a career-high ERA in his first season with the Red Sox last year, Kimbrel is quickly silencing the critics who claimed that he was no longer among the most dominant relievers in baseball.
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His 1.1 WAR is already more value than he produced all of last season and he’s on pace to get back to the level he was at during his peak years with the Atlanta Braves when he was widely considered the best closer in the game.