ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – What a week it was for Mason Englert. He started in place of Drew Rasmussen on Tuesday and, on Sunday, he picked up his first MLB save. Guess who got the win?
Rasmussen, who had quite the week himself in becoming a father for the second time with wife Stevie giving birth to a daughter Tuesday evening, returned to the club and threw six scoreless innings in a 5-4 win over the visiting Yankees. He allowed only one base runner (Jazz Chisholm’s second inning double) in his first win and first decision since last August 13 against the A’s in Sacramento.
While Rasmussen was fantastic and remarkably efficient in throwing 76 pitches to 19 batters, it was Englert who added a milestone to his resume in completing a sweep of the division rival.
Not that it came easy. A 5-2 ninth-inning lead quickly became 5-4 when Aaron Judge deposited a sinker over the wall in right-center, 415 feet away. After allowing a two-out double to former Ray, Amed Rosario, and an intentional walk to Austin Wells, Ryan McMahon grounded out to end the game and put a save next to Englert’s name.
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“I’m still coming down a little bit,” Englert said following the game, while clearly still up on cloud nine. “I mean, just fired up with the win and to sweep the series. I’ll appreciate (the save).”
The baseball from the last out, certified by MLB, was on a shelf in Englert’s locker. It will soon find a permanent home.
“My wife and I have a house and we plan on getting a game room downstairs,” he said of the home in Grand Rapids, Mich., about 150 miles east of Detroit, where the 26-year-old broke into the bigs in 2023 and pitched parts of two seasons with the Tigers. “I have cards of guys that I played with and stuff like that. It will be cool.”
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