'It's special': Miller alone atop A's rookie saves leaderboard

CHICAGO -- Mason Miller emphatically pumped his fist and screamed in celebration. He then tapped his right hand into his glove and raised both arms into the air, before turning and looking at the sky.

Miller induced a 4-6-3 double play in the ninth inning on Wednesday to close out the A’s 5-3 win over the Cubs. The right-hander secured his 27th save of the season, the most by a rookie in Oakland A’s history.

“It’s special,” Miller said. “It’s just trying to get to the next one each time. Now I get an opportunity to kind of look back on the year and the success I've had. It's a special moment that I'm definitely appreciating.”

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Less than 24 hours earlier, Miller stood at his locker after tying the Oakland record set by Andrew Bailey in 2009 in Tuesday night’s 4-3 win over Chicago. Miller allowed a solo home run in that appearance; Ian Happ homered on a 103.2 mph four-seamer, the fastest pitch taken deep in the Statcast era (since 2015).

The 26-year-old’s outing was smooth sailing on Wednesday. Miller struck out Michael Busch to open the ninth inning on an 87.4 mph slider that dove below the strike zone. After Nico Hoerner drew a five-pitch walk, Pete Crow-Armstrong grounded into the game-ending double play on the second pitch of his at-bat.

Not only does Miller stand alone on Oakland’s rookie saves leaderboard, but he surpassed some great company to get there. Huston Street (23 saves in 2005) ranks third, and Rollie Fingers (12 saves in 1969) ranks fifth.

“They had long and successful big league careers, some Hall of Fame careers,” Miller said. “I can only hope to continue to keep up with the pace that they set. Just come into next year with the same mentality, same hunger. Just keep putting us in a position to get into the dugout with a win.”

Miller broke into the Majors last season, and his first four appearances came as a starting pitcher. He finished 2023 with a 3.78 ERA in 33 1/3 innings over 10 outings, including six starts.

The right-hander opened this season as Oakland’s closer and dominated from the jump. Miller converted each of his first 11 save opportunities and is 27-for-29 overall this season. He ranks 10th in the Majors in saves, and he has a 2.37 ERA and 0.86 WHIP in 51 appearances, with 96 strikeouts in 60 2/3 innings.

“Coming into the season and through Spring Training, we saw the confidence,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “We saw, I think, the demeanor and the ability to handle that high-leverage situation. And we started him out right at the beginning of the year in that closing role. He's just had such a great season doing it.

“The confidence that this club has turning the ball over to him, it feels really good.”