‘He could be the last of a dying breed’: Craig Kimbrel records 400th save in Phillies’ win over Braves

ATLANTA — Craig Kimbrel was at Turner Field when Billy Wagner recorded his 400th save on June 25, 2010. He was a rookie reliever for the Braves at the time and was more focused on keeping his job than reaching a milestone. He never saw himself one day reaching the same feat, in the same city. But on Friday night, almost 13 years later, Kimbrel did just that.

In the top of the ninth inning, he entered the ballgame and was tasked with protecting a two-run lead. Kimbrel induced a flyout by Ozzie Albies and another by Orlando Arcia, allowed a walk to Michael Harris II, and induced a hard-hit groundout — that was bobbled by Josh Harrison — for the final out of the Phillies’ 6-4 win.

Kimbrel isn’t one for celebration. He nodded his head to catcher J.T. Realmuto, who gave him a hug. Realmuto wasn’t surprised by Kimbrel’s subdued reaction. He says it’s part of what makes him an effective reliever. He’s steady.

“You don’t get 400 saves in the big leagues without having that type of mentality,” Realmuto said.

Kimbrel said that reaching 400 saves wasn’t necessarily a target for him. It just happened organically. He began closing games when he was a 22-year-old teammate of Wagner’s in 2010. He became in Atlanta’s full-time closer the next year, when he recorded a MLB-high 46 saves.

He wasn’t sure when — or even if — he’d reach 400 but eventually realized it could happen in Atlanta. It meant a lot to Kimbrel, who was drafted by the Braves in 2008 and has family about three hours away in Huntsville, Ala. They were in attendance on Friday night.

“The majority of my family was here to see it,” Kimbrel said. “Getting to take it in and enjoy it with them is great. The first thing was like, ‘Whew, glad he hit that ball to third base and didn’t hit it out.’ But then it was, ‘OK, game’s over, let’s enjoy it.’”

Kimbrel, 34, has seen somewhat of a career resurgence in Philadelphia lately. After a bumpy start to the season, he has settled in and become the de-facto closer as José Alvarado recovers from injury. This wasn’t a guarantee when the Phillies signed him in January, and they told him as much. Manager Rob Thomson likes to rotate his relievers through the ninth inning, rather than designate a closer.

But Kimbrel made a compelling case for himself. Over his past seven outings, he has a 1.29 ERA. His stuff has looked better and better, after his velocity was down earlier in the season.

“[It’s improved] a lot,” Realmuto said. “It’s spring training. You never look too much into it. Even he would say himself he didn’t feel like he had the zip on his fastball. He wasn’t commanding the ball very well. His breaking ball was a ball almost every time.

“Now he’s doing a really good job. His velocity ticked up a lot. It’s coming out of his hand well. He’s getting the ride on his fastball when he gets it up. That’s when he’s really good. It’s when he throws a fastball at the top of the zone to any hitter and they rarely get to it.”

While Kimbrel didn’t show much emotion after the final out was made on Friday, Realmuto wasn’t shy in expressing the magnitude of that moment.

“It was incredible,” he said. “It was a lot of fun. It’s happened eight times in the history of baseball, and it probably won’t — in my — happen very many more times with how the game’s going and how saves aren’t necessarily — teams don’t value them the same as they used to. He could be one of the last of a dying breed, which is pretty cool.”