D'Amato: Corey Knebel gives Brewers edge at closing time
Six words – actually two, repeated three times – went through Corey Knebel’s mind as he watched a fly ball off the bat of the Miami Marlins’ Derek Dietrich sail into the gap in left-center field in the ninth inning Friday night.
“ ‘Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap,’ ” the Brewers’ closer said. “I was ready for the worst.”
Then came a play as beautiful as any you’ll see in baseball: Leftfielder Hernan Perez fielded the ball and threw to shortstop Orlando Arcia, the cutoff man; Arcia whirled and fired a bullet to catcher Stephen Vogt, who applied the sweep tag on J.T. Realmuto, trying to score from first on Dietrich’s double.
“It was a sense of relief,” Knebel said. “It was awesome.”
During a video review of the bang-bang play – the out call was upheld – the Brewers infielders gathered around Knebel.
“They said, ‘Dude, you’ve got this, just relax,’ ” Knebel said. “It’s nice to know the team’s got my back.”
Knebel then struck out JT Riddle swinging and Dee Gordon looking and recorded his 13th save in the Brewers’ 3-2 victory. In the process he broke the single-season record for relievers for the most consecutive games with a strikeout (40), a mark previously held by Bruce Sutter (39 in 1977).
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“It’s an honor just to be mentioned in the same breath with Bruce Sutter,” Knebel said at his locker Saturday. “He’s one of the best ever. Forty-year-old record, too? I mean, it’s a great honor.”
No matter where the Brewers have been in recent years – trying to patch holes in their lineup or rotation, making the playoffs, rebuilding – they have always somehow managed to unearth, discover or luck into capable closers, some of whom lasted only a season or two.
Jeremy Jeffress had 27 of his 28 career saves last year. Francisco Rodriguez saved 82 games in 2014-’15. Jim Henderson recorded 28 of his 31 career saves in 2013. John Axford saved 105 games from 2010-’12, including a franchise-best 46 in 2011. Trevor Hoffman saved 37 at the tail end of his career in 2009. Salomon Torres had a career-high 28 saves in 2008.
When Neftali Feliz failed miserably earlier this season, the Brewers turned to Knebel, a 25-year-old right-hander who was up and down with the team in 2016 and had all of two career saves.
BOX SCORE:Brewers 8, Marlins 4
GAME STORY:Big second inning carries Brewers
NOTES:Jimmy Nelson missed bats at a high rate in June
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It was a hold-your-breath move, but Knebel has been lights out. Entering Saturday he had a 1.13 earned-run average, led major-league relievers with 68 strikeouts and had allowed just three of 13 inherited runners to score. Opponents were batting .154 against him.
Like most closers, Knebel doesn’t nibble at the corners with off-speed junk. At 6 feet 4 inches and 220 pounds, he challenges batters with a four-seam fastball that touches 100 mph and mixes in a knee-buckling curve. His average speed for all pitches this season is 96.91 mph.
Rodriguez took Knebel under his wing in 2015 and the young reliever learned the art of closing from the Zen master: If you haven’t pitched for a while and enter the game a run down, work on throwing strikes. One-run lead, be careful. Ahead by two or three runs, pitch to contact.
“K-Rod is my idol,” Knebel said. “Great teammate. I love the guy. He taught me a lot, and I’m just doing what he taught me.”
Brewers manager Craig Counsell said Knebel also benefited from some adversity in 2016, when he started the season on the disabled list with a strained oblique muscle and compiled a 4.68 ERA in two stints with the big-league club.
“I think Corey had a really good first couple years of experience here,” Counsell said. “He was fortunate to be around Frankie Rodriguez. That was a really good thing for him. He was fortunate in the fact that he had some adversity last year with an injury. Back down to the minor leagues. He had to kind of get over that a little bit. I think in the end it was good for him that he went through that.
“I think that led to him coming to spring this year in a place where he had a little something to prove. Nothing taken for granted. Nothing guaranteed. He had an opportunity to prove something and solidify a role and he’s done all that.”
Knebel is well aware of the Brewers’ legacy of closers and is thankful to be the latest in a long line of good ones.
“Hoffman came in here. Jeffress. Axford. K-Rod. There’s been a lot of great guys here,” he said. “It’s an honor to be that next guy.”
For however long it lasts.