Orioles Shut Down Key Pitcher
O's closer Felix Bautista grabbed hold of the closer's role without missing a beat, securing 15 saves in 17 opportunities, while posting a 2.19 ERA and 0.93 WHIP in 65 appearances on the year. Unfortunately, his season is now done.
Orioles are going to shut down Felix Bautista. Left knee still bothering him. Team will add a pitcher.
— Steve Melewski (@masnSteve) October 3, 2022
Bautista had tweaked his left knee in his last appearance last week and now he's been shut down for the final few days of the season.
The 27-year-old had been insisting that he was fine, and could continue to pitch, but the Orioles, out of the playoff picture officially, decided to play it safe.
The injury happened while he was on the mound in Yankee Stadium last Friday, with none other than Aaron Judge on the mound. The crowd actually booed Bautista while he tried to stretch out his knee, but he said that didn't bother him.
Félix Bautista said “it was cool, actually” to get booed by a sold-out Yankee Stadium as he tried to stretch his left knee out amid a matchup with Aaron Judge. He does not expect the discomfort to end his season and said he could’ve pitched the ninth if the Orioles let him.
— Nathan Ruiz (@NathanSRuiz) October 1, 2022
Bautista even thought "it was cool, actually" to get booed by a sold-out Yankee Stadium. “What happened was, when I landed my knee just kind of shifted a little bit, so that caused some discomfort in my knee, caused some pain to happen, said Bautista. "But ever since then, it really hasn’t bothered me all that much.”
All in all, with his rookie season in the books, he's more than happy with how it went. “Being my first season in the bigs, I feel really good with the way things turned out for me. I’m really happy with that.”
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