Marlin Stuart, 1991 Crown/Coca-Cola All-Time Orioles #446

All the way back on May 14, 1954, Marlin Stuart recorded the first save in Orioles' history with a scoreless ninth inning in relief of Bob Turley, as the O's topped the Red Sox 7-2. I can't even figure out how he was credited with the save. When Turley was pinch-hit for, the game was tied at two apiece, but the pinch hitter (Bob Kennedy) singled in the go-ahead run. It seems like that was enough for Turley to get the win, and even though the Birds tacked on four insurance runs before Stuart entered in the top of the ninth, he got the easy save for slamming the door on Boston. That, along with being the only "Marlin" in team history, is his place in Oriole lore.

Jumping back to the present, Pedro Strop earned the first save of his major league career by pitching around a walk and blanking the Blue Jays in the ninth inning of a 2-1 squeaker. Tommy Hunter, Troy Patton, Darren O'Day, Luis Ayala, and Strop combined to hold the Jays to five hits in the game, supporting an O's offense that was likewise stifled by Henderson Alvarez and Casey Janssen. The Orioles' runs scored on an Adam Jones double play grounder and a Matt Wieters fly ball that Toronto left fielder Eric Thames deflected over the wall with his glove. In other words, it all went according to plan.

Strop, the 27 year-old flamethrower acquired from Texas last August for Mike Gonzalez, got the nod tonight because regular closer Jim Johnson had to be hospitalized with a nasty case of the flu. Even with the walk of Brett Lawrie, Pedro dispatched the Jays in 18 pitches, bookending his appearance with strikeouts of Adam Lind and Thames. He celebrated the final out by jumping a few inches off of the mound and pointing to the sky with both hands. He's now given up only 4 total runs in 23.1 innings as an Oriole, with 26 strikeouts. That's how to make a good impression on your new teammates.