Bautista collected the save in Wednesday's 2-1 win over the Nationals, allowing one hit while striking out a batter in a scoreless ninth inning. He did not issue a walk.
Bautista was brought in for the ninth inning to protect a one-run lead. He needed 19 pitches (12 strikes) to make it through the frame, highlighted by a four-pitch punchout of James Wood to open the ninth. Bautista has earned a save in three of his last four outings and has not yielded a run over his last five games.
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Orioles' Felix Bautista: Secures second save
Rotowire
Bautista earned the save in Saturday's 9-5 win over the Reds, striking out one in a perfect ninth inning.
Bautista was called upon to protect a 9-5 lead in the ninth after Matt Bowman allowed the first three batters to reach. The closer needed just 10 pitches to lock down the save, stranding a pair of baserunners in the process for his fourth straight scoreless appearances. On the season, he owns a 3.00 ERA, 1.67 WHIP and 7:6 K:BB across six innings while converting both of his save opportunities.
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Orioles' Felix Bautista: Logs first save since 2023
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Bautista earned the save in Saturday's 5-4 win over the Blue Jays. He allowed two walks while striking out one batter in a scoreless ninth inning.
Bautista got the call from the bullpen to maintain the Orioles' one-run lead. He walked two batters in a row, and after forcing a groundout, he managed to close things out by striking out Bo Bichette. Bautista missed the entire 2024 season while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery that he underwent October of 2023, and Saturday's save was his first since Aug. 24, 2023, also against the Blue Jays.
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Orioles' Felix Bautista: Labors through ninth inning Monday
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Bautista gave up two runs on two hits and two walks in the ninth inning during Monday's 8-5 win over the Red Sox.
Bautista labored Monday, needing 26 pitches to finish off the game. A Romy Gonzalez double and Jarren Duran single plated two runs to make this one interesting, but Alex Bregman popped out while representing the tying run to end the contest. Bautista is still working his way back into form after missing all of last season due to Tommy John surgery and likely won't work back-to-back days early on, but he'll have a day off before Wednesday's meeting with Boston.
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Orioles' Felix Bautista: Good to go for Opening Day
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Manager Brandon Hyde said Sunday that Bautista will be included on Baltimore's Opening Day roster, Andy Kostka of TheBaltimoreBanner.com reports.
There was some recent concern that Bautista wouldn't be ready to go for the start of the regular season, but the skipper put those thoughts to bed Sunday. The right-hander spent most of camp in ramp-up mode while working his way back from October 2023 Tommy John surgery, but he's been cleared after making five spring appearances. The 29-year-old recorded 33 saves with a 1.48 ERA during the 2023 regular season and should begin the campaign as the Orioles' closer.
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Orioles' Felix Bautista: Might not be ready for Opening Day
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Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said Thursday that Bautista (elbow) is not a guarantee to be on the Opening Day roster, Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun reports.
Bautista is considered healthy as he comes back from October 2023 Tommy John surgery, but he's still in ramp-up mode and the Orioles could decide he's not ready yet. The righty has made four Grapefruit League appearances, allowing three runs with a 7:1 K:BB. Bautista is throwing on the back fields Thursday and it's not clear when he might make another game appearance. If Bautista isn't included on the Opening Day roster, Seranthony Dominguez and/or Gregory Soto could fill in at closer.
Orioles' Felix Bautista: Cleared for spring debut Monday
Rotowire
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said that Bautista (elbow) -- who will make his Grapefruit League debut Monday versus the Red Sox -- won't pitch back-to-back days or cover more than one inning early on in the season, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.
Bautista projects to open the season as the Orioles' closer, barring any setbacks during his appearances in the spring as he makes his return from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent in October 2023. However, for occasions in which Bautista is unavailable, Hyde said he would "mix and match" at closer those days, with the manager naming Andrew Kittredge (knee), Gregory Soto and Seranthony Dominguez as options to fill in. Hyde noted that he'll apply the cautious usage of Bautista "especially in the first half." The Orioles don't seem to have a hard deadline for when the restrictions on Bautista will be lifted, as it likely just depends on how the pitcher looks and is bouncing back from outings.
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Orioles' Felix Bautista: Spring debut expected Monday
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Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said that he's hopeful that Bautista (elbow) will make his Grapefruit League debut Monday versus the Red Sox, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.
The Orioles will presumably wait and see how Bautista bounces back from his latest throwing session before locking him into Monday's pitching schedule, but up to this point, the right-hander has seemingly responded well to all of the bullpen and live batting practice sessions he's logged thus far in spring. Assuming he gets the green light to pitch Monday, Bautista will be making his first appearance in a game since August 2023, after he missed the entire 2024 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Now nearly 17 months removed from the procedure, Bautista should be on track to open the season as the Orioles' closer, provided he makes it through his spring appearances with no complications. Before suffering the elbow injury in 2023, Bautista had been one of baseball's top closers that season, turning in a 1.48 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 110:26 K:BB while notching 33 saves in 39 chances over 61 innings.
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Orioles' Felix Bautista: Shines in latest bullpen session
Rotowire
Bautista (elbow) threw approximately 25 pitches Thursday in his second live batting practice session of the spring, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
The hard-throwing right-hander faced Heston Kjerstad four times and Gary Sanchez three times during the session, recording three strikeouts among the seven plate appearances. Bautista is expected to throw live BP sessions on one or two more occasions before making his Grapefruit League debut in the first or second week of March. Manager Brandon Hyde has set seven spring appearances -- either in Grapefruit League games or on the back fields at camp -- as the benchmark Bautista needs to hit to make himself an option for the Opening Day bullpen.
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