ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Alex Reyes had no idea he just set a new MLB record until some fans congratulated him from the stands after his save for the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday. His close of the 2-1 victory was his 22th save of the season.
It was the 24th time in a row that Reyes' converted a save opportunity in his MLB career. That's the most consecutive saves converted to start a career since former Minnesota Twins closer LaTroy Hawkins had 23 in 2000-01.
“[Fans] said congratulations, and I was like, ‘Well, you know, we got the win.’” Reyes said after clinching the series-winning game against the San Francisco Giants.
“I try and go out there and not think about those things and just compete. I feel like that makes everything easier, instead of thinking about a bigger picture,” Reyes said.
Cardinals manager Mike Shildt, who also managed Reyes while both were in Triple-A during part of the 2016 season, says his success is no surprise.
“I've learned his competitive spirit and his heart for competition in big moments years ago,” Shildt said “People either embrace those moments or back down or learn to embrace them. In Alex’s case, he always embraced them. He actually had to learn to back off a little bit because he wanted it, so he was going to attack it. And it's a great trait.”
Reyes, 26, is a former No. 1 overall prospect in all of baseball who has gone through three devastating surgeries over a tough start to his career. This season he earned a spot in his first All-Star Game and has a 1.45 ERA with 55 strikeouts in 43.1 innings.
Sunday's win also meant a series win for the Cardinals over the Giants, the second time in two weeks that they've done that. St. Louis also beat the Giants two out of three games earlier this month.
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