It was not an envious situation.
Mason Fluharty jogged into the game on Sunday in Los Angeles with the Toronto Blue Jays holding a 5-4 lead. There was one out in the bottom of the ninth. The Dodgers had loaded the bases. Shohei Ohtani was up, and Mookie Betts was on deck.
No one would’ve blamed Fluharty if he didn’t escape that massive jam.
But then Fluharty struck out Ohtani, and then he got Betts to ground into a 5-4 putout to end the ballgame.
A great escape indeed.
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In fact, it was historic.
Fluharty had just retired two former MVPs with the bases loaded to earn a save.
The last time that happened was Sept. 15, 2002. That day, Padres future Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman got out both Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent for his save. Bonds, of course, was at the peak of his powers, and Kent was only a few years removed from his MVP.
For Fluharty, Ohtani is certainly still at the peak of his powers. Betts has had a rough season but has heated up of late.
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It’s even wilder when you consider Fluharty’s season. This outing lowered his ERA to 5.15.
And on the campaign before Sunday, Fluharty had exactly zero saves in his entire big league career.
Nothing like this moment to get his first.
Hoffman ended his career with 601, which is probably out of reach for Fluharty. But he’ll take this special moment in the Los Angeles spotlight, something he’ll never forget.
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