Phillies' Craig Kimbrell becomes the eighth pitcher to reach 400 saves

News agencyMay 26, 2023 at 10:47 p.m. ET3 minutes to read

Craig Kimbrell hits 400 hits in victory over the Braves

Craig Kimbrel becomes only the eighth pitcher in MLB history to reach 400 balls in a win over the Braves.

Atlanta – Craig Kimbrell became the eighth player in major league history to record 400 saves, Brandon Marsh hit the go-ahead, hit two in the sixth inning, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 6-4 on Friday night.

In his 730th career appearance, Kimbrell, 34, worked up a scoreless ninth to grab his sixth save in six chances this season. Of the seven tacklers to reach 400 saves, only Mariano Rivera (697 games), Trevor Hoffman (706), and Kenley Jansen (778) have reached the threshold in fewer than 800 games.

Kimbrel, the 2011 NL Rookie of the Year, played his first five seasons in Atlanta, was a four-time All-Star with the Braves and still holds the franchise record with 186 saves. This is his first season with Philadelphia. Over his past 14 games since April 16, Kimbrel has faced 50 batters and has 26 strikeouts in 13 innings pitched, but started the game with a 6.00 ERA.

Facing reliever Joe Jimenez (0-1) with the bases loaded in the sixth, Marsh made it 4-3 with a single to left which Nick Castellanos and JT Realmoto scored. The Phillies scored twice in the seventh off Lucas Lugg on a Trea Turner double and a Bryce Harper sacrifice fly.

The Braves took a 3-2 lead in the fifth when Michael Harris II snapped a 1-for-28 rout with a two-run homer. 165, Harris drove an 88-mph break from starter Taijuan Walker (4-2) for a shot into the opposite field to left. It was the second home run by Harris, the best rookie of last season in the Premier League.

The NL-leading Braves fell to 31-20. Philadelphia, which finished fourth in the NL East after advancing to the World Series last year, is 24-27. The Phillies are seven games behind Atlanta in the division standings.

After failing to capitalize in the first two innings with a runner in scoring position, the Phillies took a 2–0 lead in the third when Bryson Stott and Turner walked and Castellanos tripled off the wall at right center.

Atlanta narrowed the deficit to 2-1 in the fourth. Travis d’Arnaud doubled, advanced to third on Marcel Ozuna’s single and scored on Eddie Rosario’s sacrifice fly.

Walker gave out 10 hits and three runs in 6.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px;white-space:nowrap} ⁄ innings. He started 1-2 with a 5.14 ERA in seven games against Atlanta.

Jared Shuster, the Braves’ MVP according to MLB.com, allowed three hits and three runs in 5.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px;white-space:nowrap} ⁄ innings pitched. It was his fifth career start.