Orioles Shut Down Key Pitcher

When the Baltimore Orioles traded closer Jorge Lopez at the trade deadline, many wondered why a team that was still trying to compete for a Wild Card spot would have made such a move. Turns out, they had a beast of a replacement. 

O's closer Felix Bautista grabbed hold of the closer's role without missing a beat, securing 15 saves in 17 opportunities, while posting a 2.19 ERA and 0.93 WHIP in 65 appearances on the year. Unfortunately, his season is now done.

Bautista had tweaked his left knee in his last appearance last week and now he's been shut down for the final few days of the season. 

The 27-year-old had been insisting that he was fine, and could continue to pitch, but the Orioles, out of the playoff picture officially, decided to play it safe.

The injury happened while he was on the mound in Yankee Stadium last Friday, with none other than Aaron Judge on the mound. The crowd actually booed Bautista while he tried to stretch out his knee, but he said that didn't bother him.

Bautista even thought "it was cool, actually" to get booed by a sold-out Yankee Stadium. “What happened was, when I landed my knee just kind of shifted a little bit, so that caused some discomfort in my knee, caused some pain to happen, said Bautista. "But ever since then, it really hasn’t bothered me all that much.”

All in all, with his rookie season in the books, he's more than happy with how it went. “Being my first season in the bigs, I feel really good with the way things turned out for me. I’m really happy with that.”