Fisher pushes through nerves to notch first big league save

BALTIMORE -- If that’s what Braydon Fisher looks like when he’s nervous, he could be in for quite a long and successful high-leverage career.

With closer Jeff Hoffman among those down in the second game of the Blue Jays’ four-game set against the Orioles, the 25-year-old Fisher came on to complete his first career MLB save Friday night in a 6-5 win against arguably the most dangerous bats of Baltimore’s lineup.

And after learning pregame he’d be the ninth-inning guy, he admitted the occasion may have gotten to him a little as the Blue Jays rallied from a 5-0 hole in the seventh and eighth innings.

“When we started coming back, I didn't do a very good job of keeping that heart rate down,” he said. “But, no, it was awesome. It was a lot of fun.”

With a four-pitch mix led by a slider that has a 30.9% swing-and-miss rate in 2026, closer potential has been in the discussion with Fisher since he first broke in with the Blue Jays last season.

In 2026, he’s worked in every role imaginable except long relief, pitching as an opener in three games, finishing a game six times and pitching to a 2.48 ERA over an MLB-high 30 appearances.

And now he adds another credential to his resume.

“Just having the experience of being in the ninth inning, winning the game, getting the save, is a great experience to have, because the next one and the ones after that will feel a little bit easier and more normal,” Fisher said.

Friday’s save opportunity was arguably as stressful as they come in the regular season. With no margin for error against an Orioles lineup that had already homered three times against Austin Voth, Fisher got Jackson Holliday to ground out to second and Taylor Ward to fly out to center.

When second baseman Ernie Clement booted Gunnar Henderson’s two-out grounder to prolong the inning, Adley Rutschman strode to the plate as the Camden Yards crowd suddenly smelled blood.

But Fisher got the two-time All-Star to chase an 0-2 curveball beneath the zone, sending a tame grounder to second where Clement redeemed himself and put an end to the contest.

“It's easy to let your guard down and say there's a ground ball to second, game over, and then you look up and you've got a base stealer on first and you've got one of the best hitters in the box,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “So he did a really good job of just moving on to the next important thing.”

Speaking of Voth, the Blue Jays designated the veteran for assignment Saturday after his 3 1/3 innings of middle relief, in which he allowed all five Baltimore runs.

Toronto selected the contract of another 25-year-old reliever, Hayden Juenger, from Triple-A Buffalo in the corresponding move. He’s pitched to a 3.15 ERA in 17 appearances for the Bisons this season.

“He can give us a couple innings of coverage, for sure,” Schneider said of Juenger, a sixth-round pick of the Blue Jays in the 2021 Draft. “I feel like he's been in the organization forever, so pretty cool he gets a chance to come up.”