After Weiss shows confidence in him, Fuentes earns 'a stripe or two' with 1st MLB save

ATLANTA -- How much confidence does Braves manager Walt Weiss have in Didier Fuentes? Well, he handed the ball to the rookie phenom with a one-run ninth-inning lead in Sunday’s 3-2 win over the Pirates at Truist Park.

“He earned a stripe or two on his shoulder with that experiment,” Weiss said. “That was a good one.”

Fuentes was still smiling nearly 30 minutes after he threw a scoreless ninth to secure a series sweep on a day when none of Atlanta’s top three relievers was available. At 20 years and 355 days, the Atlanta rookie became the youngest MLB pitcher to record a save since the Padres’ Andrés Muñoz (20 years, 225 days) secured one on Aug. 29, 2019. Fuentes is the youngest Braves to record a save since Mike McQueen (20 years, 346 days) on Aug. 11, 1971.

“I was very nervous, but everything went well,” Fuentes said with Braves coach Eddie Perez serving as his interpreter.

Fuentes surrendered a leadoff double to Brandon Lowe, then recorded a strikeout before an infield single put runners at the corners with one out. The young hurler was unfazed. He induced a popout, and then he ended the game by getting Endy Rodríguez to swing through a slider.

“That's a really tough situation right there for him to be in, and he ends up getting a punchout for the win,” Weiss said. “That was great.”

Weiss entered the game knowing he wasn’t going to use any of his top three high-leverage bullpen options. Closer Raisel Iglesias and left-hander Dylan Lee had both pitched in the first two games of this three-game series. Right-handed setup man Robert Suarez threw just 10 pitches Friday, but he went back-to-back earlier in the week. The Braves decided it was best to give him another day off leading into Monday’s off-day.

So, after Reynaldo López and Tyler Kinley combined to keep the Pirates scoreless in the seventh and eighth innings, the bullpen door opened for Fuentes, who has a 1.17 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 17 relief appearances (23 innings).

“That was huge for him,” Michael Harris II said. “He’s been lights out all season.”