Britton escapes jam, emerges with MLB record

OAKLAND -- By working his way out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth inning of a 9-6 Orioles win over the A's on Thursday, Zach Britton recorded his 39th consecutive appearance without allowing an earned run, setting a new Major League record.
Britton, who is 35-for-35 in saves opportunities this season, passed Brett Cecil and Craig Kimbrel on the all-time list with his latest scoreless outing.
He allowed one earned run to the Chicago White Sox on April 30, and has avoided damage to his ERA since, while giving up three unearned runs against the Padres on June 21.
Getting three outs while yielding no runs proved to be a strenuous task Thursday, though.
After Ryon Healy grounded out to open the ninth, Brett Eibner drew a walk. Britton forced Coco Crisp to fly out to left, before Marcus Semien singled to put two runners on base.
Khris Davis then hit a chopper up the middle for an infield single. However, Eibner rounded third and Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop threw to Manny Machado, who tagged Eibner before he got back to the base to seemingly end the game.

The A's challenged the call, though, and it was overturned after review, bringing up the potential go-ahead run. But Britton induced a grounder to second from Danny Valencia just two pitches later to preserve the win and his streak. The closer has allowed just three earned runs in 48 innings this season.