ATLANTA -- Victor Mederos experienced the thrill of being a mop-up reliever who got a hit against a position player in Friday night’s blowout win over the Rangers. That’s a fun story he’ll tell forever.
But the most influential thrill of his young career came Monday night, when he made a strong impression in a 3-2 win over the Padres at Truist Park. Knowing every high-leverage reliever was unavailable, he worked the final 2 1/3 innings in scoreless fashion to notch his first career save.
“It’s high energy every day and he's not scared,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “It’s his first Major League save. The way he handled it, you would have thought he'd have done it a bunch of times.”
Once the final out was recorded, Mederos looked to the sky, let out a loud roar and pumped his fist across his chest. He showed similar exuberance when he got out of a jam in the seventh and on Friday, when he hit a two-run single against Rangers catcher Kyle Higashioka.
“It’s the dog mentality,” Mederos said. “I start falling into trouble when I don’t have that aggression.”
The Braves have liked what they gained when they acquired Mederos from the Angels for international bonus pool money on April 3. The reliever has spent most of the past three seasons in the Minors. But he’s already matched a career high with the five appearances he’s made for Atlanta.
This latest appearance has enhanced the chance he could log many more appearances.
Bryce Elder gave the Braves six solid innings, before exiting with a one-run lead with no outs in the seventh. Danny Young registered two outs before Mederos came in and retired seven of the nine batters he faced.
When Mederos entered, the only Braves relievers available were JR Ritchie, Elieser Hernández and Tyler Kinley.
“I was talking to [bullpen coach JP Martinez] today, and he was just like, 'How many you got?’” Mederos said. “I was like, ‘I’ve got everything you want me to get.’ So I just went out there and I took it one batter at a time. I didn't know what was going to happen. I just trusted in God and trusted in what the catcher was putting down.”
After Mederos needed just five pitches to retire Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill and Manny Machado in the eighth, Weiss knew he was sending the righty back out for the ninth.
So, within the past four days, Mederos has been both a mop-up reliever who got a hit and a closer who earned a lot of respect in the Atlanta bullpen.
“It's been really cool,” Mederos said. “It's been a lot of fun. I’m very blessed.”