For Street, 200th save is just 'a stop along the way'

SAN DIEGO -- When closer Huston Street recorded the final out in Sunday's 6-4 victory in San Francisco, he breathed a sigh of relief. Not only because it was the first save Street had collected since returning from a stint on the disabled list that lasted more than a month, but also because it marked the 200th save of the 29-year-old's career.

Street had been stuck at 199 saves since early August, when he was placed on the DL with a strained left calf, and was especially eager to get to the 200-save milestone.

"I think everybody knows when you're sitting on something like 199," Street said. "You want to get past it just to get past it."

As one of 10 active pitchers with 200 career saves, Street also feels like he is only now coming into his own in his eighth season in the Majors.

"It's a round number, it's a pretty number," Street said of 200 saves. "At the same time, it feels more like a stop along the way. I'm 29, and I really feel like I'm just kind of starting to understand what it is to pitch in my role with my stuff in the ninth inning."

Despite also battling a strained right lat muscle in May, Street has amassed 22 saves this season, converting in each of his opportunities for the Padres, who signed the All-Star to a two-year contract extension worth $14 million in July.

"This year was just one of those crazy years," Street said. "When I've been on the field, it really has been my best year. It's the most comfortable I've felt outing to outing. Injuries have taken a lot of that away from me, frustratingly so, because you want to get locked into that rhythm, you want to build off that."

Street also spoke of building on the improvement he's seen through the course of the year from this Padres team.

"Overall, I'm satisfied with the year," Street said. "I'm satisfied to the extent that I feel like this team has grown a bunch, and that I'm going to get to be a part of it for at least two more years."