Cade Smith continues cementing his place among the best closers this franchise has ever had, and Tuesday night added another significant chapter.
Smith worked around a one-out walk in the ninth inning to close out Cleveland’s 3-2 win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park, securing his 40th save of the season in 45 chances. The outing kept Cleveland firmly in control of the AL Central race. For Smith personally, it also placed him in franchise company that only a small handful of pitchers have ever reached.
MLB.com’s Craig Forde explained how rare Tuesday’s milestone was.
“Cade Smith pitched around a one-out walk in the ninth to become just the seventh Cleveland pitcher to record 40 saves in a season, joining Emmanuel Clase (2022-24), Joe Borowski (’07), Bob Wickman (’05), Jose Mesa (1995), Doug Jones (’90) and Mike Jackson (’98),” Forde wrote.
Emmanuel Clase reached the mark across three different seasons between 2022 and 2024, while Joe Borowski, Bob Wickman, Jose Mesa, Doug Jones and Mike Jackson each did it once, dating back through the 1990 season. Reaching 40 saves in a single year has never been common in this organization, and doing it as a still relatively young closer only adds to how impressive Smith’s rise has been.
Smith is sitting on a 1.99 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP this season, with 104 strikeouts to go along with his 40 saves. His last seven days alone have featured four saves, eight strikeouts and a spotless 0.00 ERA, the kind of stretch that has become the norm rather than the exception for him down the stretch. For his career, he has now struck out 311 batters across 221.1 innings, numbers that place him firmly among the more dominant relief arms in recent memory.
Smith’s emergence has coincided with one of the best runs of the season for this Cleveland team. The Guardians improved to 82-75 with Tuesday’s win, maintaining their one game lead over the White Sox in the division. Their magic number to clinch a playoff spot fell to two.
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