BALTIMORE -- Setting the American League record for consecutive saves converted requires a remarkable display of consistency.
Patience also played a part for Zach Britton, because the Baltimore Orioles closer went more than 14 weeks this season between tying the mark and breaking it.
Britton converted his 55th straight save opportunity Sunday, blanking the Houston Astros in the ninth inning to seal Baltimore's 9-7 victory.
He struck out the first two batters and issued a walk before pinch-hitter George Springer bounced into a force play to end it.
"I never thought I could put together something like that at this level, with how good these guys are," the left-hander said. "I'll reflect on it eventually. I just want to get back to pitching like myself consistently."
Britton earned his fifth save on April 14 and endured more than two months on the disabled list with a strained left forearm before returning on July 5.
At that point, manager Buck Showalter refrained from using Britton in the closer's role until he was ready. Britton finally got the chance Sunday -- and made the most of it.
Britton broke the AL mark held by Tom Gordon, who notched 54 straight saves with Boston from 1998-99. Britton started his run on Oct. 1, 2015, added 47 in a row last season and is 6 for 6 this year.
"A lot of us were here to see all of them and realize how hard that is to do, especially over that long a period of time," Showalter said.
The major league record of 84 is held by Eric Gagne of the Dodgers from 2002-04. Saves became an official statistic in 1969.
Baltimore broke a tie with two runs in the eighth against Luke Gregerson (2-3), using a sacrifice fly by Manny Machado and an RBI single by Jonathan Schoop.
Britton made the lead stand up, using 16 pitches to retire the AL West leaders.
Mark Trumbo homered and Adam Jones had four hits for the Orioles, who avoided a three-game sweep. Baltimore had lost eight straight to Houston, dating to last year.
"We're not perfect every game. We're not without our own flaws or things we can do better," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "There have only been a couple of nights where we got it handed to us. Most of the time we're in the game."
The Astros twice fell behind by three runs before coming back. Jose Altuve's 15th home run -- the first of his four hits -- made it 3-all in the fourth, and Nori Aoki connected with two on in the sixth to knot the score at 6.
Houston added a run in the sixth, but Trumbo tied it with a shot to left leading off the seventh.
Mychal Givens (7-0) worked the eighth for the Orioles.
Astros starter Lance McCullers gave up six runs and nine hits, walked two and hit two batters in 4 2/3 innings. In three starts this month, the right-hander is 0-1 with a 9.88 ERA.
"It's up to me and the coaching staff to watch some video and figure out what is going on," McCullers said.
Added Hinch: "He's going through a rut right now and things are not going his way. He's not getting beat around the ballpark as much as he is creating some havoc for himself."
Baltimore's Dylan Bundy allowed seven runs in 5 1/3 innings, including both Houston homers.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Astros: 3B Colin Moran was placed on the disabled list with a facial fracture. The injury occurred Saturday night when the rookie fouled a ball off his cheek, and he remained hospitalized Sunday. Houston recalled 1B Tyler White from Triple-A Fresno. ... LHP Dallas Keuchel pitched five innings in his second rehab appearance Saturday night. He's been on the DL since June 5 with a neck injury.
Orioles: SS J.J. Hardy, who's been on the DL since June 19 with a fractured wrist, is taking grounders but not yet throwing. "Right now, the stage is getting the mobility back," Hardy said. He will see a hand specialist in a week, then seek to strengthen the wrist before starting baseball activities.
UP NEXT
Astros: RHP Brad Peacock (8-1, 2.49 ERA) helps Houston launch a three-game interleague series in Philadelphia on Monday night.
Orioles: Kevin Gausman (6-7, 6.11 ERA) seeks to level his record for the first time since April 18 when Baltimore opens a three-game series at Tampa Bay on Monday night.
---
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
Patience also played a part for Zach Britton, because the Baltimore Orioles closer went more than 14 weeks this season between tying the mark and breaking it.
Britton converted his 55th straight save opportunity Sunday, blanking the Houston Astros in the ninth inning to seal Baltimore's 9-7 victory.
He struck out the first two batters and issued a walk before pinch-hitter George Springer bounced into a force play to end it.
"I never thought I could put together something like that at this level, with how good these guys are," the left-hander said. "I'll reflect on it eventually. I just want to get back to pitching like myself consistently."
Britton earned his fifth save on April 14 and endured more than two months on the disabled list with a strained left forearm before returning on July 5.
At that point, manager Buck Showalter refrained from using Britton in the closer's role until he was ready. Britton finally got the chance Sunday -- and made the most of it.
Britton broke the AL mark held by Tom Gordon, who notched 54 straight saves with Boston from 1998-99. Britton started his run on Oct. 1, 2015, added 47 in a row last season and is 6 for 6 this year.
"A lot of us were here to see all of them and realize how hard that is to do, especially over that long a period of time," Showalter said.
The major league record of 84 is held by Eric Gagne of the Dodgers from 2002-04. Saves became an official statistic in 1969.
Baltimore broke a tie with two runs in the eighth against Luke Gregerson (2-3), using a sacrifice fly by Manny Machado and an RBI single by Jonathan Schoop.
Britton made the lead stand up, using 16 pitches to retire the AL West leaders.
Mark Trumbo homered and Adam Jones had four hits for the Orioles, who avoided a three-game sweep. Baltimore had lost eight straight to Houston, dating to last year.
"We're not perfect every game. We're not without our own flaws or things we can do better," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "There have only been a couple of nights where we got it handed to us. Most of the time we're in the game."
The Astros twice fell behind by three runs before coming back. Jose Altuve's 15th home run -- the first of his four hits -- made it 3-all in the fourth, and Nori Aoki connected with two on in the sixth to knot the score at 6.
Houston added a run in the sixth, but Trumbo tied it with a shot to left leading off the seventh.
Mychal Givens (7-0) worked the eighth for the Orioles.
Astros starter Lance McCullers gave up six runs and nine hits, walked two and hit two batters in 4 2/3 innings. In three starts this month, the right-hander is 0-1 with a 9.88 ERA.
"It's up to me and the coaching staff to watch some video and figure out what is going on," McCullers said.
Added Hinch: "He's going through a rut right now and things are not going his way. He's not getting beat around the ballpark as much as he is creating some havoc for himself."
Baltimore's Dylan Bundy allowed seven runs in 5 1/3 innings, including both Houston homers.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Astros: 3B Colin Moran was placed on the disabled list with a facial fracture. The injury occurred Saturday night when the rookie fouled a ball off his cheek, and he remained hospitalized Sunday. Houston recalled 1B Tyler White from Triple-A Fresno. ... LHP Dallas Keuchel pitched five innings in his second rehab appearance Saturday night. He's been on the DL since June 5 with a neck injury.
Orioles: SS J.J. Hardy, who's been on the DL since June 19 with a fractured wrist, is taking grounders but not yet throwing. "Right now, the stage is getting the mobility back," Hardy said. He will see a hand specialist in a week, then seek to strengthen the wrist before starting baseball activities.
UP NEXT
Astros: RHP Brad Peacock (8-1, 2.49 ERA) helps Houston launch a three-game interleague series in Philadelphia on Monday night.
Orioles: Kevin Gausman (6-7, 6.11 ERA) seeks to level his record for the first time since April 18 when Baltimore opens a three-game series at Tampa Bay on Monday night.
---
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
1:35PM,EDT,July 23,2017
Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore,Maryland
Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore,Maryland
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Houston - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Dylan Bundy pitching for Baltimore | HOU | BAL |
| Altuve grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 0 |
| Reddick struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Gurriel flied out to center. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Lance McCullers Jr. pitching for Houston | HOU | BAL |
| Jones singled to center. | 0 | 0 |
| Machado walked, Jones to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Schoop grounded into double play, pitcher to second to first, Machado out at second, Jones to third. | 0 | 0 |
| Trumbo grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Houston - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Dylan Bundy pitching for Baltimore | HOU | BAL |
| Gattis flied out to right. | 0 | 0 |
| González walked. | 0 | 0 |
| McCann struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Bregman struck out looking. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Lance McCullers Jr. pitching for Houston | HOU | BAL |
| Davis singled to left. | 0 | 0 |
| Mancini hit by pitch, Davis to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Joseph walked, Davis to third, Mancini to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Kim hit by pitch, Davis scored, Mancini to third, Joseph to second. | 0 | 1 |
| Tejada grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Mancini scored, Kim out at second, Joseph to third. | 0 | 2 |
| Jones singled to left, Joseph scored. | 0 | 3 |
| Machado struck out swinging. | 0 | 3 |
| 3 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Houston - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Dylan Bundy pitching for Baltimore | HOU | BAL |
| Aoki hit a ground rule double to deep right. | 0 | 3 |
| Marisnick reached on bunt single to third, Aoki to third. | 0 | 3 |
| Altuve homered to left (376 feet), Aoki and Marisnick scored. | 3 | 3 |
| Reddick flied out to right. | 3 | 3 |
| Gurriel flied out to center. | 3 | 3 |
| Gattis flied out to left. | 3 | 3 |
| 3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Lance McCullers Jr. pitching for Houston | HOU | BAL |
| Schoop singled to left. | 3 | 3 |
| Trumbo grounded out to second, Schoop to second. | 3 | 3 |
| Davis grounded out to second, Schoop to third. | 3 | 3 |
| Mancini singled to right center, Schoop scored. | 3 | 4 |
| Mancini to second on wild pitch by McCullers Jr.. | 3 | 4 |
| Joseph grounded out to shortstop. | 3 | 4 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Houston - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Dylan Bundy pitching for Baltimore | HOU | BAL |
| González singled to center. | 3 | 4 |
| McCann popped out to third. | 3 | 4 |
| Bregman flied out to center. | 3 | 4 |
| Aoki singled to center, González to third. | 3 | 4 |
| Marisnick struck out swinging. | 3 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Lance McCullers Jr. pitching for Houston | HOU | BAL |
| Kim singled to shallow right. | 3 | 4 |
| Tejada grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Kim out at second. | 3 | 4 |
| Jones struck out looking. | 3 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Houston - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Dylan Bundy pitching for Baltimore | HOU | BAL |
| Altuve doubled to deep right. | 3 | 4 |
| Reddick grounded out to second, Altuve to third. | 3 | 4 |
| Gurriel grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Altuve out at home. | 3 | 4 |
| Gattis lined out to center. | 3 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Lance McCullers Jr. pitching for Houston | HOU | BAL |
| Machado struck out swinging. | 3 | 4 |
| Schoop singled to left. | 3 | 4 |
| Trumbo doubled to left, Schoop to third. | 3 | 4 |
| Davis hit sacrifice fly to center, Schoop scored, Trumbo to third. | 3 | 5 |
| Mancini doubled to deep left, Trumbo scored. | 3 | 6 |
| Feliz relieved McCullers Jr.. | 3 | 6 |
| Mancini to third on wild pitch by Feliz. | 3 | 6 |
| Joseph walked. | 3 | 6 |
| Kim popped out to catcher. | 3 | 6 |
| 2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Houston - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Dylan Bundy pitching for Baltimore | HOU | BAL |
| González singled to left. | 3 | 6 |
| McCann grounded out to first, González to second. | 3 | 6 |
| Bregman walked. | 3 | 6 |
| Aoki homered to right (356 feet), González and Bregman scored. | 6 | 6 |
| Marisnick walked. | 6 | 6 |
| Castro relieved Bundy. | 6 | 6 |
| Altuve singled to left, Marisnick to third. | 6 | 6 |
| Reddick hit sacrifice fly to center, Marisnick scored. | 7 | 6 |
| Gurriel grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Altuve out at second. | 7 | 6 |
| 4 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Michael Feliz pitching for Houston | HOU | BAL |
| Tejada walked. | 7 | 6 |
| Jones singled to left, Tejada to second. | 7 | 6 |
| Devenski relieved Feliz. | 7 | 6 |
| Machado grounded into double play, third to second to first, Jones out at second, Tejada to third. | 7 | 6 |
| Schoop grounded out to third. | 7 | 6 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Houston - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Miguel Castro pitching for Baltimore | HOU | BAL |
| Gattis grounded out to pitcher. | 7 | 6 |
| González grounded out to first. | 7 | 6 |
| Hart relieved Castro. | 7 | 6 |
| McCann walked. | 7 | 6 |
| Bregman grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, McCann out at second. | 7 | 6 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Chris Devenski pitching for Houston | HOU | BAL |
| Trumbo homered to left (368 feet). | 7 | 7 |
| Davis struck out swinging. | 7 | 7 |
| Mancini flied out to right. | 7 | 7 |
| Joseph grounded out to shortstop. | 7 | 7 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Houston - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Mychal Givens pitching for Baltimore | HOU | BAL |
| Givens relieved Hart. | 7 | 7 |
| Aoki struck out swinging. | 7 | 7 |
| Marisnick struck out swinging. | 7 | 7 |
| Altuve singled to center. | 7 | 7 |
| Altuve stole second. | 7 | 7 |
| Reddick grounded out to second. | 7 | 7 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Luke Gregerson pitching for Houston | HOU | BAL |
| Gregerson relieved Devenski. | 7 | 7 |
| Kim grounded out to second. | 7 | 7 |
| Tejada doubled to left. | 7 | 7 |
| Jones singled to center, Tejada to third. | 7 | 7 |
| Machado hit sacrifice fly to left, Tejada scored, Jones to second. | 7 | 8 |
| Schoop singled to center, Jones scored, Schoop to second on throwing error by center fielder Marisnick. | 7 | 9 |
| Trumbo grounded out to third. | 7 | 9 |
| 2 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Houston - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Zach Britton pitching for Baltimore | HOU | BAL |
| Rickard in right field. | 7 | 9 |
| Britton relieved Givens. | 7 | 9 |
| Gurriel struck out swinging. | 7 | 9 |
| Gattis struck out swinging. | 7 | 9 |
| González walked. | 7 | 9 |
| Springer hit for McCann. | 7 | 9 |
| Springer grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, González out at second. | 7 | 9 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Houston Astros | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Altuve 2B | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | .358 | .424 | .564 |
| Reddick RF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 13 | .301 | .346 | .488 |
| Gurriel 1B | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 20 | .294 | .321 | .494 |
| Gattis DH | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | .285 | .342 | .500 |
| González SS | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 21 | .320 | .401 | .594 |
| McCann C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14 | .246 | .323 | .432 |
a-Springer PH
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .311 | .386 | .593 |
| Bregman 3B | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 18 | .259 | .345 | .419 |
| Aoki LF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 21 | .280 | .329 | .376 |
| Marisnick CF | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 15 | .250 | .327 | .507 |
| Totals | 36 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 149 | |||
| a-grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop for B Mccann in the 9th | ||||||||||
| BATTING 2B: Aoki (12, Bundy); Altuve (28, Bundy) HR: Altuve (15, 3rd inning off Bundy 2 on, 0 Out); Aoki (2, 6th inning off Bundy 2 on, 1 Out) RBI: Altuve 3 (56), Aoki 3 (18), Reddick (45) SF: Reddick Astros RISP: 3-7 (Altuve 1-1, Reddick 0-2, Gurriel 0-1, Aoki 1-1, Marisnick 1-2) Team LOB: 8 | ||||||||||
| BASERUNNING SB: Altuve (21, 2nd base off Givens/Joseph) | ||||||||||
| FIELDING E: Marisnick (2, throw) DP: 4 (McCullers Jr.-Altuve-Gurriel, González-Altuve-Gurriel 2, Bregman-Altuve-Gurriel). | ||||||||||
Game Information
| Stadium | Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD |
| Attendance | 21,533 (46.8% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 3:24 |
| Weather | 90 degrees, cloudy |
| Wind | 6 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Mike Winters, First Base - Ryan Blakney, Second Base - Mark Wegner, Third Base - Mike Muchlinski |
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