Josh Hader picks up 19th save vs. Yankees Tuesday

It’s Hader’s 19th straight scoreless appearance. He’s sporting a 0.72 ERA in 38 games overall.

Hader didn’t strike anyone out and did allow a hit, but it’s another effective outing for the 32-year-old. He’s now up to 21 saves on the year, and the scoreless outing lowers his ERA to a shiny 0.74. Hader remains one of the best relievers in the sport, and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.

Entering in a one run game, Hader did not make things easy on himself by walking Travis d’Arnaud to start the ninth inning. Then, Adam Frazier came on to pinch-run and stole second base to make it even more tense. Yet, Hader slammed the door after and converted his 18th straight save without blowing a chance so far this season.

Hader received the call to protect a narrow one-run lead in the final frame and required just eight pitches to slam the door against the bottom of San Francisco’s lineup. He retired Andrew Knizner and Christian Koss on a pair of pop ups before coaxing a game-ending grounder from Jung Hoo Lee. This latest effort came after tossing two scoreless frames earlier in the series on Monday night to pick up a win. The 32-year-old veteran closer has been simply magnificent, recording a microscopic 0.96 ERA, 0.71 WHIP and 38/10 K/BB ratio across 28 innings since making his season debut back on June 3. He’s gone a perfect 17-for-17 in save opportunities during that span. He’s on track to finish as a top-10 closer, despite missing the first two months of the season to a biceps injury.

Hader hadn’t gotten more than three outs in an appearance this season, but the Astros asked him to continue after an 11-pitch ninth tonight and he needed only another 11 pitches to get through the 10th. Hader lowered his ERA to an even 1.00 through 27 innings. He’ll probably get Tuesday off after this, perhaps setting up a save chance for Bryan Abreu.

Hader is up to 16 saves. He hasn’t allowed a hit in any of his last seven appearances, and his ERA sits at 1.08 for the year.

Hader’s save was his 15th of the season. He struck out one batter in a perfect ninth inning to slam the door on the Rangers. After starting the season on the injured list, Hader is enjoying a spectacular year with a 1.17 ERA.

Hader took the mound in the ninth to close out the game against the Angels with a one-run lead. He worked quickly, needing only four pitches to induce two groundouts and a flyout, shutting the door on the Angels for his 14th save of the season to go with a 1.23 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, and a 33/10 K/BB ratio across 22 innings.

Hader walked two after the Astros’ unexpected ninth-inning comeback, but he was able to finish things off afterwards. He’s allowed just 10 hits while posting a 1.29 ERA in 21 innings this season.

Hader didn’t start the ninth inning with the Astros leading 4-0, but came in after back-to-back one-out singles made the score 4-1. The 32-year-old left-hander promptly struck out Luisangel Acuña and Braden Montgomery to end the game. Hader looks as good as ever this year with a 1.35 ERA.