Carlos

Estevez

Estévez will lead the majors in saves, as he’s currently two in front of Robert Suarez. He’s finished off more than half of the Royals’ 81 wins while amassing a 2.45 ERA this season.

Estévez made things a bit interesting by allowing a one-out single to Ty France, but he battled back to get Daulton Varsho and Ernie Clement on fly balls to center field to end the ballgame. He has been outstanding in the ninth inning for the Royals this season, registering a 2.49 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and a 52/22 K/BB ratio over 65 innings while converting 41 of his first 47 save chances.

Estévez didn’t make this save easy. He allowed singles to the first two hitters he faced and then fell behind Dominic Canzone 2-0. Luckily, he forced Canzone to ground into a double play which significantly dulled the threat. In the end, he became the first pitcher in the league to earn their 40th save so far this season.

This was a true bullpen game for the Royals, as Jonathan Bowlan opened and no one pitched more than two innings. Luinder Avila came away with the win, his first in the majors. Estévez now leads the majors in saves by three, with his 39 outpacing Robert Suarez’s 36.

Estévez’ save was his 38th of the year. He pitched around a walk to shut the door on the Twins, preserving a 2-1 win for the Royals. Estévez leads all of baseball in saves as his excellent season draws towards a close.

13 teams have more wins that the Royals’ 71 this season, but Estévez leads the majors in saves by two over Robert Suarez. This was his eighth straight scoreless appearance.

Estévez gave up a double to Riley Greene to begin the inning, but Greene was unable to score. He was handed a two-run lead so he would have gotten the save even if he did cross the plate, but the fact he didn’t lowers his ERA to 2.58 and gives Estévez an impressive 36 saves in 2025.

It didn’t look like the 32-year-old hurler was going to get a shot in this one as the Royals trailed 4-0 in the eighth inning and 4-2 heading to the ninth. The Royals offense did their part though to take a one-run lead and Estévez made sure that it stood up — retiring the side in order including a pair of strikeouts. He has been terrific for Royals this season, compiling a 2.62 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and a 50/20 K/BB ratio over 58 1/3 innings.

The 32-year-old right-hander made it look easy in this one, getting Wenceel Perez on a ground ball to first base, Kerry Carpenter on a swinging third strike and Spencer Torkelson on a pop out to first base to end the ballgame. Estévez now holds a 2.68 ERA and 48/20 K/BB ratio over 57 1/3 innings on the season while racking up 34 saves.

Estévez got the call to protect a two-run lead on Thursday afternoon and needed just 13 pitches (eight strikes) to slam the door. He got Corey Seager and Ezequiel Duran to fly out before fanning Kyle Higashioka to end it. The 32-year-old stopper has converted 33 of 39 save chances this season to go along with a pristine 2.72 ERA across 56 1/3 innings (57 appearances).