A 20.5 K rate for the last month? Yep, Félix Bautista has been that dominant

If you think O’s closer Felix Bautista is having a better season than even last year, when he closed games well for the club late in 2022, you would be right.

His ERA is lower and his strikeout rate is much higher, and he is a pitcher on a tremendous roll right now.

For the year, over 30 games and 31 innings, he is 3-1 with a 1.16 ERA and 17 saves, to rank tied for second in the major leagues. His 18.6 strikeouts per nine innings, up from 12.1 last year, ranks first in the majors among all pitchers throwing at least 20 innings.

Bautista, who has saved each of his last six chances, has fanned 64 of 126 batters he has faced this year. That K percentage of 50.8 ranks in the 100^th percentile, meaning it’s the absolute best in the majors right now. He also ranks in the 100^th percentile in whiff percentage. Hitters that swing at his splitter miss the pitch 59.3 percent of the time. He only throws his slider four percent of the time, but when hitters offer at that pitch they miss 80.0 percent.

He is averaging 99.2 mph on his fastball, up a bit from last year, and he touched 101.1 mph when he got the save Friday in an overpowering performance against Kansas City.

“Another year of pitching in huge moments,” manager Brandon Hyde said Saturday, referring to the continued growth for his still-inexperienced closer. “What he did the second half of last year (was impressive), and now he just has more experience. Throwing 101 (mph) and the split is still really good. Think he has more confidence in his slider, and he flashes that pitch at times. Just another year, honestly, of learning from each outing and continuing to gain confidence.”

Bautista has not allowed a run over his last seven games, with one walk and 16 strikeouts in seven innings in that span. Bautista has been totally dominant his last 14 games since May 9, allowing one run over 15 1/3 innings. In that span, he has walked seven and fanned 35 while allowing a .118 batting average and .420 OPS.

Dominance.

That is a K rate of 20.5 in those last 14 games. That is a remarkable stat. Asked yesterday if this run by Bautista compares to anything he has seen in his career, Hyde pointed to "the guy on the other side that threw the eighth inning" on Friday, Royals lefty Aroldis Chapman, whose fastball touched 103 mph in that game.

“We had him in 2016 (with the Chicago Cubs) after the trade deadline (when Chapman had a 1.01 ERA and 0.82 WHIP). It was the same sort of feeling. It’s going to be 100 plus and you feel like you had a really good chance to win the game. He’s going to be very hard to hit. Chappy in ’16 reminds me the most (currently watching Bautista) of anybody I’ve been around like that.”

In Yennier Cano and Bautista the Orioles have major late-inning weapons to help protect leads. And with all the close games the Orioles play, that pair has been busy. And yes, they have been dominant.

Going for a sweep: The Orioles' 6-1 win Saturday sets them up to go for a three-game sweep of Kansas City today at Oriole Park. The O's have three-game sweeps this year at home versus Detroit and at Toronto.

The Orioles are now 40-24 (.625) and on a 101-win pace for the season. They have outscored their opponents 15-6 during a three-game win streak. They had lost three of their past four series as of Friday night, but they have won this one and now can sweep it.

After allowing 23 runs against Kansas City last month on the road, they have allowed just three runs in two games this series. The O's bullpen has thrown 10 scoreless innings during the three wins.