Devin Williams earned his 12th save Tuesday, finishing a 3-0 win over the Blue Jays and closing out a shutout for the Mets. He worked a scoreless ninth inning, allowed one hit and did it without a walk or a strikeout.
The save put Williams at 12-for-13 in chances this year, a mark that shows how often he has been trusted when the game reaches the final outs. He has converted all four of his save chances in June and allowed just one earned run over nine outings in that stretch, which is a cleaner run than his season line of a 4.13 ERA and 1.48 WHIP might suggest.
Williams did not need overpowering stuff to finish this one. He was summoned to protect a team shutout, then worked around a two-out single and kept the Blue Jays from getting a foothold in the inning. That he got the job done without a strikeout is the part that stands out most, because the save came from command and recovery rather than a dominant finish.
For the Mets, the choice to hand him the ninth said enough on its own: Williams remains the reliever they are willing to ride when a game is there to be closed. For Williams, the next question is not whether he has been effective enough to keep getting those chances. It is how much sharper the numbers can look if the June version of him keeps showing up in the ninth.
