Save
SVCredited to a relief pitcher who finishes a game their team wins, while meeting specific lead and workload conditions.
A save goes to a relief pitcher who finishes a won game without being the winning pitcher, provided one of three conditions holds: they entered with a lead of three runs or fewer and pitched at least one inning, they entered with the tying run on deck or closer, or they pitched at least three effective innings.
The three-run threshold is what stops a save being handed out for protecting a twelve-run lead. The tying-run clause covers the genuinely high-pressure entry, where a pitcher comes in with the bases loaded and gets one out.
Saves are largely a professional statistic and rarely tracked in youth baseball, where pitch count rules and rotation requirements mean nobody is a designated closer.
What qualifies as a save?
The pitcher must finish a won game without being the winning pitcher, and must either enter with a lead of three or fewer runs and pitch an inning, enter with the tying run on deck or closer, or pitch three or more effective innings.
Let the scorebook keep itself.
Bleacher Notes scores every play from a single spoken sentence, applying these rules for you. In beta now, free for parents.