Zach Britton Becomes 5th Closer in MLB History with 50 Consecutive Saves

Baltimore Orioles closer Zach Britton converted his first save of the season Wednesday evening against the Toronto Blues Jays, allowing a walk and two hits to load the bases before getting Steve Pearce to ground into a double play to end the game.

While the outing wasn't as clean as Britton's typically were last season, he finished off the contest nonetheless. The save marked his 50th consecutive opportunity converted, becoming just the fifth pitcher in MLB history to reach the milestone, per ESPN Stats & Info. Eric Gagne owns the longest streak of saves (84) without blowing an opportunity.

Britton's 47 saves in 2017 made him just the fourth pitcher in major league history to convert 40 saves in a single season without blowing one, per Baseball Reference. Gagne also owns the most single-season saves without a blown opportunity, converting all 55 chances in 2003. Only he and Jose Valverde (49 in 2011) have more in a single season than Britton's 2016 effort.

The 29-year-old southpaw received his first chance at a save in 2014 and hasn't looked back since seizing the role. In his three-plus seasons as a closer, Britton has notched 121 saves (including Tuesday) while only blowing eight.

The Orioles have plenty of bats to outslug the majority of teams they face this season and an elite backend of the bullpen that can generally lock down the innings prior to Britton's ninth. He should be afforded plenty more opportunities to rack up saves in 2017, needing 35 more in a row to surpass Gagne's all-time consecutive save record.