Mariano Rivera: Saving with grace

Mariano Rivera got career save 601 Saturday, matching Trevor Hoffman’s major league record and further cementing his status as baseball’s best closer.

“When you talk about the greatest relievers of all time, there’s only one guy,” New York Yankees teammate Mark Teixeira said. “That conversation begins and ends with Mo.”

Rivera’s strength — aside from his devastating cutter — is his consistency. At 41, he has 42 saves this season, giving him eight with at least 40. Since becoming a reliever in 1996, he’s had just one season when his earned-run average was above 2.85. His career mark is 2.06. In his last three full seasons, opponents have hit less than .200 against him.

Much like Hoffman, he has gone about his job with humility and grace — traits that can be difficult to maintain given the pressure of closing games in a pennant race. Rivera has always been best when the pressure has been greatest: In the postseason, he has 42 saves and a 0.71 ERA in 94 games.

“He really doesn’t say much when he goes out there,” said Yankees catcher Jorge Posada, Rivera’s teammate throughout his 17-year career. “He’s in control of what he’s doing then. He looks forward to the challenge of that day, and he really doesn’t veer off of what he wants to do.”

Routine explanation

When Jose Bautista went from journeyman outfielder to baseball’s most prolific slugger last summer, the explanations for the new-found success were almost as plentiful as his home runs.

Many were skeptical, suggesting he might be benefiting from performance-enhancing drugs or stolen signs — which Bautista strongly denied. The real reasons, he says, are simple. Working with hitting coach Dwayne Murphy, Bautista added a higher leg lift at the plate, improving his balance and rhythm.

Bautista also developed a 90-minute pregame routine that includes video work, studying swings and searching for tendencies in that day’s opposing pitcher.

“My confidence is really high,” said Bautista, who again leads the majors with 42 homers. “I have a design, a plan before the game that takes effect during the game in a tremendous way. I have a good plan, and physically I’ve been able to respond and connect well.”

Bautista, a candidate for the American League MVP award, also credits former teammate Vernon Wells, now with the Angels, for improving his mechanics.

“His big thing was just timing. We just talked about getting ready as early as you can,” Wells said. “His hands are unbelievably quick. So he’s just got to put himself in position to be able to hit. It’s amazing to me just how hard he can swing and how consistent he can make contact.

“Obviously, if you make contact with that swing, you’re going to hit some balls out of the ballpark.”

Stat watch(White House edition)

• With their 82nd loss of the season last week, the Pittsburgh Pirates were assured a 19th consecutive losing season, extending their record for the longest such streak in the four major professional sports. The last time the Pirates had a winning season, George H.W. Bush was president.

• The Detroit Tigers clinched their first division championship since 1987 by beating the Oakland Athletics on Friday. That dates to when Ronald Reagan was president and a year before Saturday’s starter, Rick Porcello, was born.

— Kevin Baxter