PHILADELPHIA — Felipe Rivero’s 26th birthday on Wednesday fell near the end of an exceptional first half. Thirty-five batters had reached base against him in 45 innings; nine of them scored. No qualified reliever in baseball had an ERA lower than his 0.80 mark.
“I don’t really think about it,” Rivero said. “I’m just trying to help the guys to win games.”
It’s hard for the actual execution of his pitches to look more impressive than his stat line, but it does. He retires batters with a fastball that can touch 101 mph, a changeup 13 mph slower and a wide-breaking slider.