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Nationals acquire closer Mark Melancon from Pirates for Felipe Rivero, Taylor Hearn

Washington Nationals’ GM Mike Rizzo found his closer, Mark Melancon, dealing left-handers Felipe Rivero and Taylor Hearn to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday afternoon.

Mark Melancon was just three saves shy of tying Dave Giusti (133) for third on the Pittsburgh Pirates’ all-time saves list.

Melancon’s 114 saves since the start of the 2014 season are the most by any major league closer, and he’s converted 92.7% of his save opportunities over that stretch, the third-best percentage among major league closers, behind only the Baltimore Orioles’ Zach Britton (92.9%) and new Chicago Cubs’ closer Aroldis Chapman (93.