After completing his warm-up pitches, Chavez bowed his head briefly then made the sign of the cross along his head and chest as is his usual custom. Chavez stepped onto the mound and looked in at Farid bin Mubarak for the sign.
After inducing a lazy fly ball out on his second pitch, Chavez went on the strike out the next two batters to complete the save. It was his 13th since joining the Flyers, his 37th of the season, and his 300th since entering the BBA.
The scoreboard focused in on Chavez as he threw his arms into the air with a graphic overlay acknowledging the accomplishment. The crowd cheered, chanting his name as the players gathered to celebrate their teammate and their important victory.
After the game, Chavez spoke with reporters. “This means a lot to me. I have been fortunate to be able to play for quite a few years already, and my managers have trusted me to get the big outs at the end of the game. 300 is a great number but I’m far from done. Right now, I’m focused on helping this great team I’m on to the playoffs. I’ll look back at this when we’re done playing this year and appreciate it more, but I don’t have any plans to stop getting saves anytime soon.”
