It's Mountain Time! Felix Bautista wins AL Reliever of the Month

As Ben McDonald says when he comes in, "set your clocks to Mountain Time." Felix Bautista, or “The Mountain” has been named the American League Reliever of the Month for April, as Major League Baseball announced on Wednesday morning.

Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Felix Bautista named AL Reliever of the Month for April

Bautista had a strong month of April out of the Orioles bullpen. He had a 2-1 record with seven saves, all while maintaining a 1.32 ERA. In 14 games, the Orioles closer has only allowed nine hits, and with his frustrating splitter and insanely high-90s fastball, he has struck out 25 of the 58 batters that he has faced. Bautista is currently tied for third in the AL and fifth in the league with his seven saves through the first month of the season.

The O’s have won 13 out of the 14 games he has played in, and if it wasn’t for an error that happened in the Boston Red Sox series, it could have been 14 out of 14 games won. Despite that loss, The Mountain leads the league in strikeouts per nine innings with a record of 16.46.

Bautista is no stranger to being a closing pitcher, as he has been the most dominant reliever the O’s have had in the bullpen since last season, his first season in the major leagues. He became the full time closer after the Orioles traded Jorge Lopez at last year's trade deadline. He ended last year with 15 saves in 65 relief appearances.

With such a successful start to the season, we will continue to see Bautista coming out of the bullpen to Omar's Whistle in the ninth inning and ending the game with a bang. Oh, and the Orioles bullpen has the best record in baseball.