Close Horses Answer the Call

The New York Yankees are all about October, so they rested closer Mariano Rivera three times this season and kept their fingers crossed.

Rivera needed time off because of shoulder and groin injuries, and was recently activated, the Yankees hoping to begin another long postseason run. Now, though, the most successful reliever in playoff history no longer has an aura of invincibility. The Arizona Diamondbacks broke through against Rivera while winning last season’s World Series, and the seven-year veteran may be out of sync after his lengthy layoff.

Each playoff team has a capable closer as the best-of-five American and National League division series begin today, inspiring confidence in would-be pennant winners as the stakes rise with every pitch. The Angels face the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, and Troy Percival joins Billy Koch of the Oakland Athletics, Eddie Guardado of the Minnesota Twins, Byung-Hyun Kim of the Diamondbacks, John Smoltz of the Atlanta Braves, Robb Nen of the San Francisco Giants and Jason Isringhausen of the St. Louis Cardinals on the list of closers seeking the postseason spotlight.

“Mariano not only has proven he’s great during the season, he’s proven he’s the best in the postseason,” said Percival, who converted 40 of 44 save opportunities to help the Angels earn the AL wild-card berth.

“It’s not that he’s stepping up his game, that is his game. I want to go out and prove as well that my game will be the same, regardless of the situation.”

Rivera tops the all-time list with 24 postseason saves, and the cut-fastball specialist had a streak of 23 when he was summoned to preserve a 2-1 lead in the eighth inning of Game 7 at Bank One Ballpark last November. The Diamondbacks completed a dramatic two-run rally on Luis Gonzalez’s one-out, bases-loaded, broken-bat single over a drawn-in infield in the ninth, giving them a stunning 3-2 victory and denying the Yankees their 27th Series title.

“The Yankees are the epitome of the idea that no one guy is the single reason for a team being a success, but they know he’s a big key for them,” San Diego Padre closer Trevor Hoffman said. “Having him back right now is obviously huge for them. It was important for him to get the rest he needed, and I think he can bounce back.”

The Yankees’ career leader with 243 saves, Rivera was 6-0 with an 0.70 earned-run average in 51 playoff appearances before that final game against Arizona, and had not suffered a blown save since the 1997 AL division series against the Cleveland Indians. Rivera struggled this season, though, because of his strained pitching shoulder and strained groin, failing to record at least 30 saves for the first time as a full-time closer. He went 1-4 with a 2.74 ERA and 28 saves in 32 opportunities.

“There’s no question how good [Rivera] is--he’s awesome--but it’s not like he’s unbeatable,” Angel center fielder Darin Erstad said. “When he comes in, you’re not like, ‘Geez, here you go.’ That’s really not the way it is.”

In 24 career appearances against the Angels, Rivera is 2-2 with 12 saves and a 4.75 ERA.

Rivera was called into five playoff games in the eighth last year, but Manager Joe Torre, concerned about the right-hander’s shoulder, said he planned to use Rivera only in the ninth this time around. Although the rest of the bullpen bridged the gap en route to the Yankees’ fifth straight AL East title--setup man Steve Karsay was perfect in seven save chances--Rivera remains the centerpiece of the team’s playoff plan.

“In the six [previous] years we’ve been in the postseason, he’s been a main character,” Torre said. “He’s like a regular player for us. If you lose your shortstop, center fielder, closer or catcher ... that’s a pretty good category to be in.

“With Mo down there, it’s still our strength. You can’t win games unless you finish them.”

Said Yankee starter Roger Clemens, “Mo’s still the best at what he does.”

Postseason games are usually low-scoring, magnifying every move and putting more emphasis on relief pitching. Rivera has been a security blanket for Torre, and that’s the best thing a manager can have in scary playoff moments.

“It’s huge, because if you go to the playoffs, you’re going to play some tight ballgames,” said Padre Manager Bruce Bochy, whose club won the 1998 NL pennant. “It’s such a pressure situation, and your closer is probably going to handle it better than anybody else.

“And those last three outs are ... there’s just so much intensity. Then if you get into a one-run ballgame, the intensity seems to heighten more on those final outs. You need to have a closer who can get it done. For me, to have somebody like Trevor when we were there, it gives you a great sense of security and confidence.”

And a shaky closer is a playoff team’s worst nightmare.

“Your closer can make you or break you in the playoffs,” said Dodger left fielder Brian Jordan, who played on the Braves’ 1999 NL pennant-winning club. “You saw what happened when Kim couldn’t close the door for Arizona last season. All of a sudden, it was like, ‘Bam!’ The Yankees knew they had a chance the next time they faced that guy, and it was true the whole World Series.”

Arizona’s submarine-style closer gave up a tying two-out, two-run home run to Tino Martinez in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 4, and Derek Jeter’s walk-off homer in the 10th.

In Game 5, Scott Brosius delivered a tying two-out, two-run homer in the ninth, leading to an eventual Yankee victory and 3-2 lead in the Series. Arizona won the title by taking the final two games, and Manager Bob Brenly stuck with Kim, who rebounded this season with 35 saves in 41 chances.

“I don’t really care what happened then,” Kim said through an interpreter, “as long as I’m confident right now.”

That’s the key, managers said.

“Kim had a rough time against the Yankees, but he’s come back and had a good year for ‘em,” Bochy said. “Anything can happen, but closers are so mentally tough, they can handle it.

“Saving a game during the year is a crisis situation too. It’s a lot of pressure for 162 games, so it shouldn’t ruin your year if things don’t go right in the playoffs.”

Smoltz, a starter before switching to the bullpen last season, established an NL record with 55 saves this year and is the major leagues’ all-time leader in postseason victories. Nen was with the Florida Marlins’ 1997 Series-winning team, and Isringhausen was on Oakland’s playoff clubs the previous two seasons. Percival, Koch and Guardado are newcomers to playoff pressure.

“The job I’m in is pressure-packed every time I go out there,” Percival said. “I put a lot of pressure on myself, no matter the situation, so to go out there in a playoff game, I can’t see it making any difference for me.”

We’ll find out soon enough.

Times staff writer Bill Shaikin contributed to this report.

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*--* Getting Closure Comparing the closers on each playoff team: Pitcher G IP H SO W-L SV-Opp ERA Troy Percival, Angels 58 56 1/3 38 68 4-1 40-44 1.92 Byung-Hyun Kim, Arizona 72 84 64 92 8-3 36-42 2.04 John Smoltz, Atlanta 75 80 1/3 59 85 3-2 55-59 3.25 Eddie Guardado, Minnesota 68 67 2/3 53 70 1-3 45-51 2.93 Mariano Rivera, New York 45 46 35 41 1-4 28-32 2.74 Billy Koch, Oakland 84 93 2/3 73 93 11-4 44-50 3.27 Jason Isringhausen, St. Louis 60 65 1/3 46 68 3-2 32-37 2.48 Robb Nen, San Francisco 68 73 2/3 64 81 6-2 43-51 2.20

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