Riley O'Brien News: Locks down first save

O'Brien earned the save in Wednesday's 5-3 win over the Dodgers, issuing one walk with no hits or strikeouts over 1.1 scoreless innings.

After Freddie Freeman singled with two outs in the eighth inning, O'Brien was called upon to set down Teoscar Hernandez to end the frame. The right-hander would come back out for the ninth, and he worked around a two-out walk to earn his first major-league save. After allowing 10 earned runs in eight innings last season, O'Brien has emerged as one of the Cardinals' top bullpen options this year, posting a 1.84 ERA with a 1.19 WHIP and 29:14 K:BB across 29.1 innings. O'Brien could be in line for additional save chances down the stretch following the departures of Ryan Helsley and Phil Maton at the trade deadline, although JoJo Romero has looked like the preferred choice at closer so far for manager Oliver Marmol.