How did Marcus Stroman’s outing rank against other Blue Jays returns?

Tom Henke Blue Jays — BALTIMORE, MD – AUGUST 27: Tom Henke #50 of the Toronto Blue Jays warms up before a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles on August 27, 1991 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

2. Tom Henke – 1993

Tom Henke hasn’t pitched for the Blue Jays in almost 30 years but he is still the franchise leader in saves (217), which is almost double compared to the next top relief pitcher. The Blue Jays acquired Henke as compensation prior to the 1985 MLB Season and after dominating Triple-A to the tune of a 0.88 ERA and 0.604 WHIP through 39 appearances, he was called up to the big leagues in late July.

Henke had a remarkable start to his Blue Jays career, as his first six appearances saw him collect three wins and three saves while going 11 appearances before he allowed his first run which spanned almost 18 innings. Henke would earn the nickname “The Terminator” and would become one of the league’s best closers over his eight seasons in Toronto. During the Blue Jays three playoff runs between 1989 and 1992, Henke would make 12 appearances and allowed just one run over 13.1 innings pitched and collected five saves during the 1992 postseason.

After the 1992 World Series victory, Henke would sign with the Texas Rangers. Blue Jays fans were able to welcome him to Toronto when the Rangers visited in early June of 1993. This series should have been a breeze for the Blue Jays as they were one of the favourites to win the World Series again, while the Texas Rangers came into the series a couple of games under .500, however, Toronto would get swept in the four-game series. In game two, with Tony Fernandez on first base and Ed Sprague coming to the plate representing the tying run in the eighth inning with two out, manager Kevin Kennedy brought in Henke to attempt a four-out save.

Henke would strike out Sprague on four pitches and then record a clean ninth inning, which included striking out Turner Ward for his 16th save of the season. One night later, Henke would come into the game in the ninth inning with the save on the line. The Missouri native would require just 14 pitches to post another clean inning as he struck out Paul Molitor to end the game for his 17th save on the year. Over two games, Henke retired all seven batters he faced, collecting three strikeouts on his way to a pair of saves.

Pitching Line: 2.1 IP | 0H | 0R | 0ER | 3K | 0BB

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