On Sunday, August 16, 2026, Andrés Muñoz closed out a 3-2 Seattle Mariners win over the Houston Astros at Daikin Park — and in doing so, wrote himself into Mexican baseball history. Save No. 100. He is now just the third pitcher born in Mexico to reach that milestone in MLB, behind Joakim Soria (229) and Roberto Osuna (155).
From a rough Friday to a historic Sunday
What makes the moment richer is the context. Two days earlier, on Friday the 14th, Muñoz took the mound in the ninth and gave up five earned runs — one of the worst outings of his career. Manager Dan Wilson gave him Saturday off and handed him the ball again Sunday with Seattle clinging to that 3-2 lead.
Muñoz answered with 18 pitches, 10 of them strikes, two strikeouts and a walk. He punched out Taylor Trammell for the final out. His fastball averaged 101.1 mph that inning — 1.5 mph above his season average. Not exactly the output you’d expect from a guy whose confidence had just taken a hit.
What 100 saves means in Seattle
Of Muñoz’s 100 career saves, 99 have come in a Mariners uniform. The only exception was his MLB debut save in 2019 with the San Diego Padres. That makes him about as close to a franchise closer as it gets.
On Seattle’s all-time saves list, Muñoz now sits fourth:
- Kazuhiro Sasaki — 129
- Edwin Díaz — 109
- J.J. Putz — 101
- Andrés Muñoz — 100
He is two saves away from passing Putz. With club options of $8 million in 2027 and $10 million in 2028, Muñoz has both the contract and the time to keep climbing.
The 2026 season hasn’t been as clean as 2025, when he posted 38 saves, a 1.73 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP across 62.1 innings — the best year of his career. This year he sits at a 4.37 ERA with a 1.24 WHIP and has blown five saves at some point in the season. But the second half has shown real signs of a bounce-back, and Sunday in Houston was the clearest example yet.
At 27 years old, Muñoz has a realistic shot at catching Osuna — and with a long, healthy run, Soria isn’t out of the picture either. The Mexican saves list is short — only four pitchers have ever reached 90 — and Muñoz just locked in his permanent spot on it.
The numbers behind the milestone
Muñoz’s 2026 Statcast profile across 48 appearances and 45.1 innings:
- ERA: 4.37 · WHIP: 1.24
- xERA: 3.32 (reflecting the quality of contact he actually allows)
- Strikeouts: 72 · Walks: 18 — K% of 37.5%
- 22 saves
- Fastball: 99.4 mph average, 2,316 rpm spin rate
- Whiff rate: 40.4%
- Opponent batting average: .221
- Exit velocity allowed: 88.1 mph
- Barrel rate allowed: 8.9%
Where he ranks league-wide:
- K%: 99th percentile (elite)
- Whiff %: 100th percentile (elite)
- Fastball velocity: 99th percentile (elite)
- xERA: 78th percentile
- xwOBA against: 78th percentile
The ERA tells one story. The underlying numbers tell another. And in Muñoz’s case, the Statcast data makes a strong argument that the results are about to catch up with the stuff — just like they did on that Sunday ninth inning in Houston.
