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Rafael Soriano joined an elite group Monday night when he struck out the side on nine pitches.

According to mlb.com, Soriano is the 41st pitcher in major-league history to do so, and it was the 44th occurrence (as three pitchers did it twice).

More remarkable, he appears to be only the third pitcher to do so and get a save.  The last was six years ago, since LaTroy Hawkins for the Cubs, against the Marlins, on Sept. 11, 2004. The other was Mel Rojas, on May 11, 1994, for the Expos, against the Mets (though he pitched two innings).

Soriano was the first pitcher to do so in any inning in the majors this season, and the first since Pittsburgh’s Ross Ohlendorf on Sept. 5, 2009, against St. Louis. The last AL pitcher was New York’s A.J. Burnett on June 20, 2009. The three pitchers to do it twice are pretty good ones - Lefty Grove, Sandy Koufax and Nolan Ryan.

Soriano joked that he had done so before before -  "Yea … I think” - but if so it must have been in the minors.

Soriano said he felt very good playing catch after throwing an unusually high 22 pitches on Sunday, after seven on Saturday.

And he showed it when he got on the mound for what became his MLB-leading 38th save.

"Nine really high-quality pitches,” manager Joe Maddon said.

The best thing about it for the Rays, Soriano and Maddon said, is that because he threw so few, they expect him to be available tonight for what would be a fourth consecutive game.

Soriano worked four straight games earlier in the season, July 3-4-5-6, then ended up getting four days off until his next appearance. With the Red Sox coming to town this weekend, the Rays will want him ready to go. 

There are also reports that former Rays minor-leaguer Chris Mason did so in a 2007 game for Double-A Montgomery.


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