Phillies closer Jhoan Duran was named the National League reliever of the month for June, MLB announced Friday.
Duran posted a 1.64 ERA and 0.91 WHIP across 12 appearances in June. He converted nine of 10 save opportunities. After blowing his first save of the season on June 9 in Toronto, Duran has not allowed another earned run in eight appearances since.
“There’s been times I’ve had to have teams where that ninth inning is by committee. It never seems to go that well,” interim manager Don Mattingly said last month. “I like having a number of guys that you could do it with, but it’s nice to have that guy that you feel like the game’s over.”
The Phillies have leaned on their closer often as they authored a turnaround from 10 games below .500 in April to now 10 games above .500.
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“If I feel good, I want to be in the game,” Duran said recently. “So that’s me. The more I throw in the game, I feel more comfortable. I feel way better.”
So far this season, the 28-year-old right-hander has 21 total saves, which entered Friday tied with the Padres’ Mason Miller and the Cardinals’ Riley O’Brien for the National League lead.
Duran is the second Phillies player to collect a monthly honor this season. Cristopher Sánchez won NL pitcher of the month for May.
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