Blue Jays closer Louis Varland reaches new franchise milestone

Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Louis Varland. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Blue Jays closer Louis Varland reaches new franchise milestone

By Vanessa Serrao | Last updated Sep 3, 2026 8:06 PM ET

To cap off a successful and pivotal series victory against the Cleveland Guardians, Toronto Blue Jays All-Star closer Louis Varland recorded his 32nd save to help seal a 6-3 victory over the Guardians on Thursday.

Varland has only blown one save opportunity this season across his first 33 save opportunities, which ties him with Tom Henke (32) for the most saves across the first 33 opportunities in Blue Jays franchise history.

He has arguably cemented himself as one of the best closers in MLB as well as one of the most lethal relievers the Blue Jays have ever had. As the ace of the bullpen, Varland came on in the ninth inning against the Guardians and pitched out of a jam, stranding two baserunners after giving up a hit and a walk and then ended the game by striking out Angel Genao.

In addition, he also reached a career-high with his pitch velocity by hitting 101.5 mph with his fastball. His tenacious drive helped the Blue Jays move within half a game of a final AL wild-card spot.

Coming on in the 9th inning and escaping a jam to nail down today's 6-3 @BlueJays win over the Guardians, Louis Varland has now recorded the save in all but 1 of his first 33 such opportunities in 2026. With it, he tied for the highest total on this TOR franchise list of closers pic.twitter.com/C6VAXuwV8K
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) September 3, 2026

Louis Varland's dominance could help him make MLB history

The 28-year-old hurler owns a 5-4 record with a dominant 1.16 ERA with 86 strikeouts and a stellar 0.99 WHIP across 63 appearances this season for the Blue Jays. As well, his 1.16 ERA is the lowest in the majors this season across a minimum of 50 innings pitched.

In his last 10 games, he's boasted a 0.00 ERA across 11 innings with three walks, 12 strikeouts and eight saves.

While no pitcher in MLB history has ever capped off a season with 40 saves, 100 strikeouts, a sub 1.00 WHIP, and a sub 1.00 ERA, if his next 10 games mirror the performance that he's delivered in his last 10 games, he could be close to making MLB history.

In addition, it's hard to ignore the fact that if Varland had been the Blue Jays' closer in 2025, they would likely have had a better chance of being World Series champions, as he's practically been unhittable this season.

Vanessa Serrao

Serrao is a freelance baseball writer who has covered all MLB teams, with particular expertise on the Toronto Blue Jays. She is a member of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America.

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