There aren't many ways to be more dominant than Texas Rangers closer Neftali Feliz was on Sunday afternoon in wrapping up a series win over the AL West champion Los Angeles Angels.
Feliz threw 12 pitches in the bottom of the ninth inning and recorded his three outs to earn his 11th save of the season in 12 attempts. He got all three of those outs via the strikeout while using his upper-90s fastball, which had been absent at times this season, and his wicked slider.
Remember, Feliz spent a significant chunk of the 2014 season in the minor leagues while Joakim Soria had the Rangers closer job nailed down. But then in July, Soria was dealt to Detroit to officially signal a white towel on the season and open the door for Feliz to earn his job back.
Feliz, of course, was a 40-save closer for the Rangers and an all-star closer while earning AL Rookie of the Year honors and setting an MLB record for saves by a rookie — a record that has since been broken.
After a failed crack at the starting rotation in 2012 resulted in Tommy John surgery, Feliz looked destined to be an epic flame out of what was once a highly promising career. Now, he seems to be back on track to once again being an elite closer.
He's sat down 14 straight batters, and since Aug. 20, he's worked 8 1/3 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and just two walks. The Rangers have plenty of questions heading into the 2015 season after this awful, awful year, but it appears Feliz is doing his best to answer the question of who will be the team's closer.
