Rico Garcia earned his second career save last night as the Orioles beat the Marlins 7-4, adding another line to a season that has gone almost entirely his way. Through 18 appearances, Garcia has allowed one run and one hit in 17 innings, and the only hit against him came on Michael Massey's home run for Kansas City on April 21.

Garcia has six walks and 19 strikeouts, with a 0.53 ERA and 57 batters faced. His 0.41 WHIP and.020 opponent average lead all major league relievers, and he is the only pitcher since 1900 to allow one hit or fewer through his first 18 appearances. He has also stranded 12 inherited runners without letting one score and has retired 29 right-handed batters without allowing a hit.

The Orioles' decision to keep Garcia has paid off so far, even though he was out of options and a fixed role was never part of the plan. He has pitched for seven teams, including the Orioles twice, and three clubs employed him last year. That turnover has made him a journeyman rather than a closer or high-profile setup man, but the results have been hard to ignore.

The lone blemish on Garcia's season still stands out because of how sudden it was. Massey's shot snapped a franchise-record streak of 11 scoreless and hitless appearances to open the season, a run Garcia built after a spring in which he threw 5 2/3 scoreless and hitless innings with one walk and seven strikeouts. His camp stay was interrupted by the World Baseball Classic, yet he has settled in quickly since then and given Baltimore a late-inning arm it did not want to lose.

Garcia's case now is not about whether the start has been real. It is about how long a reliever with no defined job can keep turning clean innings into leverage for a club that needs every one of them.