Smith struck out two in a clean ninth inning for the save Thursday against the Royals.

EDGE Analysis

Although Smith opened the month by imploding for three earned runs in his first September outing, he's turned in four saves across five consecutive scoreless appearances since then. With Emmanuel Clase's future with the Guardians uncertain, Smith is cementing himself as Cleveland's closer to close out the regular season. He has a 3.15 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 92:13 K:BB while converting 13 of his 18 save chances over 65.2 frames.