Craig Counsell in awe of Josh Hader after dominant save

Craig Counsell was in awe of Josh Hader after the Milwaukee Brewers reliever put together one of the most dominant appearances in recent memory.

Hader came on in the seventh inning of Monday’s Brewers-Cincinnati Reds game to protect a 6-5 lead. He went 2.2 innings, striking out eight and walking one. Yes, Hader recorded every out by strikeout.

The Brewers manager said after the game that “your mouth is kind of wide open” watching Hader work like that.

You don't see Craig Counsell awed much, but that was definitely the case tonight after Hader's performance. " I don’t know what to say about Josh," he said. "Literally, your mouth is kind of wide-open, watching it. It was absolutely incredible."

— Todd Rosiak (@Todd_Rosiak) May 1, 2018

I asked Counsell if Josh Hader is the most dominant reliever in the major leagues this season. "You can call him whatever you want," he said. "I don’t know about that, but that was the most dominant relief appearance in baseball this year."

— Todd Rosiak (@Todd_Rosiak) May 1, 2018

That was Hader’s fourth save of the season. It was his longest outing of the year, and he’s now up to 18 innings pitched for the season. The 24-year-old southpaw has allowed just four hits and five walks in those 18 innings, while striking out a ridiculous 39. He’s allowed three runs — two earned — for an ERA of 1.00. Oh, and the best part? The Brewers are 11-0 in the games in which he has pitched. It’s hard to beat that.