DETROIT — The spectacle wasn’t for him. One night earlier, when the floodlights at Nationals Park dimmed and red strobes began to indicate the bottom of the ninth inning in a one-run game, Félix Bautista ran to the mound with many inside the stadium hoping the Orioles reliever would fail.

Bautista inherited a one-run lead. Baltimore desperately needed a win. And, although the tying run reached third base, Bautista earned the save.

There is no simulating those moments. No number of rehab appearances or low-leverage innings could truly prepare Bautista for the ninth inning of a one-run game in an opposing stadium — except for doing it, as he did successfully Thursday.

“When you pitch in those types of situations, it gets a different emotion going, a different feeling going through your body,” Bautista said through team interpreter Brandon Quinones.

During that save at Nationals Park, Bautista looked more like his old self than he had previously. His fastball velocity hasn’t reached triple digits, but on Thursday Bautista continually touched 98 mph with his sinker and served up devastating splitters and sliders.

Bautista is perfect in the three save situations he has inherited thus far, and although several of his outings have featured walks and command issues, that, too, seems to be settling in. Bautista, after all, is only seven innings into the season. And, before he returned to the mound during spring training, he hadn’t pitched in a competitive game since late 2023 due to Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery.

In conversations with other pitchers who have undergone the surgery, Bautista said, he has gained confidence in the fact his experience isn’t unique. The velocity is creeping back up. His spin is improving. The command is tightening.

All told, Bautista feels as though this first month, individually, has been a success.

“It’s a process,” Bautista said. “It’s just a matter of continuing the process and trusting your work, and sure enough, it’ll return to form.”

The first month has been less successful from a team perspective. The rotation has struggled, the lineup has been inconsistent and defensive miscues have left the Orioles at 10-14 ahead of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers (Friday night’s game was postponed due to inclement weather).

But, if there’s anything from which to draw positives, the performance of Bautista — and the bullpen at large — is one of them. Baltimore’s bullpen holds a 4.48 ERA, and subtracting the nine runs position players Jorge Mateo and Gary Sánchez allowed in two innings of a blowout last weekend, the reliever ERA would be 3.65.

Bautista hasn’t allowed a run in his last five outings. He hasn’t walked a batter in his last two. And, as he waits for his fastball to reach 100 mph again, he is mixing in his slider more frequently.

“My slider’s working really well, and it’s better than it was before,” Bautista said. “I’m trying to take advantage of that. Whether it’s using it to start an at-bat, I’m generating a lot of swing and miss with it, so I’m taking advantage of the fact it’s working so well right now.”

Bautista threw his slider 4.8% of the time in 2023. His usage of the pitch early in 2025 is up to 15%. He has also mixed in a cutter he dabbled with during his recovery, although he’s thrown that only twice this season.

Bautista’s sinker averaged 99.5 mph in 2023 and generated whiffs on 37.8% of swings. It’s down to 97.1 mph with a 12.1% whiff rate. But Bautista’s splitter and slider are missing bats at high clips — 65% and 42.9%, respectively.

“A lot of times two years ago, he was mostly just fastball, splitter,” catcher Adley Rutschman said. “It seems like he has a poised demeanor to him and he’s confident in throwing his slider. He’ll throw a cutter if he needs to. He’s got his fastball, changeup [splitter] still as his primaries. It’s a better presence on the mound.”

Manager Brandon Hyde doesn’t intend to use Bautista on back-to-back nights until later this season, but the right-hander has checked off initial steps in preparation for that. Bautista has warmed up on consecutive days. He’s warmed, then sat, then warmed again in a single game.

Each time Bautista comes through feeling fine, Hyde grows more confident in the 2023 All-Star’s ability to be a back-end bully.

The flashing red lights, the hype tape, the loud music — Nationals Park tried to become an imposing environment for Bautista to enter. Instead, the closing pitcher was just glad to be back in that situation after so much time away. A close game on the road? Bautista fed off the spectacle meant for the hitters and made it his own.