A season after Will Smith tied for the National League lead in appearances, Jeremy Jeffress finds himself in a similar position with the Milwaukee Brewers.
The hard-throwing righthander enters the weekend having pitched in 25 games, tied with Seth Maness of the St. Louis Cardinals. And being atop the leader board in that category is meaningful to Jeffress, considering the long road he's traveled to get to this point.
"Very much so, in the aspect of the club believing in me," he said after a rare second consecutive day off Wednesday following the Brewers' 3-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants at Miller Park.