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24 PLAY BALL BAY AREA NEWS GROUP MARIANORIVERABECAME baseball'sall-timesavesleader on the strength of one pitch. For decades, and with seasons on the line, hitters knew his cut fastball was coming. They still couldn't get the barrel on it. The cutter transformed Melan - con from a strong-armed reliever drafted by the Yankees to one of baseball's best, too. But he d idn 't learn the pitch from the master. It began with Billy Connors, a Yankees pitching coach, and continued after he was traded to the Astros. Another reliever, Brandon Lyon, showed Melancon a different grip that allowed him to repeat the pitch. But he c onsid er ed it his four th- best pitch, and relievers have a mantra: Don't get beat with anything other than your best. So he kept the cutter tucked in a back pocket in Houston, and then following a trade to the Red Sox. Melancon's 2012 season in Boston stands as his career outlier. He had a 6.20 ERA in 41 games and never got comfortable while pitching for manager Bobby Valentine. Three games into the season, he had a loss (in the open - er) and a blown save. Then came the lowest point: an appearance in an 18-3 loss to the Texas Rangers in which Josh Hamilton, Adrian Beltre and Nelson Cruz took him deep. He became just the eighth pitcher in 90 years to give up three home runs without recording an out. He had given up homers to five of the 18 batters he faced. He knew be - fore walking into Valentine's office after the game that he would be shipped to the minors. "For me, that was the best year ever," Melancon said. "It was hor - rible in so many ways, but now I look at it and I'm like, 'That was the girlfriend I'm glad I didn't marry.' "My back was against the wall, I had to go to Triple-A for a month, and I knew if I didn't perform, I could be done. And sometimes when you're put in that position, in anything in life, it's put up or shut up, and this is your time to shine and you know what's at stake. I still use that