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Boston Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel reacts after getting Cleveland Indians' Abraham Almonte to fly out to end Monday's game in Cleveland. The Red Sox won 3-2. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane)

BALTIMORE -- Once Craig Kimbrel locks down a save for the Boston Red Sox (or fails to covert one), the next phase of his workday begins.

He heads to the gym at Fenway Park or whatever ballpark where the Red Sox are playing.

"I kind of look at it as extra innings: go in there, work out, run, push myself a little bit more than I already had that day," Kimbrel said here at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. "So the next time I go out there, the harder part is the workout after, not the actual game and the pitching."

Kimbrel is an accountable closer. Whenever he blows a save, or pitches poorly, he always is available to answer the media's questions immediately following the game (before his workout).

But if he converts a save, well, a reporter wanting a quote about his strong performance better find him quickly because he hits the gym almost instantly.

"I hadn't always worked out after the games," Kimbrel said. "It's something I worked into over my first few years in the league and realized that working out before the game I was just exerting all my energy and getting tired and tight."

Kimbrel focuses on leg exercises and cardio. He tends to stay away from certain arm exercises during the regular season.

"Don't want to do a lot of biceps because you get biceps tendonitis," he said. "You do a lot of curls, they look cool but they're not very beneficial for pitching. ... I'll run. I've been riding the bike right now. Run and then just do the leg workout, the straight conditioning program."

Kimbrel doesn't know exactly whether certain parts of his lifting program during the season and offseason have helped his continued uptick in velocity. But it can't hurt either.

The closer is not the prototypical size of a fireballer. He's listed at 6-feet but he looks shorter. That said, he not only throws a fastball that sits in the high-90s but he has one of the hardest curveballs in baseball. Kimbrel's spike curveball has averaged 86.7 mph this year, according to FanGraphs.com.

"It's really him and (Cleveland closer) Cody Allen," Red Sox director of pitching analytics Brian Bannister said, "those are the two guys that throw it (the curveball) in that velocity range."

Kimbrel told The Providence Journal during spring training that he broke his left foot at 18 years old after dropping several panels of sheetrock on it helping his father, an electrician. Wallace State coach Randy Putman had him throw from his knees to build arm strength while he was sidelined and that helped him gain velocity. He went from hitting 85 mph to sitting at 95 mph.

Kimbrel's velocity does continue to increase. His average fastball velocity has gone up each year in the majors, something Kimbrel is aware of.

Average fastball velocity per FanGraphs.com:

2010: 95.4 mph

2011: 96.2 mph

2012: 96.8 mph

2013: 96.9 mph

2014: 97.1 mph

2015: 97.3 mph

2016: 97.4 mph

"First off, I think it's just God given," he said about his velocity. "I've been given an ability and been able to use it. I also stay pretty compact. Everything's pretty tight. I stay pretty together through my motion.

"Reasons for that (increase each year), I don't know," he added. "I'm not doing anything different. Maybe the guns are getting a little faster."

Kimbrel said the increase in velocity of his curveball has just come naturally.

"When I was in college, I threw a slider," Kimbrel said. "I had problems throwing it for a strike. So one of my teammates threw a spike curveball and he showed it to me one day and I started messing around with it, throwing it. And it really started off as a pitch I could throw for a strike. Just an offspeed pitch I could flip in there for a strike. And over time, I got more comfortable with it and I could throw it harder and harder."

With the velocity has come more wildness this year than ever before though. Kimbrel has averaged 4.8 walks per nine innings compared to 3.3 last year and 3.5 for his career.

"It is frustrating when you put guys on," he said. "Free passes, you never want to do that because that can be the difference in games, especially late in the game. But I'm also not afraid to keep pitching to my strength and not giving in to the hitter. Like (Monday) with (Mike) Napoli. If I walked him, I walked him. But I also didn't want him to hit a two-run home run. In a situation like that, I would look at that as -- obviously I didn't want to walk him, I wanted to get him out -- but I'm not kicking myself because at the end of the day, more positive came out of that."

He walked Napoli on Monday after Francisco Lindor led off the ninth with a double. Kimbrel then got two strikeouts and a pop fly to end the game and secure a save in a 3-2 victory over Cleveland.

"He didn't hit a home run," Kimbrel said. "I think there are smart walks and ones that you get frustrated with.

"Bottom line is if you go out there and whatever you do, if you give up a hit or a walk, as long as the other team doesn't score you're doing your job," he said.