Yarbrough pitched five innings of one-hit baseball./JEFFREY S. KING
Friday, 1 a.m.
Yarbrough shut down the Blue Jays./CARMEN MANDATO
At a time like this, no one wants to talk about how good Ryan Yarbrough was.
They want to talk about how good he can be.
Could we be seeing the next great young pitcher of the Rays? Could he take over a slot in the rotation? After this game, all things are possible.
Yarbrough, the well-traveled rookie of the Tampa Bay Rays, took over Friday night's 6-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. He pitched five innings of relief, allowing just one hit, and earned himself an upcoming start. Yarbrough is now 2-1 on the season.
At one point, Yarbrough retired 15 batters in a row.
"The away he threw, he was really efficient with his pitches," Rays'
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Field had three hits for the Rays./CARMEN MANDATO
manager Kevin Cash said. "Hopefully its the start of it. It takes young players a while to trust what they've accomplished in the minor leagues. It takes a little more time. It's adjusting on the fly.
Duffy had three hits for the Rays./CARMEN MANDATO
"He mixed really well. He tied up a lot of pretty good hitters. He threw a lot of balls underneath the barrel, so he has some deception working."
Yarbrough inherited a 1-0 deficit, but left with a 4-1 lead. A two-run homer by Brad Miller iced the game for the Rays.
"I was really just trying to get the ball and get back after it," Yarbrough said. "Stay aggressive. Keep them off-balance by throwing some cutters in and when they started looking for it, mixing some stuff away. So, really just a lot of push and pull, really pitching in every essence of the word."
For Tampa Bay, Johnny Field had three hits and a home run. Matt Duffy also had three hits.
The Rays have won eight of their last 11.
The Rays play again today against the Blue Jays. Jake Faria will pitch against Toronto's Aaron Sanchez. Game time is 6:05 p.m. at Tropicana Field.
Brad Miller clinched the win with a two-run homer./CARMEN MANDATO
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