Blue Jays Tag Fill-In Ryan Yarbrough for 2 Homers in 4-1 Win Over Rays
TORONTO — This series between Tampa Bay and Toronto was weird before it even started, so it's no surprise that Thursday night's game with the Rays and Blue Jays turned out kind of weird, too.
The Blue Jays won 4-1, taking the opener of a five-game, four-day series north of the border. They did it thanks to a strong outing from Toronto starter Yusei Kikuchi, who pitched six innings and allowed just one run and four hits. It was odd success for him, because he had a 9.39 earned run average in June. He's been terrible.
But once again, it was the Rays' offense failed to do much. Their only run came off the red-hot bat of Isaac Paredes, who hit a home run in the fourth inning, his team-leading 11th of the year, and his sixth in the past nine days,
And that was it. They had other chances, though. Trailing 2-1 in the sixth inning, Yandy Diaz and Wander Franco opened in inning with singles, and it looked like they finally had Kikuchi on the ropes. But Harold Ramirez, who's had a lot of clutch hits this season, grounded into a 5-4-3 double play and then Randy Arozarena grounded out to third as well to end the threat.
In the seventh, Vidal Brujan singled with one out. When he tried to steal second, Toronto catcher Gabriel Moreno's errant throw allowed him to get all the way to third base. But with the tying run just 90 feet away, Taylor Walls struck out swinging and Francisco Mejia popped out.
It was a strange outing too for RyanYarbrough, who was called up on Thursday to rejoin the team when projected starter Jeffrey Springs couldn't make the trip because of a family medical issue back at home. He was the bulk-innings guys after Matt Wisler ''opened'' the game with a scoreless first inning.
Yarbrough gave up a pair of two-run homers, one in the second and one in the seventh. Right fielder Teoscar Hernandez took him deep in the second inning and Santiago Espinal went yard in the seventh,
But in between, Yarbrough did well, allowing just three hits in five innings and inducing a lot of soft contact, which was good to see since he had been ineffective previously, necessitating a demotion to Durham after his June 5 start against Chicago, where he gave up six runs and eight hits in facing just 11 batters over 1 2/3 innings.
Yarbrough, who is now 0-4 on the season, didn’t have a single strikeout despite facing 25 batters, the most in his career without recording a punch-out. He has appeared in eight games this season, and the Rays are 1-7, including seven losses in a row.
The three-run loss ended a streak of 14 games where every game was determined by two runs or less. It's a Rays team record, snapping a nine-game streak in April 2007.
The Rays are now 40-35 on the season, and are just 6-12 in their last 18 games. They'll send Corey Kluber to the mound on Friday. It's Canada Day in Toronto, so first pitch is at 3:05 p.m. ET.
Related stories on Rays baseball
- ROSTER MOVES: Rays starter Jeffrey Springs didn't make the trip because of a family medical emergency. Ryan Yarbrough, Javy Guerra and Phoenix Sanders have all been called up from Triple-A Durham to fill in for him and two relievers. CLICK HERE
- VACCINATION ISSUES: Unvaccinated athletes are not allowed to travel in and out of Canada, so that means Tampa Bay Rays relievers Brooks Raley and Ryan Thompson, who have chosen to not get the COVID-19 vaccines, did not make the trip. They'll be missed in a series where the Rays play five games in four days. CLICK HERE
- PAREDES HONORED: Isaac Paredes' record-setting five-home-run week was enough to earn him American League Player or the Week honors from MLB on Monday. He hit .579 for the week and had homers in four consecutive at-bats, the first Rays player to do that. Freddie Freeman of the Los Angeles Dodgers won the NL award. CLICK HERE
- RAYS SCHEDULE: Here is the full Rays schedule for the 2022 season, with dates and gametimes and all of the results so far. CLICK HERE
Tom Brew is the publisher of Inside The Rays, and has been with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation network for three years. He is an award-winning writer and editor who has spent most of his four-decade career at the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has written four books.