Ryan Yarbrough Archives

The New What Next: Rays vs Halos — a series preview

May 17, 2018 By Schmitty Leave a Comment

After dropping three of four in Baltimore, the Rays bounced back to sweep the Royals. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

The Tampa Bay Rays are set to kick off a four-game visit to Angel Stadium in Anaheim, where they will battle the Los Angeles Angels this weekend. Tampa Bay is coming off a three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals, while Los Angeles just dropped two-of-three to the AL West leading Houston Astros.

(Stats Credit: ESPN)

Tampa Bay enters the series with a 19-22 record on the season, although the team was able to take all three games at Kaufman Stadium — the Rays’ first sweep of the Royals since 2011, and the first in Kansas City since 2009. Prior to that, they had lost six of seven following a spate of play where the team was able to make up eight games in the loss column. If the Rays has any hope of being a part of the Wildcard race, then they will need to be much more consistent at the plate. To their credit, they were able to tag the Royals for 13 runs, although they have averaged just 3.67 runs per game over their last nine games … and that just won’t get it done. While they have averaged 4.45 runs per game on the road this year, they have also allowed 5.45 runs per game under the same parameters.

The Angels have been very good at the plate so far, ranking sixth in the league in scoring — putting up 4.93 runs per game — while also ranking second in homers with 58. They, however, have averaged 4.12 runs per game at home, while in the same breath allowing 4.96 runs per game.

(Stats Credit: FanGraphs)

Tampa Bay took four of the seven games from the Halos last season (2-1 at Angel Stadium).

Pitching Probables

Over the next four days, Kevin Cash will lean on Chris Archer (2-3, 5.64 ERA), Blake Snell (4-3, 3.12 ERA), Ryan Yarbrough (3-2, 3.93 ERA) and Anthony Banda (0-0, 5.40 ERA). Mike Scioscia will counter with Tyler Skaggs (3-2, 3.07 ERA), Nick Tropeano (1-2, 3.64 ERA), Andrew Heaney (2-2, 3.93 ERA) and Shohei Ohtani (3-1, 3.58 ERA).

(Stats Credit: FanGraphs)

Chris Archer was hit with the loss on Saturday against the Orioles, after he allowed six runs on seven hits and three walks over seven innings. He struck out four. It was Archer’s second seven inning start, yet his line left a lot to be desired thanks to the three long balls he allowed. The right-hander has now conceded nine home runs this season; he served up a homer in each of his first six starts, but kept the ball in the yard in his previous two outings heading into Saturday. He also allowed a steal of home (by Chance Sisco) and another run on a wild pitch. In spite of his 5.64 ERA across 52-2/3 innings, Archer has a solid 3.47 K/BB. He is 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA in five starts at Angel Stadium.

Tyler Skaggs gave up two earned runs on six hits over six innings against the Twins, striking out seven and walking two in a 5-4 loss. Despite the score, the southpaw put together a solid outing, and has pitched well all season (save for a rough outing against Boston on April 18, when he got tagged for six earned runs). His strikeout rate has been on an uptick lately, and he has punched out at least seven batters in three consecutive starts after managing that feat just once in his first five trips to the mound. He now has a 3.07 ERA, a 1.20 WHIP and a 3.54 K/BB over 44 innings this season. Contrary to the superlatives, Skaggs allowed five runs in his only appearance against Tampa Bay, and is 3-9 with a 4.81 ERA in 25 starts at Angel Stadium. This season he has relied primarily on his 92 mph four seam fastball resulting in a good number of swinging strikes, and a biting 75 mph curveball with sweeping glove-side movement, while also mixing in a 92 mph worm-killer sinker, and an 85 mph changeup with surprising cut action and sink.

Blake Snell took his third loss of the season on Sunday and is dealing with a sore right hip. The revelation came during manager Kevin Cash’s postgame press conference following a forgettable outing in which the left-hander allowed five earned runs on six hits over 3-1/3 innings against Baltimore. According to Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) Cash made sure to emphasize that it is a “minor, minor injury,” but also conceded the discomfort was the primary reason why he opted to pull Snell after just 73 pitches, allowing that he didn’t think the Snell “looked quite like himself.” Snell has faced the Angels just once, but walked away as the hard luck loser after he put together a 6 IP/4 H/2 ER/7 K performance.

Nick Tropeano was credited with a no-decision in his last start on Saturday against Minnesota after the right-hander yielded three runs over six innings. This season he has relied primarily on his 91 mph four-seam fastball with natural sinking action and slight armside run, and an 80 mph 12-6 slider, while also mixing in an 82 mph splitter that dives down out of the zone, an 89 mph sinker with obvious tail, and a whiffy 82 mph changeup. He is 0-1 with a 4.35 ERA in two career starts against the Rays, but has not faced them since 2016. Tropeano is also 3-4 with a 4.56 ERA in 14 career starts at Angel Stadium. Key Matchup: Brad Miller (3-9, 2 HR, 3 RBI)

Ryan Yarbrough allowed one run on five hits and three walks over five innings to earn his third win of the season on Monday against the Royals. He struck out four. Yarbrough put together a somewhat surprising outing, in that his strike to ball rate sat at 60% as he walked three batters. It will be interesting to see if the southpaw can bounce back against Mike Trout and the Angels, who he has never faced.

Andrew Heaney fanned 10 over eight solid innings of one-run ball against the Astros on Monday. He later described the outing as the best of his career. Heaney has pitched to a 1.80 ERA over his last four starts for the Angels, although he is 6-4 with a 4.16 ERA in 17 starts at home. This season the left-hander has relied primarily on his 92 mph swing and miss sinker and a hard 80 mph curveball, while also mixing in a firm 84 mph worm-killer changeup with armside fade and natural sink. He has never faced the Rays. Key Matchup: Brad Miller (2-2)

Anthony Banda efficiently cruised through the Royals lineup, setting a quick pace and inducing lots of contact — prior to the fifth inning he had struck out only one batter. But it appeared that the wheels might fall off for the southpaw in that frame. As Banda pounded the zone, the Royals began to hit squibbers that found holes.

A pair of leadoff singles and a sacrifice bunt later, Kansas City had runners on second and third with just one out. Banda came back and coaxed a soft grounder to short out of Ryan Goins that was scored as an RBI fielder’s choice. The next batter, Whit Merrifield, sent a liner to left that dropped just in front of Span, who struggled with the ball. Merrifield tried to stretch his single into a double, and Span gunned him down at second. The Rays got out of the inning with the lead, yet the Royals cut the deficit to one. Kansas City later tied the game against the tandem of Jose Alvarado and Sergio Romo.

That’s not to say Banda performed poorly, because he didn’t. The left-hander went five innings, and didn’t walk a batter. He struck out one and threw just 52 pitches (38 strikes, 73% strike ratio), although he allowed three runs on six hits.

Shohei Ohtani, thrust into a six-man rotation, will get the start in the series finale. Ohtani is coming off a quality start against Minnesota — his fourth of the season — in which he allowed just three hits and collected 11 strikeouts. It’s also thought that he may see some at-bats leading up to his start. The two-way star has relied on a blazing 98 mph four-seam fastball, a firm and whiffy 88 mph splitter with slight cut action and has some natural sink, and a sweeping 83 mph slider with two-plane movement, while also mixing in a whiffy 75 mph curveball with exceptional bite and glove side movement.

Noteworthiness

— Christian Arroyo, the highly touted prospect acquired in the December trade of Evan Longoria to the Giants, was called up Wednesday when the Rays put RF Carlos Gomez on the DL so they could add another right-handed bat. The team also plans to have him step in for 3B Matt Duffy, who is out of the lineup, likely until Friday, after leaving Tuesday’s game with hamstring tightness.

Arroyo has been off to a slow start with Triple-A Durham, hitting .200 with one homer (albeit a grand slam) in 17 games, having missed time with a calf strain.

The New What Next: Rays vs Royals — a series preview

May 14, 2018 By Schmitty Leave a Comment

The Rays made a beeline for the airport following a 17-1 routing against the Orioles on Sunday. (Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Rays)

The Tampa Bay Rays grueling stretch of play continues Monday in Kansas City, where they begin a three-game set at Kauffman Stadium. The Rays ended a five-game losing streak by taking down Baltimore in the second contest of a doubleheader on Saturday, only to be shellacked 17-1 in the series finale on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Royals split their first two against Cleveland, then dropped the rubber game of the series on Sunday.

(Stats Credit: ESPN)

Suffice it to say, Tampa Bay has quickly developed some holes in its offense, although the run production finally returned up in game two of the doubleheader on Saturday, with the Rays scoring 10 runs against Baltimore. But in spite of that, they could muster just one late run against the Orioles the following day, and looked pretty abysmal along the way. Even so, they have and opportunity to turn things around against an equally uninspiring Royals squad.

Kansas City has had some wild results lately, although their biggest problem over the past week has been the pitching staff. The Royals have performed a 7.93 ERA over their last five games, with the starters pushing double-digits in the runs allowed department. The only thing that’s saved the team is the offense which has put up double figures in two of those contests.

(Stats Credit: FanGraphs)

The Rays, historically, have not fared well against the Royals, especially at Kauffman Stadium — going 3-12 since their last winning season (2013) … although they did take two-of-three in Kansas City last season, outscoring the Royals 19-9 in the process.

Pitching Probables

Kevin Cash will throw Ryan Yarbrough (0-2, 6.52 ERA), lean on the bullpen (7-10, 4.93 ERA), and Jake Faria (3-2, 5.09 ERA) over the next three days. Ned Yost will counter with Eric Skoglund (1-2, 6.34), Ian Kennedy (1-4, 4.61), and former Ray Jason Hammel (0-4, 6.13).

(Stats Credit: FanGraphs)

Ryan Yarbrough struggled in his last start, allowing five earned runs on six hits over five innings of work. However, he had a perfect pitching ratio of seven strikeouts to no walks. In fact, over his last three appearances (two relief efforts prior to the start), he’s performed to a 17 strikeouts to 0 walks ratio. His .385 BABIP yet 3.55 FIP over the last 14 days suggest that some bad luck may be in play. He’ll try to right the ship against the Royals in the series opener on Monday.

Eric Skoglund gave up three earned runs on five hits over 6-1/3 innings of work against Baltimore on May 9th, finishing the outing with a 3-to-1 K/BB over 86 total pitches (56 strikes, 65% strike ratio). He’s now allowed three home runs over his last three appearances — one homer in each — and posted three no-decisions over his last four starts (the other being a win against the White Sox). This season, the southpaw has relied primarily on his whiffy 92 mph four-seam fastball, 92 mph sinker, and a hard 81 mph 12-6 curveball, while also mixing in a hard 87 mph worm-killer changeup. This will be his first appearance against Tampa Bay.

I will update this piece when Tuesday’s starter for Tampa Bay is announced.

Ian Kennedy was lit up by Baltimore to the tune of nine earned runs over four innings in a loss on Thursday. He struck out four and walked two. Baltimore hit three home runs off Kennedy in his first truly rough outing of the season. Previous to that start, Kennedy had posted a tidy 2.92 ERA with four quality turns over seven outings. It is difficult to read too much into one bad outing from Kennedy. This season he has relied primarily on his 93 mph four-seam fastball with some added back spin, while also mixing in a 79 mph knuckle curveball with sharp downward bite, a firm 86 mph Vulcan grip changeup, and an 88 mph worm-killer cutter. The right-hander is 1-5 with a 5.76 ERA in six career starts against the Rays. Key Matchups: CJ Cron (1-3, 2B), Matt Duffy (5-14, 2B, BB), Carlos Gomez (6-18, 2 RBI), Adeiny Hechavarria (3-12, 2B), Brad Miller(3-6, 2 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB)

Jake Faria took a loss against the Orioles on Friday, after he coughed up seven runs on eight hits and a walk over six-plus innings. He struck out three. The right-hander would have come away with a quality start if he’d exited after six innings, but Faria instead came out for the seventh and, after a solo homer by Mark Trumbo, loaded the bases with nobody out on a single, a hit by pitch and a walk before getting the hook in favor of Ryne Stanek, who served up a grand slam to Manny Machado. Previous to that outing, Faria threw three quality starts in four tries, including a dominant 8 IP/3 H performance against Detroit two turns ago.

Jason Hammel, the former Ray, allowed nine runs over 3-2/3 innings in his last start against Cleveland, four of which were scored in the first inning. He is still searching for his first win of the season, and has posted just three quality starts of his eight total. The scouting report on Hammel: this season he has relied primarily on his 92 mph sinker with two plane movement and an 85 mph slider, while also mixing in a 92 mph four-seam fastball, a 78 mph curveball with sharp downward bite and glove side movement, and a firm 86 mph changeup with slight arm side fade. He is 2-3 with a 4.89 ERA in seven career starts against his former team. Key Matchups: Matt Duffy (1-2), Brad Miller (2-8, HR, 2 RBI), Wilson Ramos (4-12, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB), Mallex Smith (2-2)

Noteworthiness

— Following Sunday’s game, RHP Andrew Kittredge was optioned to Triple-A Durham. Kittredge faced seven batters total and got none out, with six of them coming around to score. Cash said he isn’t sure what’s wrong with Kittredge, who has been used as a spot starter and long reliever, given his strong spring, suggesting repertoire, plan of attack and diminishing confidence, writes Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times).

He’s just not missing bats like he’s capable of, Cash said.

— CJ Cron extended his career-high on-base streak to 19 games over the weekend.

LBWMF: Yarbrough, Rays take down Blue Jays Friday night, 6-2

May 5, 2018 By Schmitty Leave a Comment

The offense returned in the Rays 6-2 win over Toronto, on Friday. (Photo Credit: Anthony Ateek/X-Rays Spex)

Ryan Yarbrough — the southpaw hurler recalled from Durham in Yonny Chirinos’ absence — posted five innings of one-hit, shutout ball on Friday night, as the Tampa Bay Rays began a three-game series with a 6–2 win over the Blue Jays. It was the team’s fifth consecutive home win.

The Blue Jays took the initial lead four batters into the ballgame against Andrew Kittredge, who was announced as the starter on Thursday. Curtis Granderson led off the game with a hustle double to left-center ahead of Josh Donaldson, who walked. Yangervis Solarte hit a deep fly to the warning track right, allowing Granderson to move up to third. The left-fielder inevitably came home on Teoscar Hernandez’s sacrifice-fly to center.

Granderson, however, was pulled from the game as a precaution with right hamstring tightness, and replaced with Dalton Pompey.

One lone run would be all that Kittredge would allow over his two innings of work, setting the table for Yarbrough in the top of the third inning.

Meanwhile, the Rays got on the board in the third inning against J.A. Happ. Johnny Field hit a two-out, line drive homer to left — his second big league homer, and first at home.

💣 2-0 count
💣 Fastball
💣 Inner half pic.twitter.com/b7nflxWdz5

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) May 5, 2018

It was also the team’s first extra base hit since the ninth inning of Monday night’s ball game against Detroit (a span of 23 innings).

Yarbrough kicked off his outing by allowing a hit to his first batter, Pompey, but retired his next 15 hitters in order — moving the ball around the zone along the way. Yarbrough fanned four, threw 40 of 58 pitches for strikes (69% strike ratio) and needed just under 12 pitches per inning to get the job done. If this was an audition to replace Yonny Chirinos in the fourth starter role on a regular basis, Yarbrough did exceedingly well.

I know after I got done, a couple of guys were like, ‘Man, you were working really fast out there,’ said Yarbrough, who tossed 40 of his 58 pitches for strikes.

I was really just trying to get the ball and get back after it, stay aggressive, and just keep ’em off balance by throwing some cutters in. And when they started looking for it, mixing some stuff away.

Do you even Yarbrough? pic.twitter.com/xtyUmTATDW

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) May 5, 2018

Tampa Bay moved ahead for good in the fourth inning, and the go ahead rally started with a lead-off walk by C.J. Cron against Happ, his second free pass of the game. Matt Duffy followed, rolling a single to center before Wilson Ramos ripped a line drive base hit to right-center, plating Cron and moving Duffy to third. The hit extended Ramos’ hit streak to 12 games, two shy of the franchise record for a Rays backstop (Toby Hall, 14, 2001). Two batters later, Duffy came home when Toronto couldn’t turn Denard Span’s grounder into a double play, putting the Rays up by a pair.

Happ had to be bailed out of a bases-loaded jam by Jake Petricka in the sixth, after he gave up a one-out single to Duffy, walked Daniel Robertson on four pitches, and then allowed another free pass to Denard Span. Petricka coaxed a fly-ball out to left to end the threat.

The Rays were able to tack on another run in the seventh, much to the chagrin of Jays’ skipper John Gibbons. Field doubled off the wall in right with one out — his second hit of the night — before Adeiny Hechavarria singled to left, scoring Field for a three-run advantage.

Sergio Romo took over in the eighth, and quickly worked over former Ray Luke Maile on four pitches. However, the soft tossing right-hander left a fastball over the heart of the zone, on the very next pitch, which Aledmys Dias deposited into the left-field seats. Romo settled down and ended the inning on a high note, fanning Pompey and coaxing a fly-ball out from Donaldson.

Brad Miller, clearly uncomfortable with just a two-run lead, hit a no doubt, two-run blast to left in the bottom of the inning off fellow southpaw Tim Mayza for a four-run lead.

Insurance! pic.twitter.com/J6sXAD7qWW

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) May 5, 2018

Finally, Alex Colome worked an impressive ninth — albeit one that was dragon bit by the catwalks — to close out the game with a win. When asked why he turned to Colome with a four-run lead, Rays manager Kevin Cash said he wanted to give Colome some work.

I don’t wanna go five, six or seven days without him pitching. With the way his first month has gone, he’ll benefit from some consistent work.

The New What Next

The Rays and Toronto play the second of three games on Saturday. Jake Faria (2–1, 4.60 ERA) will get the start opposite of right-hander Aaron Sanchez (2–2, 4.06 ERA).

Jake Faria became the first Tampa Bay hurler to pitch eight full innings in a ball game since Alex Cobb in July of 2017. After a first inning walk of the number two hitter, Jeimer Candelario, the right-hander coaxed a ground ball double play and went to work. Faria was sharp over the balance of his start, mixing fastballs and off speed stuff, while limiting deep counts, and maintaining a quick pace. The right-hander blanked the Tigers and allowed just three hits and one walk. He fanned six, relying heavily on his four-seam fastball to set up his splitter, which he got most his whiffs on.

Aaron Sanchez allowed four runs on six hits and three walks with two strikeouts over six innings on Monday against the Twins. It was the first time in five starts that Sanchez failed to record a quality start, although his offense bailed him out with six runs in the first five innings. The ground baller added another 10 to his total, but his control wasn’t there and he threw just 55 strikes in 93 pitches (59% strike ratio), walked three batters, and hit another. Sanchez’s 4.06 ERA is due in large part to a 4.3 BB/9, not to mention that he also has now hit six batters. This season he has relied primarily on a 94 mph sinker with obvious tailing action, a hard 89 mph changeup with arm-side fade, and a whiffy 94 mph four-seam fastball, while also mixing in a 79 mph curveball with downward bite and glove-side movement. Key Matchups: Mallex Smith (1-1, 2 BB), Jesus Sucre (2-3, 2B)

You can read about the series in our preview.