Rookies help Rays beat Blue Jays
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—Relief pitcher Ryan Yarbrough made his case for a spot in Tampa Bay’s injury-depleted rotation by throwing five scoreless innings in a 6-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night.
Johnny Field homered off J.A. Happ (4-2) and Brad Miller added a two-run shot to put it out of reach in the eighth. Wilson Ramos, Denard Span and Adeiny Hechavarria also drove in runs for the Rays, who’ve won 10 of 13 after a slow start.
Yarbrough (2-1) is a 26-year-old rookie who may wind up in the rotation after allowing a single to the first batter he faced—Dalton Pompey in the third inning—then retiring 15 in a row.
The left-hander, who manager Kevin Cash earlier said was a likely candidate to replace injured starter Yonny Chirinos, struck out four before being replaced in the eighth by Sergio Romo, who yielded a solo homer to Aledmys Diaz. Alex Colome worked the ninth in a non-save situation.
While the Rays planned to open the season with a fourman rotation and use bullpen days as needed for a fifth starter, injuries to Nathan Eovaldi and now Chirinos have forced Cash at times to go with three starters and a nine-man bullpen that includes Andrew Kittredge and three other long relievers.
Kittredge made his third start Friday night, allowing one run and two hits in two innings.
Toronto’s Curtis Granderson doubled and scored on Teoscar Hernandez’s sacrifice fly in the first inning. Luke Maile had the Blue Jays’ other hit, a two-out single in the second off Kittredge.
The Blue Jays played their fourth game over three days in three cities. They lost in Minnesota on Wednesday before splitting two games Thursday in Cleveland—a doubleheader that had to be scheduled because of weather postponements on consecutive days in mid-April.
What already figured to be a long day was extended by a 1-hour, 53-minute rain delay before Game 1, which last 11 innings and nearly five hours. The team arrived in Florida around 4 a.m. Friday.
“Some guys were playing 18 innings, then you travel all night,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “It’s tough to complain about anything in this job, but there’s one thing you can complain about.”
The Rays were off Thursday after returning home from an eight-game road trip.
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Blue Jays: RHP Aaron Sanchez (2-2, 4.06) starts the middle game of the weekend series.
Rays: Jake Faria (2-1, 4.60) makes his seventh start of the season. He’s allowed one run or fewer in four of his outings.
REDS 4, MARLINS 1
CINCINNATI—Eugenio Suarez hit a three-run homer, extending his surge since he returned from a broken thumb, and Sal Romano made another barehand play on the mound Friday night, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 4-1 victory over the Miami Marlins.
The Reds ended a three-game losing streak and improved to 8-24, their worst start since the Great Depression.
Suarez homered into the upper deck in left field in the first inning off Wei-Yin Chen (1-1), who lasted only four innings in his second start of the season. Adam Duvall followed with another homer.
The Reds signed Suarez to a seven-year, $66 million deal during spring training, their first significant contract during their rebuild. Suarez missed 16 games with a broken right thumb, costing Cincinnati’s struggling lineup one of its top run producers.
In eight games since his return, Suarez is 10-for-29 with three doubles, two homers and 13 RBIs. He’s 10 for 20 with runners in scoring position.
Romano (2-3) had a momentary fright for the second straight start at Great American Ball Park. He stuck out his pitching hand to grab Chen’s hard-hit grounder in the third. A trainer visited, and Roman threw a practice pitch before continuing.
He also made a barehand grab of a comeback grounder April 23 against the Braves and said afterward he wouldn’t do it again.
Romano gave up Lewis Brinson’s homer in 5 2/3 innings. David Hernandez escaped a bases-loaded threat in the sixth. Raisel Iglesias pitched the ninth for his fourth save in five chances, completing a five-hitter.
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Marlins: LH Caleb Smith (1-3) has allowed only two runs and four hits while fanning 19 in his last two starts covering 13 innings.
Reds: Rookie Tyler Mahle (2-3) has pitched into the sixth inning in each of his last two starts, allowing four earned runs and seven hits in 12 1/3 innings while fanning 18.