Yonny Chirinos shines in his return to the majors
Photo Credit: Brian Blanco/Getty Images
On Thursday, Yonny Chirinos returned to the majors after spending nearly a month in Triple-A. He kept Twins batters off balance all afternoon in front of a crowd of just over 12,000. While it took the Rays offense a few innings to get going, they used a three-run fourth to complete a sweep of the Twins as Chirinos dazzled on the mound.
In 5.2 innings of work, Chirinos allowed one run on five hits. He showed excellent control by striking out five batters and throwing 45 of his 65 pitches for strikes. His success was partly due to a change in approach that is already paying dividends.
When talking with Kevin Cash postgame, the Rays manager highlighted how the veteran righthander executed his pitches and fooled hitters with late movement. Chirinos leaned hard on his slider and overwhelmed hitters as his pitches were “darting every which way kind of at the bottom of the zone.”
In Chirinos’s return, Cash took notice of how he used a new approach to maximize his abilities.
“He used some four-seamers at the top,” said Cash. That is not something he has shown comfort with in the past. I think he realizes that it might help when he’s turning over the lineup over and over.”
While Chirinos has split time between the majors and the minors this year, he has made the most out of his outings with the Rays. He has posted a 2.60 ERA in eight games and struck out 15 batters. In his limited sample size, opponents are hitting .128 against him.
At this point of his career, Chirinos strength isn’t getting hitters to chase pitches. He keeps them off-balance with an arsenal of similar-looking pitches that leaves opponents shaking their heads. That has led to him posting a 3.42 ERA in 57 games since making his MLB debut with the Rays in 2018. Right now, he is focusing on what he can control.
“I just try to go out there, compete and give 100 percent,” said Chirinos. “I think the games will dictate how long I’m going to be up here for.”
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