Just For Starters: Breaking Down Ryan Yarbrough's Short Outing Against A's

OAKLAND, Calif. — Ryan Yarbrough waited a month to make his first start of the season, but it didn't last long for the Tampa Bay left-hander

Yarbrough didn't make it out of the third inning, retiring just seven batters on 56 pitches. He had two first-inning walks with two outs that really hurt him, because Kevin Smith came up right after that and his a grand slam. The Oakland third baseman hadn't hit a home run all year. It also didn't help that he didn't get a call on the first walk. It looked like a strike on the replay, showing up in the strike zone box on television.

Here is a breakdown of Yarbrough's night on Tuesday, and the cumulative numbers of the Rays starting staff this season:

Rays' Starters By The Numbers

• Starter: Ryan Yarbrough
• Game: Tuesday (May 3) at Oakland Athletics
• Decision: Pending
• Team result: Pending
• Innings pitched: 2.1
• Total pitches: 56
• Strikes: 32
• Runs allowed: 5
• Earned runs: 5
• Hits allowed: 6
• Walks allowed: 3
• Total strikeouts: 2
• Status upon departure: Ryan Yarbrough struggled mightily in his first appearance of the year for the Rays. He gave up a first inning grand slam and left with just one out in the third, trailing 5-3. He was replaced by Ryan Thompson. 
  
• The skinny: Yarbrough missed the first month of the season, and you might expect a little rust in his first start. Walks hurt him, especially in the first inning when he loaded the bases with two outs with two walks. Kevin Smith put the Rays in an early hole with his first homer of the year

Season Totals for Rays Starters

• Starters: Shane McClanahan (5), Drew Rasmussen (5), Corey Kluber
  (4), Josh Fleming (2), Luis Patino, Tommy Romero, Ryan Yarbrough
• Games: 19 (5 openers, not included in numbers)
• Decisions: 4-7 thru Monday
• Team result: 13-10 thru Monday
• Innings pitched (avg.): 82.1/4.3
• - Season high innings: 7.0, Shane McClanahan (April 24)
• - Season low innings: 2/3, Luis Patino (April 11)
• Total pitches (avg.): 1,371/72.1
• - Season high pitches: 90, Shane McClanahan (April 30)
• - Season low pitches: 13, Luis Patino (April 11)
• Total strikeouts (avg.): 89/4.9
• - Season high strikeouts: 11, Shane McClanahan (April 30)
• Runs allowed (avg.): 45/2.2
• Earned runs (avg.): 41/2.0
• Hits allowed (avg.): 75/3.9
• - Season most hits allowed: 11, Corey Kluber (April 22)
• Walks allowed (avg.): 29/1.4
• Starter ERA: 4.05