ST. PETERSBURG -- Yonny Chirinos has been a key piece of the Rays’ pitching staff this season, but the right-hander ran into some trouble on Saturday as Tampa Bay dropped its second consecutive game to the Twins, 6-2 at Tropicana Field.
Chirinos came into Saturday’s game with a 6-1 record and a 2.91 ERA. The 25-year-old had been even more efficient in his starts, posting a 3-1 record with a 2.08 ERA in his previous five.
On Saturday, Chirinos struck out the side in the first inning and appeared on his way to another solid outing. But he allowed two runs on three hits and a walk in the third inning and another run in the fourth, and Marwin Gonzalez capped it off with a solo home run to center field in the fifth to give the Twins a 4-1 lead.
Chirinos allowed four runs on a career-high-tying nine hits and struck out seven over 5 1/3 innings. He threw 91 pitches, 62 for strikes.
“They’re balanced, and they have plenty of power,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said about the Twins' lineup. “We talked about it when the series started, and what they’re doing -- hitting the ball out of the ballpark at the rate that they are, and not striking out -- shows that they have some really quality hitters.”
Let’s take a look at what went wrong and what worked for Chirinos.
What went wrong?
This season, Chirinos has thrown his sinker 58.3 percent of the time. It’s arguably his best pitch and the one he relies on in crucial situations. But when Chirinos misses with his location, he runs into some trouble, and he has now allowed 10 home runs this season after yielding seven in 18 appearances in 2018.
“The third and fourth innings were a little difficult,” Chirinos said. “My sinker wasn’t in the strike zone. But [I] just tried to compete, and sometimes things don’t work out the way you want them to.”
While Chirinos gave up only one home run on Saturday, he missed his target with the pitch, especially with two strikes. Of the eight hits he allowed between the third and fifth innings, four came with two strikes.
“For me, the difference in the game was two pitches,” Chirinos said. “The sliders that I left up to Gonzalez, who hit the double and the home run. You always want to finish off the hitter with a strikeout or just get him out, but sometimes you just leave pitches up, and that’s when you get hit a little bit.”
What went right?
Despite not being able to finish off some hitters with two strikes, Chirinos was still able to strike out seven, and he showed the ability to work out of some jams.
Chirinos’ slider was particularly sharp. He recorded nine swings and misses with the pitch and 19 total, 10 more than he had against the Blue Jays on Monday. The one mistake he made with the slider came on the Gonzalez home run on a 2-2 count.
“Left a couple of pitches up,” Cash said. “A couple of breaking balls up that you probably want to have back, but all in all, I thought Yonny threw the ball OK.”
Alvarado bounces back
Despite finishing with a 5.79 ERA in May, Jose Alvarado will continue to be a big part of what the Rays do with their bullpen for the remainder of the season. On Saturday, Alvarado allowed a leadoff single in the ninth inning, but he was able to get through the frame without allowing a run. It was a step in the right direction for the left-hander.
“It was good,” Cash said about Alvarado’s outing. “Landed some breaking balls. Got some fastballs. Drove a couple of fastballs in against righties. I thought overall, just the vicinity of his pitches were more direct into the zone, or just missing."