Long Reliever Ryan Yarbrough Saves a Game — and Dodgers’ Bullpen
Tyler Glasnow came out throwing 98.5 mph fastballs, 92 mph sliders, and 87 mph curveballs for six innings Thursday.
Ryan Yarbrough did not.
The veteran left-hander picked up a rare 3-inning save in a 7-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday. He threw nothing harder than 88 mph, and nearly threw as many curveballs as fastballs. In spite of – or maybe because of – his finesse repertoire, Yarbrough excelled. The Cardinals mustered only one baserunner against Yarbrough in the final three innings.
It was a possible preview of how the Dodgers might deploy their most verstaile relief pitcher this season.
“You have two really contrasting pitchers and styles,” Roberts said. “Four lefties in the (Cardinals) lineup. I felt it was good to give Yarbs some leash.”
It’s not always the case that a manager will be able to line up his relievers in a perfectly optimal way, but that appeared to be the case in the Dodgers’ home opener. Sure, the team hadn’t played in eight days since losing to the Padres in Seoul, South Korea. But by using Yarbrough and no other relievers Thursday, Roberts was planning ahead.
After the three games against the Cardinals, the Dodgers will host the San Francisco Giants for three straight games Monday through Wednesday. Their next off-day isn’t until next Thursday. The Dodgers will be able to weather that stretch with every other reliever available and fresh.
Yarbrough thinks he’ll be able to bounce back quickly, too. He only needed 44 pitches to throw three innings.
“I think this was ideally how things went last year for me, to kind of give guys a day off, especially when we get that kind of lead,” he said. “Being left-handed I think they still want me to be available for short stints if it comes to that. We’ll see. I threw up to 5 (innings) before we left (for Seoul). Then got 2 a couple days ago. I felt fine, 3, especially, even going more. We’ll see what the game plan is.”
Pitchers are credited with a save if they close out a victory by pitching three or more innings, regardless of the score. It’s the third time Yarbrough has been credited with a save under these circumstances since joining the Dodgers ahead of last year’s trade deadline.
Photo Credit: Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports
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