ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Just when Ryan Yarbrough appeared to be squelching the cynicism over his aptitude as a regular Rays starter, the left-hander re-booted the outcries Sunday with one dreadful double bill.
Emphasis on double.
The White Sox smacked five of them — two of the ground-rule variety via bounces over the centerfield wall — during Yarbrough’s 68-pitch debacle Sunday.
But the wretchedness was nearly followed by a rally. Mike Zunino’s two-out, two-run home run capped a four-run Rays sixth inning before the White Sox bullpen closed things out in a 6-5 Tampa Bay defeat before a Tropicana Field audience of 11,162.
Five days after his longest appearance of the season (6⅔ innings) in a loss at Texas, Yarbrough needed 36 pitches to get through the first Sunday. Sox shortstop Danny Mendick led off with a single before Andrew Vaughn finished an 11-pitch at-bat — featuring five consecutive foul balls — with a blast to centerfield that bounced over the wall.
Yarbrough then forced Luis Robert to pop out to first before walking cleanup hitter Jose Abreu. Jake Burger, who hit a game-winning pinch-hit home run in the White Sox’ 3-2 victory Saturday, then matched Vaughn’s shot with another ground-rule double that bounced beyond Kevin Kiermaier’s reach and over the short wall in center, scoring two runs.
Yasmani Grandal followed with a two-run single to rightfield, giving Chicago a 4-0 lead. No. 9 batter Josh Harrison led off the second with a double, and advanced to third on rightfielder Manuel Margot’s throwing error, before Vaughn again doubled two batters later to score Harrison. Luis Robert’s single scored Vaughn.
Yarbrough would allow another double to Burger before exiting. He allowed eight total hits, walking two and striking out none. Forty-three of his 68 pitches were strikes.
The Rays’ rally commenced on Isaac Paredes’ leadoff home run in the fifth, and Randy Arozarena’s two-run triple the following inning. Two batters later, Zunino sent Sox right-handed starter Lucas Giolito’s 100th pitch — an 85-mph slider — over the leftfield wall to cut Tampa Bay’s deficit to 6-5.
The Rays managed one hit over the final three innings, with Sox right-handed reliever Kendall Graveman striking out the side in the eighth.
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