In Making Memorable Return, Yonny Chirinos Was 25th Rays Pitcher To Win This Season

It was not just any relief appearance Wednesday night. Rather, it was Yonny Chirinos’ first appearance in a Rays uniform in more than two years. That’s 752 days, to be exact.

The 28-year-old righthander last pitched for Tampa Bay on August 16, 2020 against the Blue Jays. His start that night followed a stint on the injured list due to right triceps inflammation. A week later, he underwent Tommy John surgery.

Chirinos’ rehab and recovery process was stalled last September when he fractured his elbow while throwing batting practice. The injury required surgery and, as it turned out, set him back another year.

“There were a lot of tears at that point,” he said, following his outing against Boston. “Now, there are a lot of tears of, obviously, happiness. Knowing that God was out there with me and being able to go out there and compete and help the team win, that’s all I wanted.”

He got a lot more. Chirinos allowed four hits, one walk and struck out four while blanking the Red Sox during his three-inning stint. When he took the mound in the fourth in relief of Jeffrey Springs, the game was scoreless. When he exited after the sixth, the Rays had a 1-0 lead. That is how the game finished and Chirinos had his first win since August 4, 2019.

“It was really cool for all of us in the dugout,” said manager Kevin Cash. “So appreciative of Yonny and the work ethic that he has put in and how he had dealt with adversity. That was pretty cool.”

Chirinos’ arsenal of splitters and sliders resembled that of when he was healthy and pitching very effectively for the Rays in 2018 and 2019, his first two years in the majors and when he was a combined 14-10 with a 3.71 ERA.

“When you have not been pitching for two years, you don’t know what to expect,” he said. “The goal was just to compete and help the team win any I can.”

He did just that, but three shutout innings?

“I was not thinking about how many innings I should throw or how many pitches I have for the day,” said Chirinos, who was reinstated from the 60-day IL after Drew Rasmussen was placed on the paternity list Tuesday. “As long as I compete. That’s all that I was focused on and hopefully put zeroes on the board.”

Underscoring the Rays’ pitching depth and how effectively Cash and his staff have juggled all of the pitchers, is that Chirinos was the 25^th pitcher to pick up a win this season for Tampa Bay. Talk about pitching in, 16 pitchers have one or two wins.

Since the days of expanding rosters to 40 players in September are over, such pitching management is sure to continue. After all, rosters were permitted to expand by only two players on September 1 to reach a 28-player limit.

Hence, when Luis Patino was recalled from Triple-A Durham on Monday to start the series opener against Boston, Matt Wisler (2.35 ERA, 1.00 WHIP) was designated for assignment in a move that Cash said “stunk.”

More moves with the pitching staff will have to made. Shane McClanahan (shoulder impingement) is due to return next week. Tyler Glasnow (Tommy John surgery) had a successful outing at Triple-A Durham on Wednesday and there is a chance the righthander will be pitching for the Rays before this season is over. Wouldn’t that be something?

Indeed, the team that has the American League wild-card lead — and expects to have Wander Franco back this weekend — is still, in a sense, taking shape thanks to so many injuries incurred over a lengthy stretch of time. The Rays will likely have a bit of a different look by the time their eight-game (three in New York, five in Toronto) road trip concludes. For now, they will attempt to close a five-game gap in the Yankees in the AL East.

“We know what’s ahead of us with New York,” said Cash. “They are very, very good and we have to play good baseball.”