Orioles rookie saves bullpen with a relief gem better than any in MLB since 1996
Gabriel Ynoa came out of the bullpen and threw six scoreless innings Friday night
By
Mike Axisa
•
2 min read
Friday night, Orioles manager Buck Showalter faced every manager's second worst nightmare: his starter did not make it out of the first inning.
Every manager's worst nightmare is, of course, running out of catchers. That didn't happen though.
O's starter Wade Miley was forced to exit Friday's series opener with the White Sox with what the team is calling a wrist contusion. Miley was hit by line drives from back-to-back batters in the first inning. He had to be removed after two outs and 13 pitches. Here's the video:
Showalter, with seemingly no other choice, turned the game over to young righty Gabriel Ynoa, a minor league starter who was called up earlier this week for long relief. Here's what Ynoa did: 6 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K. The O's won the game 4-2 (box score) and couldn't have asked Ynoa for any more.
Here's some video of Ynoa's outing.
Ynoa, who came over from the Mets in a minor trade over the winter, threw 101 pitches in relief, which isn't as uncommon as you may think. Three pitchers did it last season: Andrew Albers, Luis Perdomo, and Michael Feliz. There has been at least one 100-plus pitch relief outing every season since 2011.
What Ynoa did do Friday night that made his outing special was throw 100-plus pitches and not allow a run. Most of the time when a reliever throws more than 100 pitches, he's taking one for the team. It's a blowout, and the manager doesn't want to burn out his bullpen, so he makes the long reliever wear it. Albers, Perdomo, and Feliz all allowed at least four runs in their 100-plus pitch relief outings a year ago, for example.
Here are the last three pitchers to throw 100-plus pitches during a scoreless relief outing:
- Randy Johnson, Diamondbacks: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 16 K on 109 pitches on July 18, 2001
- Greg Keagle, Tigers: 7 1/3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K on 110 pitches on June 24, 1996
- Melido Perez, White Sox: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K on 105 pitches on July 27, 1991
That Randy Johnson game is an interesting one. First of all, those 16 strikeouts are the all-time record for a relief outing. The previous record was 15, set by Walter Johnson back in 1913. There have been only 48 instances in history of a pitcher striking out double-digit batters in relief. The Big Unit was the last to do it.
Secondly, although that game goes in the books in a relief appearance for Johnson, it wasn't a true relief appearance. Curt Schilling started the game, but it had to be suspended after two innings due to a power failure at the ballpark. The game was resumed the next day, and since Johnson was lined up to pitch that day, he entered the game to "relieve" Schilling. He was able to prepare for it like any other start, however. It was functionally a start for him.
Ynoa's relief outing is the first true scoreless relief outing -- I'm talking coming out of the bullpen to replace another pitcher the same day, unlike Johnson -- of at least 100 pitches since Keagle back in 1996. And, as a reward, he will likely be sent to the minors Saturday. The Orioles will need to call up someone else to serve as the long reliever. Such is life for a young pitcher with minor league options.
