On Tuesday, Huascar Ynoa took the mound for his fourth start of the season against the Orioles, as the Braves looked to bounce back from an embarrassing Game 1 loss, and all the 22-year-old fireballer did was deliver the best outing of his young career.
Ynoa went four innings, allowing just two hits while striking out five on only 49 pitches. His slider was nasty, and his fastball was nearing triple digits consistently, but his start was cut short after he felt tightness in his back. Thankfully, it doesn’t look like the injury is anything series, as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reported today that the Braves expect him to make at least one more start before the end of the season.
Snitker said Huascar Ynoa appears healthy enough to make at least one more start over the season's final week. Ynoa threw four scoreless against the Orioles on Tuesday, but had to exit because his lower back started to tighten.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) September 18, 2020
That last start could be an audition for the role of the Braves fourth starter in the playoffs. As it stands now, none of the options are very inspiring, but either way, it looks as if he’s has done enough to earn a spot on the 28-man playoff roster.
Ynoa’s proven to be very valuable in long relief, and if you take out one forgetful start against the Nationals on September 4th in which he gave up six earned runs in just 2.1 innings, he’s been extremely productive, posting a 2.76 ERA over 16.1 innings. It’s a small sample size, but so is everybody’s this season, and the Braves need all the pitching they can get, especially when it comes to guys that can go multiple innings.
You must log in to post a comment.