The Rays' Ryan Yarbrough pitched a solid outing, turned a double play through a nosebleed
Monday night marked the Rays' first use of the "opener" strategy this season -- something the team is very excited about, considering regular opener Ryne Stanek will be the focus of a bottle opener giveaway later this summer.
Stanek opened Monday's game against the Rockies, giving way to lefty Ryan Yarbrough out of the bullpen in the second inning. This sequence of pitchers is a strategy Tampa Bay used many times in 2018, but Monday's season premiere had a unique twist, as Yarbrough began dealing with a nosebleed in his left nostril.
As someone who had chronic nosebleeds as a kid, I feel for Ryan Yarbrough right now pic.twitter.com/pvyXgbzwJt
— Cespedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) April 2, 2019
Anybody who's dealt with nosebleeds can tell you they're quite annoying and sometimes don't let up no matter what you do to curb the flow. Yarbrough came back to the mound from the dugout with cotton in his nose, and it worked. He even ignored the annoyance on a slick double play started on a comebacker off the bat of Charlie Blackmon.
Ryan Yarbrough is out here with one working nostril and still starting inning-ending double plays!
— FOX Sports Florida (@FOXSportsFL) April 1, 2019
Catch the @RaysBaseball in action tonight live now on FOX Sports Florida and FOX Sports Go! #RaysUp #MLB pic.twitter.com/aoR8qXzc1V
Cotton: it works.
