<\/p>\n
LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 Ryan Yarbrough picked up a dazzling World Series ring from his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season. Then he went out and beat them.<\/p>\n
The New York Yankees starter pitched one-run ball over six innings, struck out a season-high five and blanked the Dodgers\u2019 top four hitters in a 7-3 win Sunday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I\u2019m in a really good place right now and really trying to continue that,\u201d Yarbrough said. \u201cI\u2019m having a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 33-year-old left-hander made 44 relief appearances between the Dodgers and Blue Jays last season. The Dodgers designated him for assignment on July 29 and the next day traded him to Toronto.<\/p>\n
So even though he wasn\u2019t around for their World Series victory over the Yankees last fall, Yarbrough earned a ring. He accepted it from Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes on Friday behind home plate during batting practice.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrying to keep that a little discreet, especially with where we\u2019re at now, but kind of cool to be able to get that,\u201d Yarbrough said.<\/p>\n
He signed a $2 million, one-year deal with New York in March and is 3-0 with a 2.83 ERA this season.<\/p>\n
Making his first career start against the Dodgers, Yarbrough recorded 17 swings-and-misses \u2014 including seven with his sweeper.<\/p>\n
The top four hitters in Los Angeles’ lineup had produced at least one hit in every game this season. That is, until Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith combined to go 0 for 14 in the series finale against Yarbrough and the Yankees.<\/p>\n
New York manager Aaron Boone has called Yarbrough a throwback, noting his 6-foot-5 frame creates a \u201cfunky\u201d angle for hitters.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe’s got a lot of ways to get you out. Just when you think he\u2019s slowing you down, slowing you down, he\u2019s able to speed you up enough,\u201d Boone said. \u201cIt feels like it’s hard to get a bead on him.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n It certainly was for Ohtani. He struck out on five pitches ranging from 70-86 mph in the first inning, when Yarbrough retired the side in order. Later, he set down 13 of 15 batters before exiting.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s not going to light up the radar gun, but all his pitches feel like they get on you,\u201d teammate DJ LeMahieu said. \u201cHis fastballs look like they get on you and his off-speed looks extra slow. He\u2019s got good stuff and he knows what he\u2019s doing out there.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Yarbrough conceded his familiarity with his ex-teammates helped, too.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was just a matter of execution and keeping them off balance and not putting them in counts where they can really hunt for certain pitches,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n It was also a big night for LeMahieu, who had his first four-hit game since 2021. He drove in two runs and raised his batting average to .239.<\/p>\n The second baseman had three singles and a double on a night when Aaron Judge was the only Yankees player without a hit.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel good. Good to get some results,\u201d LeMahieu said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 Ryan Yarbrough picked up a dazzling World Series ring from his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season. Then he went out… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":66446,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n