ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. ? With its bullpen taxed after the first three games against the Astros, the Rays needed a pitcher who could give them quality innings in Sunday's series finale. They decided about 9 p.m. Saturday that Yonny Chirinos would be the guy.
Good choice.
Chirinos, who would have been the bulk-innings pitcher in the original "opener" plan, threw seven strong innings to lead the Rays to a 3-1 win in front of 18,473 at Tropicana Field. He allowed two hits, both to No. 9 hitter Jake Marisnick, struck out six and didn't walk a batter to earn the win.
"Outstanding effort," manager Kevin Cash said. "Yonny made us all look intelligent for a day."
The seven innings pitched was the longest start of his career and matched his longest outing ever. He threw seven innings of relief against the Blue Jays last season. This was his first win as a starter.
"It's definitely different," Chirinos, a native of Venezuela, said through a team interpreter. "When you start the game, you have more time to prepare. But you have to be prepared at all times, depending on what the manager has to say."
With Chirinos taking care of the Astros' hitters, his teammates did exactly what they needed to do to scratch out their third straight win after Thursday's season-opening loss. The defense was flawless. Shortstop Willy Adames made a couple of nice plays early, including one in the hole in the fourth inning that got a speedy Jose Altuve. Center fielder Guillermo Heredia and right fielder Avisail Garcia each had nice running catches.
Designated hitter Austin Meadows took care of the offense. He had a two-out, run-scoring single in the first off Wade Miley that drove in Tommy Pham, who also singled. And in the third Meadows launched a deep two-run homer to center, also with two outs.
"I'm being aggressive and trying to take advantage of pitcher's mistakes," Meadows said. "The Astros are a tough team. We have to adjust and take advantage when we can."
The only bad pitch Chirinos threw was in the third against Marisnick. With two outs and two strikes, Marisnick clobbered a pitch over the right-centerfield fence to tie the score at 1.
From there, Chirinos went seven batters before giving up his second hit, to Marisnick. He did not allow a runner past first aside from the home run.
"I thought his stuff was great," catcher Mike Zunino said. "He was laying in his sinker, his split came around nicely, he threw some really good sliders. Overall, a really good outing."
The only other threat to the Rays' lead came in the ninth against reliever Diego Castillo. George Springer walked with two outs, got to second on catcher's indifference, and moved to third on a wild pitch. But then Altuve, a six-time All-Star and the 2017 AL MVP, tried to bunt for a hit. Instead, the ball was popped to third for an easy out to end the game.
At 3-1, the Rays have matched their best start in franchise history, last done in 2012. Last season they started by losing eight of their first nine.
"At least we'll avoid going 1-8," Cash said.
