Rays Manager Kevin Cash Taking Out Ryan Yarbrough 1 Out Short of Complete Game is a Sick Joke

Tampa Bay Rays lefty Ryan Yarbrough was cooking against his former employer, the Seattle Mariners, on Sunday evening. Yarbrough, who often comes in in relief of whomever is "opening" that night for the Rays, had breezed through 8.2 scoreless innings on 99 pitches, effortlessly carrying a 1-0 lead with Danny Santana due up.

With just one batter to go before his first ever complete game and shutout, manager Kevin Cash yanked him, and the 27-year-old Yarbrough never got to put the finishing touch on his gem.

Wow, Kevin Cash pulls Ryan Yarbrough with two outs in bottom of the ninth while the kid has a three-hit shutout. Come on, dude.
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) August 11, 2019

Considering the way the Rays handle their pitching staff, he may never get this chance again.

The Rays are currently in the middle of an MLB-record 571 consecutive games without a complete game. Yarbrough was ONE OUT away from finishing off the best performance of his career, but Cash and his analytics binder took him out.

Yarbrough, who is 11-3 with a 3.56 ERA this season, even said that he was "a little angry" with Cash's decision to bring in closer Emilio Pagan.

What was #Rays Cash thinking pulling Yarbrough after 8 2/3 innings and 99 pitches? He had his reasons, which left Yarbrough “a little angry” and observers wondering ... https://t.co/Cle5TOrOB9
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) August 12, 2019

And rightfully so! There was little to no justification involved in taking him out before Danny Santana's at-bat, someone he'd retired twice prior, only allowing him first base on a catcher's interference earlier in the game. So maybe we take out the catcher, then, if that matchup makes you uncomfortable?

If there is any silver lining to this for Yarbrough, other than the fact that the Rays won the game, it's that he's been white hot of late and will likely have the stuff to pitch into the ninth inning sooner rather than later.