Nothing strikes more fear into the Cleveland Guardians than a 71.4 mph curveball.
More specifically, soft-tossing left-hander pitcher Ryan Yarbrough’s curveball.
The Kansas City Royals’ starting pitcher has faced the Guardians twice this month, and Monday’s start was almost identical to his performance from a couple weeks back.
July 9: 6 IP, 6 H, 1 BB, 1 ER, 5 K
July 24: 6 IP, 6 H, 0 BB, 1 ER, 1 K
Only Amed Rosario had an answer for Yarbrough, collecting half of the six hits he allowed over six innings. His leadoff double in the sixth inning turned into the only run allowed by the Kansas City southpaw thanks to a two-out RBI single courtesy of Josh Bell.