Kirby Yates on Tuesday did exactly what he intends to do every time he pitches.
He’s been doing it a lot lately.
“I try and strike every hitter out,” the Padres’ closer said. “I’m not ever trying to pitch to contact. I’m trying to miss barrels; I want to miss bats. Nothing bad can come if they can’t hit the ball. I try to make my stuff as good as it can possibly be to do that. Right now, I think I’ve executed enough pitches at the right time to do that.”
Yates, who Tuesday night earned his major league-leading 19th save in a 3-2 victory over the Diamondbacks, has struck out five of the six batters he has faced in saving the past two games.