Yarbrough masterful again for Generals

From one start to the next, Ryan Yarbrough may look like a completely different pitcher -- and that's not a bad thing.

"He can do a lot of different things," Double-A Jackson pitching coach Andrew Lorraine said. "It's kind of refreshing to see him come out and put hitters away or others when he gets a lot of first-pitch contact and works quick innings. He's really good at adapting to the situation."

The Mariners' No. 13 prospect allowed one hit and struck out six over six scoreless innings Wednesday night, pitching the Generals to a 4-0 win at Montgomery. He hasn't given up a run over his last 14 frames and has yielded just one over the last 18. 

"His fastball command his last two outings has been so good. He's starting to really start executing his pitches and he's throwing with a lot of confidence right now," Lorraine said. "He has three pitches that are really complementary. He's got a fastball that he locates really well and has a plus changeup that complements the heater, and vice-versa. And he's got a slurvy-slider that he's been throwing really well his past few outings.

After working around a two-out walk in the first, Yarbrough (11-4) pitched a 1-2-3 second. The 24-year-old left-hander looked especially sharp in the early going, striking out four through those first two innings. 

"He has a lot of weapons when he's commanding his fastball," Lorraine said. "He can get all kinds of hitters out. There are some guys when you see a matchup you say, 'How's he going to get him out?' But I never get that feeling with Ryan."

Yarbrough, who's issued one walk in his last two starts, was tested in the third when Braxton Lee roped a one-out double to left field, but responded by retiring 11 Biscuits in a row, culminating in a clean sixth in which the ball didn't leave the infield. 

"He's a very intense competitor. Every guy is different in the way they go about things and Ryan tries to go out there and pitch as deep into a game as he can," Lorraine said. "I really think he could have given us two more innings in each of his last two starts if we weren't concerned about his innings limit. We have to pry the ball from his hand when he starts, and that's a good quality to have."

The win tied Yarbrough with Montgomery's Taylor Guerrieri for tops in the Southern League. The 2014 fourth-round pick has pitched to a 3.02 ERA and 1.14 WHIP over 116 1/3 innings this season. He's been especially good at keeping the ball in the yard, allowing just 0.5 home runs per nine innings. 

"I think he's more of a ground-ball pitcher than people give him credit for, but he also can miss a lot of bats," Lorraine said. "He doesn't give up a lot of fly balls. Most of the balls that get hit in the air are mis-hit or he gets it in on guys. I don't think home runs will ever be an issue for him."

Kyle Schepel relieved Yarbrough to start the seventh and pitched two scoreless frames before Matt Anderson worked around a hit and a walk to complete the 21st inning in a row in which the Generals didn't give up a run. Mariners No. 10 prospect Andrew Moore pitched a five-hit shutout on Tuesday.

"We've been under the radar a little bit as a staff," Lorraine said. "We've always been really competitive in every game and the guys are in a nice little stride. The game that Andrew threw last night, it inspires guys to try to do one better. It's contagious."

Marcus Littlewood factored in all of the Generals' offense, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored.

Montgomery starter Chris Kirsch (5-5) allowed four runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings, walking three batters and striking out six.