Bulls' Chirinos goes the distance in shutout

In 2014, when Kyle Snyder was a pitching coordinator in the Tampa Bay Rays system, Yonny Chirinos made quite a first impression while working his way through Rookie ball.
"His preparation and his approach, the stuff that he does between outings, the stuff that he does from the strength and conditioning perspective, it just really stuck out," Snyder said. "He's very driven, very determined and he deserves all the credit for how far he's come."
Now with Triple-A Durham, Chirinos turned in his first career complete game on Saturday in a 5-0 win over Toledo at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. He allowed three hits, tied a career high with nine strikeouts and walked two. 

"It's a huge moment in his career, getting the opportunity to complete a game and put nine zeros on the board," said Snyder, now the Bulls' pitching coach. "It's something I think all starting pitchers pride themselves in. It's a fantastic night for the kid and honestly I couldn't be happier for him."
Gameday box score
The right-hander threw 21 first-pitch strikes.
"He had both of his secondary pitches working in and out of the strike zone, but I think the way he controlled the count really just set everything up," Snyder said. "He's got a force-contact approach. He believes in his stuff and he believes in his stuff in the strike zone."
No Toledo player reached third base as Chirinos (3-0) induced nine groundouts -- including a pair of double plays -- and threw 66 of his 100 pitches for strikes. 
"He's always been a command guy to me," Snyder said. "Tonight was a craft-and-stuff combination for him. He's a guy that could command all three pitches in any particular count and that's what he did."
Chirinos set down the final seven batters in order and notched his final strikeout on a 95-mph fastball to Tigers No. 9 prospect JaCoby Jones.

The 23-year-old began the season with Double-A Montgomery, but was promoted after just one outing in which he allowed one run on five hits over seven innings. The native of Venezuela posted a 3.36 ERA in 29 appearances across three levels last season. 

"He's one of the hardest workers in our organization," Snyder said. "He's an outstanding pitcher and an even better kid. He's worked his way to this level and he's starting to open some eyes."
Patrick Leonard hit a two-run homer to left-center field in the fifth and Mike Marjama added two RBIs for Durham, which snapped a four-game skid.