After having the second outing of his rehab pushed back multiple times due to a stiff neck, Toronto Blue Jays reliever Yimi Garcia was back on the mound Friday night.
Pitching with the triple-A Buffalo Bisons, Garcia threw recorded two outs over 17 pitches, allowed two hits and walked one hitter against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. The 33-year-old left the game with two runners on, who came into score with Eric Pardinho pitching, adding two earned runs to Garcia’s final line on the night.
Garcia last pitched with Buffalo on July 6, needing only 10 pitches to work a clean inning with two strikeouts.
On Friday, the six-foot-one righty allowed a single to start the inning before getting a line out and picking off the lead-off hit at second base.
But, he wasn’t able to finish the inning, walking the next batter and allowing a broken-bat single before being removed from the game.
Over his 17 pitches, Garcia threw nine four-seam fastballs, averaging 95.2 m.p.h. and topping out at 96.9 with the pitch. He also mixed in three curveballs, two sweepers, one changeup, one sinker and one slider, according to Baseball Savant.
Garcia has been working back from right elbow ulnar neuritis, which forced him onto the 15-day injured list in mid-June.
The right-hander has been Toronto’s best bullpen arm in 2024, posting a 2.57 ERA, a 3-0 record, 37 strikeouts and five saves over 28.0 innings this season.