Another great Yates

ARLINGTON, Texas » Kirby Yates concedes that when the Tampa Bay Rays called him up from the minors in June, he was running on adrenaline. But after 22 appearances over the past couple of months, the Lihue native has grown accustomed to life in the majors.

In 23 appearances, Yates has yielded only six earned runs in 25 2⁄3 innings for a stellar ERA of 2.19. He has 30 strikeouts and only seven walks with two saves and a record of 0-1. These are the kind of numbers Tampa manager Joe Maddon is looking for from his 27-year-old reliever.

"He’s had a couple of hiccups, but the other day he threw two good innings. He’s just a couple of moments away from becoming very consistent," Maddon said. "When he truly believes he belongs here, his stuff’s good. His stuff’s real good. I think he’s done really good work and think he needs a little bit more time."

Yates, who was recalled from Triple-A Durham, debuted June 7 against Seattle, striking out two Mariners over 1 1⁄3 innings of a 7-4 loss. But unlike many rookies getting their first taste of the big leagues, he wasn’t nervous.

"It was a real emotional night before," Yates said. "All my parents and everybody back home were still up, so when I called back home I talked to a lot of people and got a lot of emotion out of it before I even got to the field.

"When I went to the mound, I wasn’t nervous," he said. "I was excited more than anything. That’s what I remember, being excited and having a lot of fun."

After riding that wave for about two months, Yates has settled into a nice groove in terms of his comfort level, and that has resulted in him becoming much more consistent out of the Tampa bullpen.

"Obviously, it’s great here in the big leagues," Yates said. "It’s everything you dream of and more. I’ve been kind of wide-eyed for the last month and a half, but I feel like the last few weeks, I’ve settled down, gotten comfortable and been able to control my emotions a little bit better and focus on the batter.

"My body is just taking care of itself now where I can calm down, focus on the hitters and make good pitches."

And even though he focuses on preparing to pitch every day, sometimes he reflects on where he is now, and how he is following in the footsteps of his brother, Tyler Yates, who pitched in the majors from 2004 to 2009.

"It was a long journey," Yates said. "Lots of ups and downs, but I never doubted myself and I never really gave up and thought it wouldn’t be possible. You get that call and it’s such a relief.

"It’s emotional and everything. You just sit back and (think about) all the work you’ve put into it and that you finally made it. The feeling, it’s hard to explain. It’s real humbling. It’s a real gratifying experience."

As the new guy in the bullpen, he is now the keeper of the bullpen bag, a pink Disney Princess number that must be fully stocked with snacks like sunflower seeds and Gatorade.

"There’s like a medical kit in there. It’s got Advil and toenail clippers, nail files and stuff like that," Yates said. "There’s no trainer in the bullpen, so if you need something, that’s where you’re going to go to and it’s my job to take care of that stuff. I didn’t do a real good job in St. Louis, so I had a lot of candy being thrown at me. Ever since then, I’ve been kind of on it."