Yankees' Clarke Schmidt is scratched from start against Rays and replaced by Ryan Yarbrough

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees pitcher Clarke Schmidt was scratched from Saturday’s start against the Tampa Bays Rays because of soreness in his left side and was replaced by Ryan Yarbrough.

Schmidt said the injury was unrelated to the right rotator cuff tendinitis that sidelined him between his only spring training outing on March 11 and his season debut on April 16.

An MRI on Friday did not show any injury, and Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he made the decision after Max Fried pitched seven innings in a victory over the Rays in the series opener.

“I told them I was good to go today,” Schmidt said before the Yankees' 3-2 loss Saturday. “I actually left the field expecting to start today and then Max went deep in the game and there was maneuverability with the bullpen.”

Schmidt is 0-1 with a 5.52 ERA in three starts and 14 2/3 innings. The 29-year-old right-hander said he felt extra soreness after throwing a season-high 90 pitches on April 27 against Toronto and expects to start on Tuesday night against San Diego. The Yankees have an off day on Thursday, allowing Schmidt to get a fifth day of rest before pitching in Seattle.

“Clarke was just a little concerned, especially just what he’s been through, being a little behind and everything and having some minor things pop up," Boone said. "So, yeah, it was definitely a relief and he should be OK moving forward.”

A 33-year-old left-hander who drops down, Yarbrough threw 53 pitches in relief of Will Warren in Monday's 4-3 loss at Baltimore.

“It's a very different look than what you typically see,” Boone said.

Yarbrough pitched for Tampa Bay from 2018-22, making one start and two relief appearances in the 2022 World Series.

“We asked a lot of him in different roles,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “He did pitch a lot of really big innings for us with a lot of success.”

Cash said Boone let him know of the change in a text and phone call Friday night. It caused Cash to change his lineup.

“I think most guys understand that we were going to run a bunch of lefties had it been Schmidt, but then we had to pull back," Cash said. "It was all sorted out within 20, 25 minutes after the game.”

Yarbrough allowed one run and one hit in four innings with three walks and two strikeouts, throwing 64 pitches. His niftiest move was avoiding Yandy Díaz’s shattered bat and fielding his comebacker for the final out of the second inning.

“Walked a couple leadoff hitters, which wasn’t ideal,” Boone said. “Going into the day if you would have said four innings, one run, sign us up all day long, so he gave us exactly what we needed.”

Boone had told Yarbrough of the start before the pitcher left the clubhouse Friday night. Yarbrough tried to persuade the manager to allow him to pitch the fifth inning.

“The cutter was not really where I wanted it to be,” he said. “Not a really good feel with it today and maybe got a little too headstrong with it.”

Right-hander Marcus Stroman, sidelined since April 11 by left knee inflammation, threw a bullpen session Friday.

“He’s had some injections in there to kind of try and rid himself of just that last bit of uncomfort,” Boone said. “I don’t know as far as the buildup.”

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