Richards came on in relief of opener John Curtiss in the second inning of Thursday's win over the Yankees, allowing two earned runs on four hits over three innings while recording two strikeouts.
Richards was able to give manager Kevin Cash some valuable innings in the bullpen day, and the only run he allowed came via an RBI groundout by Gleyber Torres. The right-hander was also dinged with one run on Gio Urshela's two-run home run off Diego Castillo, making it five times in as many appearances that Richards has been charged with multiple runs this season. Despite his elevated 5.94 ERA and 1.68 WHIP across 16.2 innings, Richards is still a valuable asset due to his ability to cover multiple innings as either a spot starter or long reliever.