Chirinos (3-1) earned the win Thursday, allowing one run on five hits over 5.2 innings against Minnesota. He struck out four and did not walk a batter.
Chirinos was steady over 5.2 innings with the exception of a leadoff homer he surrendered to Carlos Correa in the fourth after hanging a slider in the middle of the zone. He followed up that mistake with back-to-back strikeouts and would allow only one more hitter to reach base before being relieved by Jake Diekman in the sixth. The right-hander posted a season-high four strikeouts and did not walk a batter for the first time since April 29. With Josh Fleming on the injured list (elbow), it wouldn't be surprising if Chirinos sticks around in the Rays' rotation for the time being, especially given his impressive outing against Minnesota.