‘Attack mode’: Ray shines in home debut, Mariners win 6-2
Robbie Ray emerged from Seattle’s dugout, hopped over the freshly-paved first-base chalk, and took the mound at T-Mobile Park for the first time as a Seattle Mariner.
It’s exactly where he wanted to be.
Back in November, when Seattle inked Ray to a five-year, $115 million deal, the 30-year-old recalled the final series of the 2021 season at T-Mobile Park, when fans sold out three consecutive games in hopes of seeing the Mariners end their still-current 21-year playoff drought.
Ray wasn’t on the team yet, but knew of the fanbase, city, and the team’s upward trend after Seattle won 90 games in 2021 — more for the franchise in any season since 2003.
And so Ray decided to defend his American League Cy Young crown as a member of the Mariners after striking out 248 batters in 2021 with the Toronto Blue Jays, the most in the sport. His third start this season — and his first at home — came Tuesday in the first of three games against the visiting Texas Rangers.
“I would love to see him get deep in the game,” manager Scott Servais said before Ray’s start. “He’s been very efficient with his pitches. He goes right after you. He makes guys swing the bat against him. Nobody wants to get a (two-strike count) against him.”
Before Texas could blink, Seattle raced to a 4-0 lead by the second inning, and Ray didn’t allow a comeback. He allowed a run in the third on a sacrifice fly, and another on a run-scoring double from former Toronto teammate Marcus Semien in the fifth.
But that was it.
The final line — six innings, four hits, two runs, a walk, and four strikeouts. He threw 85 pitches, 57 for strikes. With Seattle’s 6-2 victory, Ray earned his second win.
“It’s nice to get the first one out of the way,” Ray said, “and pitch in front of the home fans, and be able to come through and get a win for us.”
Seattle’s “lead dog” averted early damage by stranding a pair of runners in scoring position in the first inning. He worked a 1-2-3 second frame, including two strikeouts. He generated 11 swings-and-misses — six on the four-seam fastball, which he used 58 percent of the time — and saw an uptick in average velocity after a pair of chilly road starts in Minneapolis and Chicago.
“I just try to throw the pitches that I want to throw, in places that I want to throw them, and (to) make them hit my pitch was kind of my goal today,” Ray said. “Coming out and getting that lead just makes you want to get the boys back in the dugout and bang it around a little bit.”
Teammate and shortstop J.P. Crawford said that Ray isn’t afraid of anyone.
“He strikes everyone out,” Crawford said. “He just goes after people. You know he’s not scared. He’s a competitor. He’s going to work quickly, and it’s fun to play defense behind him.”
Servais instantly noticed Ray’s intensity upon his arrival at spring training in Peoria, Arizona, last month. He’s always that way, Servais told reporters after the game, dubbing Ray’s demeanor as going into “attack mode.” Regardless of score, situation, ballpark, or lineup, “he’s been around a little bit,” Servais added. “It’s great to have on our pitching staff.”
On Tuesday, Seattle’s skipper said Ray was “fired up” for his first home start. And by the time Ray trotted off the mound after six innings of two-run ball, a crowd of 11,067 awarded their new ace with an ovation.
“He’s deceptive ... he gets a lot of pop-ups, easy outs early in the count, and that’s why he’s able to go deep in ball games,” Servais said. “I’m really happy with the start that he’s off to.”
Eugenio Suarez blasted a three-run home run in the first inning, and Jarred Kelenic followed suit in the second with a solo shot that ricocheted off of the right-field pole. Seattle scored all six of its runs via the long ball after Abraham Toro launched the team’s third homer, a two-run blast, in the seventh.
Seattle’s win pushed the Mariners to 6-5 in a very early 2022 season. They’re now 3-1 in series openers and trail the Angels by just one half of a game in the AL West standings.
This story was originally published April 19, 2022 at 10:29 PM.
