Mariners LHP Robbie Ray Ends Start vs. Yankees on Sour Note
Mariners left-handed pitcher Robbie Ray has finished his afternoon at T-Mobile Park, exiting with 6.1 innings of work under his belt after serving up a two-run home run to Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka.
Ray tallied seven strikeouts on the day and surrendered just a trio of hits, with two resulting in inconsequential singles. He did, however, walk a whopping five batters, including New York outfielder Aaron Judge twice, and found himself in a bit of a jam in the fifth inning after issuing a pair of free passes with two outs.
Nevertheless, Ray was mostly able to work out of trouble whenever it came his way, primarily using his sinker and slider to avoid damage. The two offerings made up 92 of Ray's season-high 115 pitches (80 percent) and induced a combined 10 swings and misses. He also notched a whiff on his four-seam fastball, which he threw 20 times.
Despite finishing a clean sixth inning at 96 pitches, manager Scott Servais sent the defending American League Cy Young Award winner back out to the bump for the seventh. He worked a quick first out, but issued his fifth and final walk to shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa before Higashioka promptly went yard.
The dinger effectively ended Ray's day in the bottom of the seventh. Right-handed reliever Penn Murfee took over and proceeded to give up a solo home run to Judge—his 45th on the year.
Ray will receive a no-decision after the Mariners worked their way back to overtake the Yankees, 4-3.
