Ray is adept at dodging trouble
Pitcher tough in scoring situations
CINCINNATI - Earlier this month in a start at Dodger Stadium, Robbie Ray found himself in a second-andthird, nobody-out jam in the sixth inning. The Dodgers were threatening not just to score but to blow the game open.
But, as has been the case more often than not this season, when trouble found Ray, he found his way out of it.
Ray struck out the side to escape that jam against the Dodgers, prolonging a season-long streak of effectiveness with runners in scoring position. While Ray has also shown improved fastball command and a better breaking ball, his ability to dodge trouble might be as responsible as anything for his breakout season.
The Diamondbacks, with Ray on the mound, could use some success Tuesday as they try to end a fivegame losing streak here against the last-place Reds.
In 17 starts, Ray has held opponents to just a .179 average with runners in scoring position. They have just three extra-base hits off him in those situations and a minuscule .541 OPS. A year ago, he yielded a .275 average and an .809 OPS. Ray performed worse in big situations last year. He’s done the opposite this year.
Ray points to a couple of changes.
In the past, he said, he would almost assume he had the kind of stuff that would allow him to escape a jam.
“This year, I’m more focused on one pitch at a time and not really focused on overall outcome,” he said. “Just really on that one pitch, just being in the moment more often. I think it’s helped.”
But just as important, Ray said, is that he’s been able to do something he’s seen other great pitchers do: dial it up.
“Just watching (Max) Scherzer and (Clayton) Kershaw, when guys get on, I don’t know if it’s by plan or not – and Carlos Martinez does it, too -- it’s like 93-94 (mph), and then a guy gets on and it’s 99,” Ray said. “Just being able to reach back for that little extra and find it, I think, is pretty helpful, too.”
Ray’s velocity has, in fact, ticked up in those spots. According to Statcast data available at Baseball Savant, Ray averages 94 mph with his fastball with the bases empty and 94.5 mph with men in scoring position.
“Robbie seems to be in a good place for knowing when it’s time for that,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “You can’t fast-forward that learning curve. You have to learn it through experience and I think Robbie is at a point in his career where he knows how important those moments are.”
Of course, Ray would prefer to find himself in fewer of those situations. Some of them have been somewhat self-inflicted; he has walked at least four in each of his past five starts.
When he worked out of that jam against the Dodgers, Ray punched out Austin Barnes, Yasiel Puig and Trayce Thompson. He noted that, like several tight spots he’s been in this season, he was fortunate to be facing the bottom of the lineup.
“I feel like (the matchups) have kind of been in my favor,” he said. “I’ve just kind of been in the right situation at the right time.”
That sequence against the Dodgers was on July 6, and it was actually the last time Ray appeared in a game. He did not pitch in the team’s final series prior to the All-Star break; did not appear in the All-Star Game despite making the National League team; and did not pitch in Atlanta in the team’s first series of the second half.
Last month, when he had seven days off between starts, he wondered if the extra time had something to do with his shaky command. But he thinks this stretch of inactivity could be beneficial.
“I’ll have three bullpen sessions in between,” Ray said. “I feel really good. Honestly, my arm feels really fresh. Obviously, you can’t simulate game atmosphere and game-like intensity, but just to get off the mound that many times in between, I think, has been helpful.”