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Stats Prove Robbie Ray Should Never Pitch Against The Astros

Originally posted on The Cold Wire | By Curt Bishop | Last updated 10/12/22

Robbie Ray sure has had his fair share of struggles against the vaunted Houston Astros.

Yesterday, when the Seattle Mariners were trying to close out Game 1 of the ALDS, the Astros refused to quit.

Manager Scott Servais decided that it was time to pull struggling closer Paul Sewald, so he went to Ray to face Yordan Alvarez and create a lefty-lefty matchup.

On paper, the move wasn’t a bad one, but it ultimately backfired on the Mariners, as Alvarez took Ray deep to win the game for the Astros.

Ray has been a solid pickup for the Mariners, but certain stats, such as the ones shown in the tweet below, show exactly why Servais’ decision to go to Ray was ill-advised.

Robbie Ray vs. the Astros this year:
10 2/3 innings, 23 hits, 7 home runs, 14 earned runs

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) October 12, 2022

Ray’s Struggles Vs. Astros

The numbers speak for themselves.

Ray certainly didn’t have history on his side when he came into yesterday’s game looking for the save.

Once again, Ray struggled against the Astros’ vaunted attack.

Now, Seattle finds themselves down a game in the ALDS and in need of a win to even up the series before heading to T-Mobile Park for Saturday’s Game 3.

Ray has obviously not had good numbers against the Astros this season, and yesterday’s incident showed just how badly he has struggled against the powerful Astros lineup.

In 10.2 innings against the Astros, he’s allowed 14 earned runs.

That adds up to an 11.81 ERA on the season.

It’s possible that Ray could get the start for the Mariners in Game 3 of the series on Saturday.

But his numbers against the Astros this year, coupled with the fact that he allowed a game-winning home run in Game 1, may have manager Scott Servais pondering other ideas for how to piece together his rotation for this series.

This article first appeared on The Cold Wire and was syndicated with permission.

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