Arizona Diamondbacks: Robbie Ray second fastest lefty to reach 1000 strikeouts

In his seventh major league season, Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Robbie Ray reached a career milestone.

The 2020 season has been a struggle for Robbie Ray. The Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander has an 8.59 ERA over his first five starts. On the bright side, Ray managed to hit an impressive milestone in Sunday’s game against the San Diego Padres.

Ray only needed three strikeouts to reach the mark. He managed to earn the milestone strikeout after Ray got Padres left fielder Jorge Mateo to strike out swinging.

The 28-year old becomes one of the fastest left-handed pitchers since 1913 to reach the milestone, needing only 810 innings.

The fastest to reach the milestone was reliever Billy Wagner. The seven-time All-Star reached 1,000 strikeouts in 757 2/3 innings. It took Ray 154 games, whereas Diamondback legend Randy Johnson did it in 152 games. Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is third on the list, reaching 1,000 strikeouts in 155 games.

Ray was flirting with a no-hitter through five innings. Even though he struggled with his command, he threw 95 pitches, but only 45 were strikes. Overall, Ray walked six batters, threw two wild pitches, and was pulled after walking Fernando Tatis Jr. to start the sixth inning.

The bigger story here is Ray’s performance throughout his start. He wasn’t exactly dominant, but it was apparent that it was his best performance in quite some time. The former Detroit Tiger showed flashes of potential that’s been there his whole major league career.

If Sunday’s performance is a turning point for Robbie Ray, it could be a sign of a turnaround. Madison Bumgarner is injured and hasn’t given the Diamondbacks anything yet, and Luke Weaver is not himself. Arizona can’t rely on Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly to carry the weight. Ray needs to get outs.

This marks the 10th and final meeting of the regular season between the two NL West rivals, splitting the series 5-5. The Arizona Diamondbacks have won four straight games while improving to 11-11. They’re 4.5 games behind the Dodgers for first in the NL West division.