Toronto Blue Jays: Robbie Ray has a history making night against Orioles

In a 7-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night, Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Robbie Ray etched his name into the record books in a number of ways.

With 10 strikeouts in seven innings against Baltimore, the 29-year-old southpaw became just the second pitcher in Blue Jays history to notch double-digit strikeouts in three consecutive starts. Ray whiffed 11 Detroit Tigers on August 20 and followed that with a 14-strikeout performance against the Chicago White Sox on August 25.

Those 14 strikeouts, by the way, marked the first time that any Toronto left-hander had reached that mark in a single game in franchise history.

So, back to Monday night, Ray was the second Toronto pitcher to turn the feat of double-digit strikeouts in three straight starts. Who was the first? That was Roger Clemens, a pitcher that Ray matched in another category in Monday’s victory as well. Ray now has 202 strikeouts on the season, meaning he has matched Clemens as the only Blue Jays hurlers to log 200 or more strikeouts in 26 games or less.

Robbie Ray not only made Toronto Blue Jays history on Monday night, but MLB history on the mound as well.

When Ray recorded his seventh strikeout of the night on Monday, it gave him 1,241 in his career in his 1,000th career inning. No other pitcher in MLB history has recorded that many strikeouts in his first 1,000 frames.

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Ray had produced 5.7 bWAR heading into his start on Monday night, the highest number for any American League pitcher who only pitches (Shohei Ohtani‘s 7.8 bWAR is the highest for any AL player who has taken the mound this season, but that includes his plate production as well). The bWAR number is just one of the reasons why Ray is making a run at the 2021 AL Cy Young Award.

Now 10-5 with a 2.71 ERA and 1.01 WHIP, Ray was acquired by the Blue Jays in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks last season. After posting a 4.79 ERA in five games (four starts) with Toronto in 2020, Ray has only gotten better as his time with the Blue Jays has progressed. Since the All-Star break this season, he has a 1.99 ERA in nine starts (58.2 innings) and opponents are hitting just .194 against him.

Ray signed a one-year, $8 million deal with the Blue Jays before this season and is showing his worth with a history-making 2021 campaign. Now the questions become how far can he take the Blue Jays … and how long can they keep him in Toronto?