Seattle Mariners: Robbie Ray has returned to Cy Young form

This offseason, the Seattle Mariners signed Robbie Ray to a five-year, $115 million contract. The reigning AL Cy Young winner was brought to the Emerald City to be the frontline ace, something Seattle was missing in their Wild Card run last year.

Some baseball writers, myself included, were skeptical of this massive deal considering Ray’s lack of elite consistency over his career. However, I dismissed those concerns on Opening Day when Ray pitched a dominant 7.0 innings only surrendering a single earned run. Then the troubles began, particularly with the home run ball.

Ray maintained his signature high K rate, but couldn’t keep the ball in the park. Ray hit rock bottom on June 1 against Baltimore, giving up four earned runs off six hits and three walks in 5.0 innings of work. It was the first of June, but also the fourth start of the season where Ray gave up four or more earned runs in a start. However, the high strikeout totals were still present.

“Robbie is going to be fine,” Mariners manager Scott Servais told members of the media. “No concerns with him. He’s super competitive.”

Two starts later, against the Red Sox, Ray pitched the best outing as a Seattle Mariners starter, pitching seven scoreless innings and striking out four.

Since then, Robbie Ray, the reigning AL Cy Young Winner is back in true form for the Seattle Mariners.

Over his last three starts (20 innings pitched), Ray has given up two total earned runs, while striking out a combined 20 batters. Perhaps the most encouraging stat of all is this — in his last three starts, Ray has not given up a home run, the Achilles heel that had been hurting him all year.

“It starts with the starting pitching,” said Servais after Ray’s awful outing against Baltimore.

Indeed it does, and since Ray has turned it around, so has the entire Seattle pitching staff. After Ray’s stellar outing Friday against Oakland, the Mariners set a franchise record of 21 straight games where their starters have allowed three runs or less. Seattle’s pitching staff has turned it around, something that the team was desperately in need of, as the team ranks 26th in the league in runs per game at 4.01.

Some may say that Seattle’s playoff hopes are the most important point of Ray’s turnaround. But I’d argue otherwise. Since the decline of “King” Felix Hernandez, Seattle has been in search of an ace to anchor this pitching staff for years. Now, after a few hiccups, they’ve found their guy. With Ray back in elite form, he can now anchor this young pitching staff for years to come.