Arizona Diamondbacks' Robbie Ray’s season a mixed bag
For the Diamondbacks this year, even the encouraging developments come with asterisks. Left-hander Robbie Ray’s season stands as an example.
On Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Ray struck out 12, the fourth time in his past nine starts he’s reached double digits in strikeouts. But, in six innings, he also gave up all three runs in a game the Diamondbacks lost 3-1.
Ray was dominant for stretches within the game, as he has been in many second-half starts, but manager Chip Hale didn’t think the word applied – at least not yet – to his hard-throwing left-hander, a 24-year-old in his second season in the big leagues.
“I think it’s hard to call anyone a dominant pitcher when you don’t win the game,” Hale said. “I think his stuff at times is dominating, but the guys who dominate don’t give up any runs.”
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There is little denying the strides Ray has made, but in most outings he has managed to do just enough for a game to unravel. The Diamondbacks are just 9-19 in his 28 starts.
Whether it’s allowing a three- or four-run inning or having an unruly pitch count prevent him from pitching deep, Ray hasn’t been able to consistently do all that is necessary to win.
Still, there have been things to like. His fastball has been explosive all year, his average velocity of 94.1 ranking second among all left-handed starting pitchers in the majors. In recent weeks, the pitch has been overpowering; opponents are hitting just .229 with a .303 slugging off it since the start of August. On Wednesday night, he got 11 swinging strikes on the pitch.
He said he was varying the speed of his fastball against the Dodgers hitters, something he’s been working to incorporate. He has flashed a sometimes effective slider. He has starting throwing the occasional curveball, a pitch he thinks will help keep hitters off balance. And he says he’s getting closer to again using his change-up regularly, a pitch that in recent seasons has abandoned him but years ago was his best secondary offering.
His strikeout rate of 11.3 per nine innings is second only to the Marlins’ Jose Fernandez in the National League.
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Ray’s outings have the feel of a pitcher close to a breakthrough, even if it hasn’t happened yet.
“I look forward to watching him pitch every fifth day,” right-hander Archie Bradley said. “The way he’s striking guys out, the way he’s getting guys out, it’s fun to watch.”
Bradley points to Ray’s explosive fastball – and his ability to throw strikes with it – as a key to his teammate’s success, saying it is “unbelievable right now and he’s just beating guys” with it.
But Bradley says in working alongside Ray the two have learned how to better implement their pitches, pointing to bullpen sessions, video study and dissecting numbers leading to better plans of attack.
In regard to looking at numbers, Bradley said he didn’t want to give too much away but mentioned that they will keep in mind what opposing batters are hitting on certain pitches in certain counts, adding, “Especially with guys in scoring position.”
“Knowing how aggressive guys are, their walks and strikeouts,” Bradley said, “and trying to remember it, and when a guy comes up with guys on base or not, just understanding, ‘This guy hits so-and-so on this pitch’ or ‘So-and-so in this zone.’”
For most of the summer, Ray’s ERA has sat somewhere in the range of 4.50. Since the start of May, it hasn’t dipped below 4.18 or above 5.14. After his start against the Dodgers, it’s at 4.46, nearly a run higher than last year.
“I think I need to cut back on the walks to get deeper into the game,” Ray said. “I think I could easily have pitched into the eighth inning (on Wednesday) if I hadn’t walked (four) and had that first inning like that.”
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Reach Piecoro at (602) 444-8680 or nick.piecoro@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickpiecoro.
Friday’s game
Giants at Diamondbacks
When: 6:40 p.m.
Where: Chase Field (Roof hotline: 602-462-6262).
Pitchers: Diamondbacks RHP Rubby De La Rosa (4-5, 4.15) vs. Giants LHP Madison Bumgarner (14-8, 2.51).
TV/Radio: FSAZ/KMVP-FM (98.7), KSUN-AM (1400).
De La Rosa will be making his first start since May 25 at Pittsburgh, after which he landed on the disabled list with elbow problems. … He suffered a setback during his recovery and hasn’t built up his pitch count to a normal starter’s level, so he is expected to throw about three innings and 50 pitches… Bumgarner threw a one-hit shutout when he last faced the Diamondbacks on July 10. … He has held opponents to a .212 average and a .617 OPS this season. … He has been more vulnerable on the road (3.20 ERA) than at home (1.91 ERA).