Robbie Ray knew the Jays needed a stopper on Sunday. After losing the first two games of the series against the Rays, Toronto was on the brink of .500. When you’re on the fringes of the race, 45-42 is just so much better than 44-43. 

Ray would need to spearhead an effort to provide some momentum going into the second half of the season. That’s exactly what he did.

Ray was dominant through seven innings, recording 11 strikeouts and just one walk. In fact, he went into the seventh with a no-hitter intact. Yandy Diaz hit what appeared to be a homer. It was reviewed and rightly declared a double, and that was it. Ray was able to record the next two outs, and his masterful afternoon was in the books. 

When the Blue Jays re-signed Ray to a one-year, $8M contract in the winter, I shrugged my shoulders. He’s not as good as he used to be. Boy, was I wrong! Ray represents one of the best signings the team made all winter.

Fastball Focus

A huge key for Ray re-establishing himself as a force on the mound was upgrading his best pitch, his fastball. Working with pitching coach Pete Walker, the lefty fine-tuned his delivery and has experienced an uptick in velocity.

He continues to work hard on his control. The turning point for Ray came in an early-season contest versus Kansas City. He couldn’t hit his spots and labored through five innings. He walked six batters!

Ray turned his season around beginning with his next start. He didn’t walk any batters over his next four outings. Since his miserable day in the midwest, Robbie pitched over 50 innings before surrendering another six free passes. 

For the season his strikeout to walk ratio (130/24) is impressive. The Blue Jays sent four position players to the All-Star Game. It says here they should have a pitcher there too.

What It Means Moving Forward

Ray’s steady first half goes a long towards solidifying the rotation. Hyun-Jin Ryu recently went through a tough stretch but appeared to bounce back in his latest start. Steven Matz has returned to good health and seems to be close to feeling like himself. Ross Stripling has quietly put together a nice patch and Alek Manoah’s energy and power have been a welcome addition. 

The front office has strengthened the bullpen with the recent trades for Adam Cimber and Trevor Richards.

The bullpen is now in a better position to hold leads. With a league-leading offense and Ray commanding an underrated rotation, chances are they’ll have plenty of those.

Thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed it! Check out more of my articles here and other Belly Up content here. Follow me on Twitter here.
About Author

Graeme Wallace

My name is Graeme Wallace and I love sports I grew up with the Blue Jays World Series Championship teams in '92 and '93. There were some lean years in between but some good ones too, all leading up to Jose Bautista's epic bat flip in 2015. I'm so excited to be a part of Belly Up Sports!

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