Robbie Ray is having an amazing stretch for the Mariners

There was a time back at the beginning of June where the dummies were coming out of the woodwork online in relation to Robbie Ray. There were Mariners fans who were honestly and truthfully curious if the Mariners would be better off going with a bullpen starter than with Robbie Ray. One, you’re dumb. Two, he wasn’t doing great, but he was doing just fine when you remember the ridiculous Chicago rain game that messed with his stats.

Over his last four starts, Robbie Ray has simply been dominant

Check out the stat split for Robbie Ray. First up are his first 12 starts (minus the rainy game in Chicago, so 11 starts), and his most recent four starts are in the second line.

• 11 GS, 4.62 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 1.54 HR/9, 3.50 BB/9, 10.21 K/9, 5.84 IP per start
• 4 GS, 0.67 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 0.00 HR/9, 2.33 BB/9, 9.33 K/9, 6.75 IP per start

He’s been incredibly dominant over those last four starts. Sure, two of them came against Oakland and the Orioles, but the first two also came against Boston and the Clowns (Angels). He took a no-no through 6.2 innings against the Clowns, and gave up the first hit on a ball he easily could’ve caught on a comebacker to the mound that hung up a bit longer than he thought it would, and should’ve been ruled an error.

His season line looks a bit more like what you would’ve expected, as he has dropped his ERA to 3.78. The K’s are a bit low at just 9.7 per inning, but it seems like he has made a change to his approach with the addition of the two-seamer/sinker. As a result, he has seen a lot fewer line drives hit against him, and more ground balls.

It looks like Ray is going to get Oakland once again, and then Toronto and Texas before we get to the All-Star Break. If this team truly is going to make a run at getting back to .500 and into the mix of the playoff race, then Robbie Ray is going to be a huge reason. With how he has been pitching over the last four starts, things are looking up in Seattle.