Robbie Ray once again goes six hitless innings in Mariners win

The Mariners are in the midst of a little two-game series against the Washington Nationals, the second time this year they are playing such a series. In the opener against the Nats, there was something else that happened for the second time this year. Robbie Ray had a no-hitter going through six innings.

I was at the first occurrence, back on the Marco Gonzalez/Mandalorian Bobblehead night against the Angels. Ray held them hitless through 6-2/3 before flubbing a chopper back to the mound that definitely should’ve been an error instead of a hit. Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but the buddy I went to the first game with was also at this one. I think he needs to go to all the Robbie Ray starts now.

Robbie Ray has been brilliant lately for the Mariners, including his outing against the Nationals

There was no such drama this time, as Joey Meneses would take a 2-1 pitch from Ray to right center for a solo homer to lead off the 7th. All of a sudden, it went from a no-hit bid for Ray to the Mariners lead being cut in half, and we had a 2-1 lead in Seattle. Ray would be pulled after 6-2/3, and Andres Munoz would close the door to get them out of the inning.

Robbie Ray has been great in his four August starts, going 26 IP with 28 Ks and just a 2.08 ERA. It’s lowered his ERA to 3.75 on the season. If you take out the back-to-back bad starts against the Astros to finish out July, he actually has a much nicer-looking 3.27 ERA.

Offense in general was hard to come by in this game, more than you would believe from a game with a 4-2 final score. A two-run homer by Haniger would put the Mariners on the board in the 4th inning, and then it was time to vibe in the 7th.

Eugenio Suarez would hit his team-leading 23rd homer of the season, giving the Mariners a 4-1 lead. Suarez has always had a strikeout problem (he leads baseball) but he is still an incredibly valuable player. With a 126 OPS+ and a 3.6 WAR on the season, he’s been a great addition and replacement for Seager after his retirement. For those calling for Suarez to platoon or lose at-bats, you are straight-up dummies.

Munoz, Swanson, and Sewald would finish out the game for the Mariners, helping lead the way to an eventual 4-2 win for the M’s. In case you missed it, the team has given their dominant bullpen a nickname finally, going with the FIRE name of Los Bomberos (The Firemen).

We don’t have long to wait to see the Mariners again, as they wrap up the series with an afternoon game. It’ll be George Kirby vs Anibal Sanchez to finish it out, and I can’t wait for 1:10 PM to listen to the game. Go Mariners!