CLEVELAND — — Robbie Ray swallowed a bug, and ate up the Guardians once more.
Ray began September the best way he completed August with six stable innings because the Seattle Mariners received their sixth straight, 4-0 on Saturday night time over a slumping Cleveland membership trying to find a spark.
Ray (12-8), who received the AL Cy Younger Award final yr with Toronto, went 3-0 in 5 begins final month. The left-hander allowed six hits, however not a pricey one towards Cleveland. He pitched seven scoreless innings towards the AL Central-leading Guardians in a win final week.
Early on this outing, Ray was between pitches when a bug flew into this mouth.
“I ate one a few month in the past within the yard enjoying with the children however by no means in a sport earlier than,” he stated, smiling. “It type of simply went all the best way down. I used to be taking a deep breath in and simply sucked it in. It caught me off guard just a little bit.
“That’s a primary for certain.”
After Ray by way of 87 pitches on a heavy, humid night time, Seattle’s bullpen took over and completed off the shutout with Matt Brash, Andrés Muñoz and Paul Sewald working one inning apiece.
Seattle, making an attempt to finish a 20-season playoff drought, at present holds one of many AL’s three wild-card spots and has received 13 of 17.
The Guardians misplaced their fourth straight and have been shut out in three of them. They’ve scored only one run of their final 4 video games and have failed to attain in 4 of six.
Happily for the Guardians, they’re nonetheless main the division by one sport over Minnesota, which was overwhelmed 13-0 by the all of the sudden surging Chicago White Sox, who’re solely two again.
Cleveland had some probabilities, however stranded 9 runners and hit a couple of balls proper at Seattle fielders.
Supervisor Terry Francona is not panicking.
“I do know the easiest way to get out of it’s simply to maintain battling like loopy,” he stated. ”Give your self sufficient probabilities. We’ll get it. We’ll determine it out. It’s not a complete lot of enjoyable proper now. Nobody’s exhibiting as much as not rating and lose.
“However the one method I do know to do it proper is to simply to maintain preventing and preserve clawing and don’t quit.”
Mariners first baseman Ty France homered within the first inning off rookie Xzavion Curry (0-1), who struggled with management in his second profession begin and was pulled within the fifth after strolling the bases loaded.
The Guardians put collectively two threats towards Ray, however he was capable of work out of them each instances — retiring rookie Tyler Freeman twice.
After giving up a pair of singles within the third, Ray obtained Freeman to bounce into an inning-ending double play. Then with runners at first and third and two outs within the fifth, Ray struck out Freeman with All-Star José Ramírez ready on deck.
“They put the ball in play and I simply felt like tonight we have been capable of make them hit the pitches that I wished them to hit,” Ray stated. “The massive double play there was large and a pair well timed strikeouts. However for essentially the most half, it was them hitting balls at guys.”
France put the Mariners up 1-0 simply seven pitches into the sport together with his 18th homer, a towering shot onto the pedestrian plaza in left area.
Seattle added an unearned run within the second, arrange by two walks and fielding error, when Curry walked Mitch Haniger with the bases full to pressure in a run. The Mariners, nonetheless, blew an opportunity for an enormous inning when Eugenio Suárez lined to 3rd.
Curry could not discover the plate within the fifth, strolling three straight earlier than supervisor Terry Francona took the ball. Cal Raleigh then delivered an RBI single off Nick Sandlin, who walked J.P. Crawford to place the Mariners up 4-0.
That was greater than sufficient for Ray, who adopted a stable outing by Luis Castillo with considered one of his personal. In 4 begins towards Cleveland within the final week, Ray and Castillo have allowed one run in 25 innings with 24 strikeouts.
Ray agreed that he and Castillo is usually a deadly combo within the postseason.
“You’ve seen what he’s accomplished and I really feel like us again to again is an effective mixture towards anyone,” he stated.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Guardians: RHP Zach Plesac (damaged hand) will probably be re-examined in a single week. Dr. Thomas Graham concurred with the staff’s prognosis of a non-displaced fracture and steered Plesac stored his hand immobilized in a splint. Plesac obtained harm when he punched the bottom in frustration after giving up a homer in Seattle final week.
UP NEXT
Mariners: RHP George Kirby (6-3, 3.16 ERA) was the AL’s Rookie of the Month for August, going 4-0 with a 2.15 ERA in 5 begins. Kirby has walked one or fewer batters in every of his 19 begins, the longest streak to start a profession in historical past.
Guardians: RHP Cal Quantrill (11-5, 3.50) is unbeaten since July 5 — a span of 10 begins — and has been Cleveland’s most reliable starter. He is 12-0 in 39 profession video games at Progressive Subject and has gone 31 straight dwelling begins and not using a loss.
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