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Don’t be surprised if Robbie Ray and his tight-ass pants win the AL Cy Young award

Nick Reid Aug 26, 2021

Last night’s start by Robbie Ray was one of the best I have ever seen from a Blue Jays starting pitcher. The man was simply lights out, going seven innings, giving up just five hits and a run and recording 14 strikeouts. I repeat, he had FOURTEEN punchouts. Ray mustered the Blue Jays to a 3-1 victory, relying on his tight pants and untouchable slider as he absolutely shoved against the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox.

I was dialed into last night’s game from start to finish, but that didn’t stop me from rewatching the highlights of Ray’s dominant outing. It was a huge start for the southpaw and it came on a night when his guys probably weren’t going to be providing him with a ton of run support going up against an equally solid arm in Lucas Giolito.

The Blue Jays’ offense has been in a brutal slump lately, and this club was gonna have to rely on Ray to have a good game in order for them to have any chance of winning. The lefty went above and beyond, limiting the Sox to one run and making sure the job got done by throwing 111 pitches to retire the side in the 7th with the go-ahead run in scoring position. Fortunately, the bats provided just enough offense to allow the Jays to win a big game against one of the best teams in baseball, but Ray deserves all of the credit for stepping up and shoving at a time when the club desperately needed it.

Ray’s start was incredible no matter which way you look at it. He didn’t give up a single extra-base hit all night, just five measly singles. He stranded six of the seven runners that did get on base, allowing only one of them to reach via the walk as he threw 77 of his 111 pitches for strikes. Ray generated 24 swing-and-misses on the night, 17 of which came on his slider that’s one of the best pitches in all of baseball. Pure filth.

This right here might be my favourite stat from Ray’s outing, which was chock-full of insane stats: All seven of his innings pitched ended with him recording the final out by striking out the batter. Every single one of ’em. That’s bananas. Don’t let his party pants fool you; he was a man on a mission tonight.

Robbie Ray had one of the best starts any pitcher has had so far this season Wednesday night at the Rogers Centre, and when you zoom out from this one incredible outing to look at his entire body of work you realize that this guy is seriously putting together a Cy Young season. Among all American League starters, Ray’s 2.72 ERA is second-best, as is his 1.02 WHIP, and he has 19 quality starts which leads the entire junior circuit. Once known for walking a lot of batters, Ray has completely turned it around this season, posting a 5.19 strikeout-to-walk ratio that is third-best in the AL, which is undoubtedly helped by having the most strikeouts with 192 across 25 starts.

As the regular season heads into its final months, Ray is more than deserving of being in the Cy Young conversation between Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees and Lance Lynn and Carlos Rodon of the White Sox. I’d sprinkle some money on Ray to win the award for AL’s best pitcher at +1000.

Not only does Ray have to pitch well down the stretch for him to be seriously considered, but the Jays need him to deal if they want to make a run for the Wild Card. Ray should have seven or eight more starts to cement his case, and if the Blue Jays can get a solid September from him, Hyun Jin Ryu and Jose Berrios, they’ll have a really decent chance. Alek Manoah has also been a bright spot for the Jays recently, and he was the first to give props to Ray after Wednesday’s shovery. And comment on his quarantine flow.

Robbie Ray has been a huge addition to this rotation since they acquired him from the Arizona Diamondbacks at the 2020 deadline for a guy they ended up getting back in the offseason, and with the way Ray has pitched, he’s going to be worth a lot more in free agency by the end of this year. The Blue Jays front office oughta be prepared to back up the Brinks truck for Ray, who’s having the best campaign of his career at age 30. Management better make sure that he’s swimming in piles of money like Gahdamn Scrooge McDuck this winter, especially if he wins the AL Cy Young award.

Nick Reid

Blue Jays Contributor for DeanBlundell.com. Sport Management student at Brock University. Have seen a game at all 30 Major League ballparks. Would rather be eating poutine at the Rogers Centre.

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