SEATTLE — In what seemed like a gut-wrenching, deflating and disheartening way to lose a no-hitter, by his own volition no less, Robbie Ray couldn’t help but smile.
The Mariners’ ace was seven outs shy of going the distance when a chopping comebacker from Max Stassi bounced directly in front of the plate and toward the mound, sailed into the netting of Ray’s glove as he gently lunged to corral it in, and skirted swiftly out as he gracefully landed ready to field the out. As the ball squirmed onto the infield grass, Ray dropped into a crouch in a personification of the oh-so-close sequence.
Shortly after Max Stassi raced to first base, the official scorer ruled the sequence a hit, irking the 37,500 on hand into a disappointed roar. But by that point, Ray was grinning from ear to ear. Sometimes, baseball — in the most fundamental fashion — doesn’t roll your way.
Friday night’s 8-1 win over the Angels won’t go in the history books, but it’ll be a night that Ray won’t forget for some time.
He tied a season high with 10 strikeouts, retired 18 in a row at one point and gave up just two additional hits, both in the eighth inning, after which he was pulled at 102 pitches. When Seattle’s prized offseason acquisition walked off the mound to a roaring ovation, it was a moment that the Mariners’ front office had long envisioned after inking him to a five-year, $115 million deal in December to be their “lead dog.”