Fresh off an impressive run that earned him American League pitcher of the month honours in August, Robbie Ray was recognized once more, this time being named MLB’s American League player of the week.
Across two starts and 13.2 innings pitched, Ray struck out 20 while posting a 1.32 ERA.
RAYsing the bar @RobbieRay is @MLB‘s AL Player of the Week! pic.twitter.com/VAlqT8d5Am
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) September 7, 2021
The honour comes after a series of noteworthy performances, ones that extend beyond just his box-score averages.
On Aug. 30, in a start against the Baltimore Orioles, Ray recorded his 1,241st strikeout over his first 1,000 career innings pitched, eclipsing Yu Darvish’s major-league record.
More recently, with the Toronto Blue Jays fighting for their wild-card dreams, he successfully took a no-hitter into the fifth inning against the Oakland Athletics on Sunday. The 10-strkeout performance made him the first player in team history to notch double-digit strikeouts in four straight outings.
Ray has now recorded nine games with 10-or-more strikeouts this season, putting him in a tie with Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees for the league lead. He also became the fifth left-handed pitcher in franchise history to record 14 strikeouts in a game on Aug. 25 against the Chicago White Sox.
Ray leads the American League in ERA (2.60) and has an 11-5 record through 166 innings pitched.
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