ST. LOUIS – Left-hander Robbie Ray has the kind of dominant arm that can make even a modestly successful start feel frustrating for the Diamondbacks.
For the sixth time in his past seven outings, Ray was gone before the end of the sixth inning, his abbreviated start contributing to the Diamondbacks’ 6-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday afternoon.
In a vacuum, his outing was not bad. He threw five innings, gave up two runs (one earned), managed to give his team a chance to win, as baseball people like to say.
But, once again, Ray was plagued by pitch-efficiency issues, the same problem that dogged him at times throughout last season.