Ray (8-8) gave up four earned runs on five hits and four walks while striking out three over 2.2 innings to take the loss in an 11-1 defeat to the Astros on Friday.
Ray struggled with his control, issuing four free passes to a dangerous Astros lineup that made him pay with good situational hitting. Ray was chased in the third inning after a walk to Mauricio Dubon, which raised his pitch count to 84. It has been a difficult first season in Seattle for the 2021 AL Cy Young Award winner. Ray continues to get plenty of punchouts with his power slider but his BB/9 has ticked up to 3.1 from 2.4 in 2021, while his LOB% has dropped to 77.5 percent from 90.1 percent last season. Ray is tentatively scheduled to start against the depleted Angels lineup next week.