Mariners manager Scott Servais defended his decision to put Robbie Ray in the game to face Yordan Alvarez, despite the end result.
Servais, as most managers do, backed up up his choice to put Ray in the contest for the game’s final out against one of the best hitters in all of baseball. Alvarez hit a walk-off bomb that will be remembered in Houston for years to come.
Ray is one of the best pitchers on the Mariners staff, but he’s a starter. He’s not accustomed to appearing in such a role. Meanwhile, Seattle’s bullpen is one of the strengths of its team.
“We talked about it coming into the series. We talked about it pregame today. I looked at it in the 7th inning and said, hey, this could happen. So that was the plan going in. End of the day, you have a plan, we still got to execute it,” Servais said.
Mariners: Scott Servais was wrong to put Robbie Ray in the game
It’s easy to play revisionist history in situations like this, but the numbers speak for themselves. This season, Alvarez has dominated Ray.
As for the other side of the coin, Houston has to be thrilled they were able to steal Game 1. Manager Dusty Baker was asked how Alvarez’s home run compares to other moments he’s been a part of in his career as a manager and player.
“Boy, that’s so close to the top. I don’t know what the top is, but that’s very, very close to it,” Baker told reporters. “That’s, boy — I mean the baseball world had to be excited. I know the town is excited, our team’s excited.”
For Seattle to come back and win the series, they need to steal a road game. This contest may have been their best bet.