Robbie Ray’s first night in a Padres uniform did not go the way San Diego hoped. The deadline pickup was tagged in a 6-3 loss to the Houston Astros, and the problems showed up early and often.
Ray labored through five innings, walking five and allowing seven hits. Even getting through the fifth was something of a survival act, according to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. Traffic kept piling up, and his command never settled in.
“His command was definitely off,” said manager Craig Stammen. “He got behind in a lot of counts.
… He grinded that outing out, gave us five -- which is big. Showed how competitive he is.”
Ray’s rough debut came after a long gap between outings. He hadn’t pitched since he baffled the Padres on July 30 while with the San Francisco Giants, but he looked nothing like that version of himself against Houston.
“I just put myself into bad situations,” Ray said. “The walks -- I think that was the biggest thing.
I was just getting a little quick tonight. … Overall I’ve got to limit the walks.”
Stammen, meanwhile, kept his focus on the larger picture even with the Padres in the middle of a wild-card race.
"You're looking at: Will we be better with those guys over a period of time?” Stammen said.
“Not just one single first start. I know the reaction is this is their first start, and they didn't pitch their best.
“We're thankful that they're on our team. And we're looking forward to the next eight, nine, 10 starts -- and the playoff starts that they get."
San Diego did make a push after falling behind 4-0. Jackson Merrill’s RBI triple helped set up a two-run rally in the fourth, and Fernando Tatis Jr. followed in the fifth with his 10th homer of the season.
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