San Francisco Giants' Robbie Ray is experimenting with his slider during Cactus League play.
Veteran left-hander Robbie Ray approached Monday’s spring outing with a clear purpose.
Despite more than a decade in the big leagues and 261 career starts, Ray treated his fourth Cactus League appearance as a chance to refine his pitch mix during the San Francisco Giants’ 2-0 loss to the Los Angeles Angels at Scottsdale Stadium.
According to Jesse Borek of MLB.com, Ray’s primary focus was adjusting the feel and movement of his slider.
Of the 56 pitches he threw, 12 were sliders that averaged 85.9 mph, about two miles per hour slower than last season. The change in velocity was intentional as Ray experimented with the pitch’s shape.
“I've kind of been tweaking it over the last few weeks, just trying to get the consistent shape that I want on it,” Ray said. “I’m less concerned with the velocity on it, I'm more concerned with the shape of it. That was the main focus today.”
The results were encouraging. Ray combined the slider with his knuckle-curve to keep hitters off balance, tossing four hitless innings while generating nine swings and misses.
Seven of those whiffs came on the two breaking pitches, including all four of his strikeouts.
The outing, however, wasn’t completely smooth. Ray issued four walks and also hit a batter, creating plenty of traffic on the bases despite not allowing a hit.
“I felt like everything was kind of coming out the way I wanted it to,” Ray said. “I just tried some different stuff that I don't normally do.”
The baserunners also gave Ray an opportunity to work on another aspect of his game — controlling the running game.
After walking Bryce Teodosio in the third inning, Ray used what he described as his “best move” to pick him off at first base.
The play marked his first pickoff of the spring after finishing tied for third in the Majors last season with six.
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