HOUSTON — When the two-seam fastball left his hand, Robbie Ray knew trouble was ahead. The pitch was leaking back to the middle of the plate in the worst possible way.
When the ball left the bat of Yordan Alvarez and most of the 47,165 in Minute Maid Park roared in anticipation, Ray was already walking toward the Mariners dugout with his head down in disgust.
There was no need to watch the baseball turn into a vapor trail. He knew the result — a walk-off three-run homer. The only question remaining was how for it would go and how much damage it would do to his team as they tried to move forward in the American League Championship Series.
