Rays' Archer sinks Mariners with 3rd straight double-digit strikeout performance
Chris Archer's recent stretch of dominance continued Sunday afternoon at Safeco Field, where the young right-hander recorded double-digit strikeouts for the third time in as many starts to lift the Tampa Bay Rays to a 3-1 victory over Seattle Mariners.
Archer entered Sunday with a sparkling 32.7 percent strikeout rate, the top mark among qualified starters, and did nothing against the Mariners to relinquish his spot atop the MLB leaderboard. The 26-year-old recorded 11 strikeouts while allowing one unearned run over seven masterful innings, the fifth straight start in which he's allowed one earned run or fewer.
| Date | Opp | IP | SO | H | ER | Rslt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 17 | MIN | 6 | 4 | 4 | 1 | W,11-3 |
| May 22 | OAK | 5.1 | 8 | 6 | 1 | W,5-2 |
| May 27 | SEA | 8 | 12 | 2 | 0 | L,0-3 |
| June 2 | LAA | 8 | 15 | 6 | 1 | W,6-1 |
| June 7 | SEA | 7 | 11 | 7 | 0 | W,3-1 |
Amid marked improvements in his swing metrics, Archer continues to cement his status as one of the top starters in the American League. Archer, who lowered his ERA to 1.84 on Sunday, is getting ahead of hitters and inducing empty swings this season with unprecedented success.
| Season | SwStr% | O-Swing% | F-Strike% | Z-Contact% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 9.1 % | 31.0 % | 58.1 % | 87.6 % |
| 2014 | 9.3 % | 29.4 % | 57.5 % | 88.7 % |
| 2015 | 12.7 % | 32.2 % | 64.0 % | 82.4 % |
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