Ken Ray #38

Kenneth Alan (Kenny) Ray resides in Peoria, Ariz., with his wife, Brandi, and their son, Bryce...Nicknamed "The Key" after a mistake when he first came to the Majors and was announced as "Key Ray"...Graduated from Roswell (Ga.) High...played baseball just his freshman and senior seasons at Roswell.

2006

Spent his 1st full season in the Majors with the Atlanta Braves...went 1-1 with 5 saves and a 4.52 ERA in 69 appearances...Posted a 1.50 ERA (6.0 IP, 1 ER) in Major League Spring Training for the Braves as a non-roster invite...Allowed runs in just 18 of his 69 games, but in 10 of his final 20 outings...Allowed 2 or more runs 10 times, including allowing 3 runs 6 times...allowed just 1 run 8 times...Began the season strong, posting a 2.70 ERA in 10 April outings before recording a 0.56 ERA in 16 May games...posted a 2.66 ERA in 41 outings prior to the All-Star break, but slumped to a 7.33 ERA in 28 games following the break...Had success at Turner Field, posting a 1-0 record with a 3.79 ERA (35.2 IP, 31 H, 15 ER) in 36 home appearances...was 0-1 with a 5.34 ERA (32.0 IP, 35 H, 19 ER) in 33 road outings...Thrived on regular work, recording a 1.96 ERA (36.2 IP, 8 ER) in 38 appearances on 1 or no days rest...had a 7.55 ERA (31.0 IP, 26 ER) in 31 outings with at least 2 days rest...right-handed hitters batted just .237 (31-131) against him while lefties hit .282 (35-124)...1st-batters hit just .209 (14-67) against him...Pitched well against the American League, posting a 2.57 ERA (7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER) in 7 appearances...Had his contract purchased from Richmond (AAA) on April 6 before making an appearance...made his Braves debut that day at San Francisco, tossing 2.0 perfect innings...struck out his 1st batter, Barry Bonds, on 4 pitches and marked just the 2nd time since 2000 that Bonds swung and missed at 3 pitches in 1 at bat...Opened the season with 5 straight scoreless appearances (5.0 IP)...allowed just 1 hit and 2 walks while striking out 5...Posted 14 consecutive scoreless outings (15.0 IP) from April 21-May 17 before allowing a solo home run to Mike Piazza at San Diego on May 22...Earned his 1st Major League save on May 26 at Chicago, recording a scoreless inning with 1 strikeout...Earned his 2nd career win on July 6 vs. Cincinnati and 1st since July 16, 1999 at Milwaukee as a member of the Royals...Suffered his 1st Major League loss on July 21 at Philadelphia, allowing 3 runs in the 8th inning of a 6-5 Braves loss.