Ray throws second career complete game as SF Giants split series in Arizona
PHOENIX — The Giants went into their series finale at Chase Field with a bullpen in need of a breather.
Wednesday night’s 6-5 win, 10-inning win required manager Bob Melvin use five relievers: Erik Miller, Spencer Bivens, Randy Rodríguez, Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval. Doval, in particular, threw two innings for the first time in three years, blowing a save in the ninth before locking down a win in the 10th.
Melvin would’ve been happy if Robbie Ray went seven innings. Ray went and gave the bullpen the entire night off.
Ray pitched the second complete game of his career as the Giants beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 7-2, to split the four-game series, allowing two runs on a pair of solo homers over nine efficient innings.
“That’s the goal as a starting pitcher: go as deep as you can,” Ray said. “If you can finish a game, that’s even better. So, I’m pretty happy with this one.”
The only other complete game of Ray’s career, ironically enough, was with the Diamondbacks. On May 30, 2017, Ray threw the lone shutout of his career, striking out 10 batters without walking a single one in a 3-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
That season, Ray earned the one and only All-Star appearance of his career. As the Midsummer Classic looms, he’s making his case for a second.
With tonight’s complete game, Ray ranks fourth in the National League in innings (107 1/3) and fifth in strikeouts (117) while being tied for seventh in ERA (2.68) and tied for eighth in WHIP (1.09). He’s now one of five pitchers in the National League who has thrown at least 100 innings with a sub-three ERA.
Logan Webb appears to be a lock for his second All-Star appearance given he’s complimenting his National League-leading 113 2/3 innings with a 2.61 ERA and 127 strikeouts. Ray’s fate appears to be more ambiguous despite his excellent numbers, but Melvin believes they’re both deserving.
“He makes a great case for himself,” Melvin said of Ray. “I would hope that two guys on the same staff wouldn’t preclude being on the (All-Star) team together if they deserve it. They both deserve it.”
Regardless of where he spends the All-Star Break, the last several months have affirmed that Ray, when healthy, is still one of the better left-handed starting pitchers in baseball. It’s a status he hasn’t held in quite some time.
Ray essentially lost the entire 2023 season due to Tommy John surgery after making one start. When Ray returned to the mound last July, his body was still reacclimatizing to a starter’s workload; there was no expectation that Ray would provide six-plus innings every five-ish days.
Healthy once again, Ray is looking the part of a top-of-the-rotation starter.
“I always knew that it was in there. It just takes time after surgery,” Ray said. “Talking with guys, it’s the 18-to-20 months; that’s where the sweet spot is where you feel like yourself again. We kind of hit that around spring training, and that’s when I started feeling like myself again.”
It’s plenty appropriate that Ray threw his second complete game at Chase Field, a ballpark he called his home venue for five-and-a-half seasons as a Diamondback.
Tonight marked his first start in the desert since Aug. 26, 2020 when he was still pitching for Arizona, an outing that featured no fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In front of friends and family, Ray went the distance.
“He deserved it. He wanted it,” Melvin said. “When he came in after (eight) innings, there wasn’t even (a conversation). He just looked at me like, ‘I got this.’”
For as well as Ray pitched through the first eight innings, Melvin nearly had to call upon his bullpen to finish the job.
Ray entered the ninth inning having only thrown 78 pitches, the only blip on his line up to that point being a solo home run by Eugenio Suárez in the fifth inning. The left-hander began the ninth with a groundout, but after Ketel Marte homered and Geraldo Perdomo drew a nine-pitch walk, Spencer Bivens and Erik Miller began to get loose.
As pitching coach J.P. Martinez made a mound visit, Melvin decided that Ray had three batters left: Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Suárez and Randal Grichuk. Ray ensured his manager didn’t have to make a move. After getting Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to fly out, Ray froze Suárez with an up-and-in four-seam fastball to end the ballgame.
“Now, it’s a little bit of a different pitch mix too,” Melvin said. “You get a little deeper in your career, you do things a little bit differently. He’s one of those guys that’s just a great competitor and you feel his energy — both in our dugout and I’m sure on the other side too.”
Added catcher Andrew Knizner: “He figured out some stuff in the bullpen he threw here a few days ago. … I saw how some of his pitches were moving different and he was able to take all those shapes — improved shapes — into the game today. It definitely worked out well for him.”
Ray was aided by an offense that had one its more well-rounded games in recent months.
Rafael Devers drove in three runs, his most in a single game as a Giant. Heliot Ramos totaled two hits and two RBIs. Mike Yastrzemski compiled three hits; Willy Adames did the same with an RBI. Jung Hoo Lee contributed an RBI, while Andrew Knizner had two hits and scored twice.
After losing two of three to the White Sox and dropping the first two games of this four-game set, the Giants will enjoy a happy flight to West Sacramento for their three-game set against the Athletics at Sutter Health Field.
