SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 02: Robbie Ray #38 of the San Francisco Giants pitches against the Colorado Rockies in the top of the six inning at Oracle Park on May 02, 2025 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors failed to show up on Friday night in San Francisco. The same can’t be said of Robbie Ray.
Ray made baseball’s worst offense look like baseball’s worst offense as the Giants beat the Colorado Rockies, 4-0, tossing seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts to snap San Francisco’s three-game losing streak. And while San Francisco is still looking to get Justin Verlander his first win with the orange and black, the Giants have now won all seven games this season when Ray takes the mound.
“We’ve been playing good ball,” said Ray, who’s now 4-0 with a 3.05 ERA this season. “It’s just kind of happened that way. I think overall, we’ve been playing really good baseball. Each and every time, I’m trying to go out there and put up zeros and give my team a chance to win and keep us in the ballgame. It feels good to be able to do that.”
For Ray, this marks the first time he’s completed seven innings in back-to-back outings since June 12 and June 17, 2022. One of the main keys that’s allowed Ray to pitch deep into these last two games has been simple enough: minimizing walks.
In his first five starts, Ray walked 18 batters over 24 1/3 innings, or 3.6 batters per game. Over his last two starts, by comparison, Ray has walked three total batters over 14 innings. Ray excelled at reducing free passes during spring training, walking just one batter over 19 1/3 innings. Along with limiting walks, manager Bob Melvin also attributed Ray’s ability to hunt for weak contact opposed to strikeouts.
“(Limiting walks) has a lot to do with it,” Melvin said. “Now, he’s not chasing a strikeout every time either. A lot of times with his fastball, he’ll chase strikeouts at the top of the zone. Now, he’s getting different swings on breaking balls and a little bit more early count contact.”
Added Ray: “Getting that early contact when you can, then when you get to two strikes, just not messing around. I think that’s the biggest thing. You take your shot, then you get back in the zone. I think that these last two, I’ve done a good job of being able to do that.”
Ray didn’t allow a hit until Hunter Goodman legged out an infield single with two outs in the top of the fourth inning. Third baseman Matt Chapman nearly kept Ray’s early no-hit bid alive by diving to stop Goodman’s grounder, but his double clutch resulted in his throw being a bit too late.
While Chapman couldn’t execute the tough play, he was responsible for assisting on three of the eight ground ball outs that Ray induced against the Rockies, the most that Ray has had since July 9, 2022 as a Seattle Mariner.
“When you have a left-handed pitcher on the mound, third baseman is going to get some work, especially with the slider that Robbie throws now,” Melvin said. “(Chapman) knows it. Pitchers know it, too. Keep it on the ground over to that left side and it’s going to play. I’ve seen Chappy do it with a lot of left-handers where he gets a lot of work and gets a lot of work down the line and has to make a lot of long throws — which he’s probably the best in the game at.”
The only time that Ray ran into trouble was in the top of the sixth inning when the Rockies put runners at the corners with two outs. Ray responded by inducing an inning-ending groundout, then finished his night by retiring the side in the seventh.
Ray had only thrown 86 pitches through seven innings, but Melvin said he “didn’t think it was wise to make him go eight today,” citing how Ray would’ve likely crossed the century mark. Following Ray’s departure after seven innings, Hayden Birdsong finished the job with two scoreless innings of relief, dropping his ERA to 1.00.
“He came into spring training throwing the ball really well. I’m not surprised that he’s gone out there and looked exactly like he’s been looking in spring,” said third baseman Matt Chapman, who hit his sixth homer of the season. “Looked sharp, and when your starter can give you seven innings like that, it’s huge.”
San Francisco’s offense spotted Ray four runs over the first three innings off Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela, the only offense it generated all game.
The Giants put up a three-spot in the second as LaMonte Wade Jr. doubled home a run, Sam Huff contributed a sacrifice fly and Wade scored on a wild pitch. In the fourth, Chapman hit a no-doubt, solo homer, a much-needed swing after recording four hits in his prior 10 games.
“I think that I’ve been taking good at-bats still,” Chapman said. “Hitting some balls hard that just didn’t fall or maybe just not getting the job done. Overall, I think my at-bats have been pretty good. Just not getting the results I wanted. I never felt like I was too far away, but it’s nice to get one tonight. I feel like I’m trending in the right direction, for sure.”
Originally published at Justice delos Santos