Robbie Ray was always slated to pitch on Wednesday at Truist Park against the Atlanta Braves and he remained right on schedule, tossing 6 1/3 innings of shutout ball.
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Out of the bullpen.
With Tuesday night’s game suspended due to rain, Ray made his fifth career relief appearance beginning in the bottom of the second and led the Giants to a 7-2 win in Game 1 of Wednesday’s weather-induced doubleheader.
Ray’s outing was the best that the veteran left-hander has looked in quite some time. Entering play, Ray had a 6.15 ERA (and 6.21 FIP) over his last seven starts.
As concerning as the runs Ray was allowing were the walks he was issuing. During that seven-start stretch, Ray walked 22 batters over 33 2/3 innings. Before Wednesday, Ray’s walk rate of 11.5 percent was his highest in a full season since 2019 (11.2 percent).
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Ray’s impact on Wednesday afternoon was two-fold. Not only did the left-hander lead the Giants to a win, but he helped manager Tony Vitello keep his bullpen fresh for Game 2 after Adrian Houser threw one inning on Tuesday night. Following Ray’s departure, Vitello only needed to use two relievers (Dylan Smith, Caleb Kilian) to record the game’s final five outs.
Along with Ray, the Giants’ offense played no small part in the win, getting home runs from Rafael Devers (10th), Jung Hoo Lee (fourth) and Willy Adames (12th)
Rookie Bryce Eldridge extended his on-base streak to 21 games, the longest streak by a rookie in the majors this season, by recording a single and a walk before Tuesday’s game was suspended, then another single on Wednesday. His streak is the longest by a rookie in the majors this season, as well as the longest by a Giant rookie since Buster Posey, who reached base in 25 consecutive games in 2010.
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Worth noting
- Left-hander Carson Whisenhunt will start Game 2 of the split doubleheader and make his season debut. Whisenhunt pitched well for Triple-A Sacramento, posting a 3.65 ERA over 69 innings in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
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