Ray throws second career complete game in dominant win over D-backs

PHOENIX -- For the second time in his career, Robbie Ray went the distance.

The left-hander allowed just two runs on three hits in nine innings on Thursday as the Giants beat the Diamondbacks 7-2 at Chase Field. Ray had seven strikeouts and one walk. He needed only 102 pitches.

“I'd have taken seven [innings],” Giants manager Bob Melvin said after the game. “Nine you don't see very often these days.”

It was the first complete game by a Giants pitcher since Blake Snell against the Reds on Aug. 2, 2024. Ray’s previous complete game came on May 30, 2017, when he shut out the Pirates as a member of the Diamondbacks. Thursday was Ray’s first outing back at Chase Field since Arizona traded him to the Blue Jays in August 2020.

Ray was seemingly well-positioned for a complete game all night. He completed the first eight innings on just 78 pitches, never throwing more than 13 pitches in a frame. When he returned to the Giants’ dugout after the eighth, Melvin gave him the green light.

“Me and [Melvin] looked at each other and didn't have to say anything,” Ray said. “It was like, ‘OK, this is yours.’”

The Diamondbacks made Ray work in the ninth, however. After inducing a groundout to start the inning, Ray gave up a solo home run to Ketel Marte and issued a nine-pitch walk to Geraldo Perdomo. At that point -- with Ray at 94 pitches and only one out in the inning -- Giants pitching coach J.P. Martinez paid him a visit.

“[Martinez] just said, ‘Hey, you should probably empty the tank right here,’” Ray said. “And that was my cue to be like, OK, this is everything I got.”

Ray then retired Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on a first-pitch flyout and struck out Eugenio Suárez -- who had homered back in the fifth inning — to finish the game.

Giants catcher Andrew Knizner had as good a view as anyone of Ray’s masterpiece.

“He made my job real easy,” Knizner said. “Mixed all of his pitches. Attacked the zone. We had a good game plan going into it, had good communication throughout the game. Pitching always comes down to execution, and that's what he did from pitch one. Threw an absolute great game and it was fun to be a part of it.”

For the Giants, Ray’s complete game was more than just a flashy, rarely seen feat. It was a big boost for the bullpen, given that the Giants are in the middle of a stretch of 15 games in 15 days and the club’s relief corps has been taxed heavily.

“I'm more excited about that than anything,” Ray said. “That's the goal as a starting pitcher, is to go as deep as you can. If you can finish a game, that's even better.”

If Ray’s previous 17 outings had not already made a compelling enough case for him to be a member of the National League All-Star team, perhaps Thursday’s outing put him over the top. After the game, he had a 2.68 ERA in 107 1/3 innings with 117 strikeouts compared to 39 walks.

If Ray were selected, it would be his second All-Star appearance -- he also made it in 2017 with the Diamondbacks -- and he would almost certainly be joined by fellow Giants starter Logan Webb, who has a 2.61 ERA in 113 2/3 innings.

“[Ray] certainly has really good numbers,” Knizner said of Ray’s All-Star case. “It seems like to me he's getting better and better each start. That would be great to see.”

Beyond improving his All-Star case, Thursday’s performance was symbolic of how Ray’s career has evolved. Early in his career, he was often effective but struggled to pitch deep into games. He relied heavily on strikeouts. For Melvin, Ray’s efficiency on Thursday was primarily due to his ability to induce early-count ground balls on his secondary pitches.

Ray said that the Giants’ offense spotting him an early lead helped him attack the zone from the jump. In the top of the first, Heliot Ramos knocked a two-run double against Diamondbacks starter Brandon Pfaadt to put San Francisco ahead 2-0.

The Giants continued to tack on throughout the rest of the game. Willy Adames went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a walk and an RBI in the win. Rafael Devers went 1-for-3 with a walk and three RBIs. Mike Yastrzemski added three hits.