SAN FRANCISCO -- After losing three games in a row for the first time this season, the Giants had the luxury of turning to the man who remains undefeated in 2025: Robbie Ray.
Ray got the Giants back to their winning ways on Friday night, striking out eight over seven innings to pave the way for a 4-0 win over the Rockies at Oracle Park.
Matt Chapman homered and LaMonte Wade Jr. had an RBI double to back Ray, who allowed only two hits and two walks while becoming the first Giants starter to have his team win his first seven starts of the season since Bill Swift in 1992.
“It’s something everybody knows now,” manager Bob Melvin said of Ray’s unbeaten streak. “We feel good when he takes the mound.”
The 33-year-old left-hander has allowed two runs or fewer in five of his last six starts, improving to 4-0 with a 3.05 ERA on the season.
“We’ve been playing good ball,” Ray said. “It 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 just keep us in the ballgame. It feels good to be able to do that.”
One of the keys to Ray’s recent success has been his ability to cut down on the walks. Ray doled out 18 free passes over 24 1/3 innings in his first five outings, but he has limited that figure to three over his last two appearances, allowing him to get through seven innings in back-to-back starts for the first time since June 12 and June 17, 2022, for the Mariners.
“[Minimizing walks] has a lot to do with it,” Melvin said. “It keeps your pitch count down. 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 the breaking balls and a little bit more early count contact.”
Ray issued a leadoff walk to Brenton Doyle in the top of the first, but the Rockies’ center fielder was erased from the basepaths attempting to steal second base. Doyle took off for second after Ray’s first-pitch fastball to Jordan Beck popped out of catcher Sam Huff’s glove, but Huff quickly recovered the ball and made a strong throw down to second to nail Doyle.
Ray went on to retire the next 10 batters he faced and didn’t allow a hit until Hunter Goodman reached on a two-out infield single in the top of the fourth. Chapman -- who made two impressive plays to rob Ryan McMahon and Beck earlier in the game -- nearly kept the no-hit bid alive by diving to his left to snare Goodman’s grounder, but he had to double clutch before firing to first, which helped Goodman beat out his throw to Wade.
“I think when I dove and caught it, I already started looking to see where he was on the line,” Chapman said. “I kind of took my eye off the transfer and bobbled it just a little bit. He was running hard, so he was able to beat it out. Those ones happen fast, so there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Chapman also supported Ray with his bat, as he crushed a hanging slider from Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela out to left field for a solo home run that extended the Giants’ lead to 4-0 in the third. Chapman’s sixth homer of the year traveled a Statcast-projected 418 feet and came off his bat at 110.1 mph, a good sign given his recent cold spell at the plate.
“I think my at-bats have been pretty good, I’m just not really getting the results I wanted,” said Chapman, who entered Friday hitting only .140 (6-for-43) over his last 13 games. “I never felt like I was too far away, but it’s nice to definitely get one tonight and feel like I’m trending in the right direction.”
The Rockies’ best scoring opportunity came in the sixth, when Owen Miller drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third base on a two-out single from Beck. Ray managed to coax an inning-ending groundout from Goodman to escape the jam and then worked a 1-2-3 seventh to cap his efficient 86-pitch outing.
Hayden Birdsong replaced Ray in the eighth and gave up only one hit over two scoreless innings to seal the Giants’ first shutout win since Sept. 24, 2024, at Arizona.