SAN DIEGO — The talking heads on MLB Network took the place of the typical pregame soundtrack in the visitors’ quarters of Petco Park before Thursday’s game.
Robbie Ray lounged on the couch at the center of the room, beneath the television screens where the names appeared of a dozen potential starting pitchers who could be dealt.
The Giants’ left-hander has done his best to tune out the noise the past six weeks, but after a 4-1 win over the Padres, he confronted the reality that could await at Monday’s trade deadline.
“I just tried to put everything out of my head leading up to this start,” Ray said. “But yeah, obviously, it comes up now that this could be my last start in a Giants uniform.”
Ray wasn’t yet prepared to imagine the possibility of pitching in the postseason for the first time since 2022, but there’s a good chance the next time he takes the mound it will come with more at stake.
There isn’t a contender who couldn’t use more starting pitching, especially a top-flight lefty, and Ray has looked like one of the game’s best for the better part of two months now.
Despite the likelihood that he will be dealt in the coming days, the Giants let Ray take the mound without restrictions, and he rewarded them with six strong innings against San Diego.
“Robbie is, like, the epitome of a professional,” manager Tony Vitello said. “Robbie is so good at being locked in to what he is trying to do and not expending energy on anything else.”
Ray struck out six, issued only one walk and scattered four hits while limiting the Padres to one run.
The outing lowered his ERA this season to 3.08, 17th among qualified starters, but since May 31, only Jacob Misiorowski and Foster Griffin have been better than Ray’s 1.69 mark.
“I feel like I’ve been locked in lately,” Ray said. “My last few starts, my last two in particular, I’ve felt like I was kind of on cruise control. I didn’t really feel pressure my last two starts all that much. I just felt like I was in kind of a flow state the whole time.”
Whatever happens, the acquisition of Ray should go down as one of the Giants’ biggest wins on an organizational scale. The previous regime traded two bad contracts for a pitcher who was still in the middle of his rehab from Tommy John and flexor tendon surgeries in January 2024.
Ray’s hard work with the Giants’ training staff allowed him to come back and make 60 starts, throwing 335 innings with a 3.54 ERA in a San Francisco uniform. He was an All-Star last year and this year has returned to the form that earned him the 2021 American League Cy Young.
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“Super thankful to be given the opportunity mid-rehab to come over here,” Ray said. “The training staff has been amazing. … They’ve given me a chance to come back from that injury and I’m just thankful for that.”
The deal didn’t matriculate into a postseason appearance, but it could have helped set the foundation for the group of arms who will lead the next Giants team into October.
From the dedication to his rehab to the maximum effort he exerts on every pitch, captured by his famous grunt that accompanies each delivery, Ray set an example for young pitchers to follow.
“He’s one of those guys that when another guy, a 22-year-old now, is 32, he’ll become that Robbie Ray for a younger kid,” Vitello said, “because Robbie was that guy for him.”
If this was it, you can’t say he didn’t leave it all out on the field. Ray’s hardest pitch of the night came against the penultimate batter he faced. He powered a 95.2 mph sinker past Manny Machado for his fifth strikeout, then ended his outing by getting Ty France swinging.
“He kind of showed who he is there,” Vitello said. “He kind of emptied the tank at the end and left it all on the table. … It’s good we found our stride, for his sake.”
Ray was 3-6 when the Giants sank to 20-28 after he was hit around in a 12-2 loss May 24. While their season has only gone downhill from there, Ray prevailed in his next seven decisions, and the win over the Padres improved the Giants’ record in his past 12 starts to 10-2.
“This whole year, it’s been a tough year as a team,” Ray said. “We’re not where we want to be. But I felt like I put myself in a good position going out everyday trying to give my team a chance to win. … That’s kind of been my whole thing this year – just go out, put up zeroes and give us a chance. I felt like this was a good one.”
