Giants left-hander Robbie Ray exited his begin on Sunday within the fourth inning with left hamstring tightness. He was going through his former crew, the Mariners, and pitching in Seattle for the primary time since he suffered a season-ending damage throughout his debut begin of the 2023 marketing campaign. This time, the 2021 AL Cy Younger winner is hoping the damage won’t mark the top of his season.
The 32-year-old will go for an MRI on Monday, reviews Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Having by no means handled hamstring accidents prior to now, he was unable to supply a lot perception into his timeline. Nonetheless, he expressed optimism that he wouldn’t be out for too lengthy. Based on Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic, Ray described the damage as “minor” and urged he left the sport earlier than it grew to become “something important.” The southpaw has tried to “push by means of accidents prior to now” and didn’t need to make the identical mistake this time round.
Whereas Ray himself mentioned it’s too early to know if he’ll require a visit to the injured listing (per Maria Guardado of MLB.com), supervisor Bob Melvin implied that Ray might miss time even when the problem seems to be delicate. “These issues don’t usually take a few days [to heal],” the skipper defined.
Ray has made seven begins for the Giants this 12 months since coming off the injured listing on the finish of July. Together with his outing this afternoon, he has pitched 30 2/3 innings with a 4.70 ERA and three.52 SIERA. San Francisco is 4-3 in his begins. Whereas he hasn’t all the time appeared his finest, he’ll nonetheless be troublesome for the Giants to exchange.
If Ray solely must miss a single begin, Melvin might get by counting on bulk relievers like Sean Hjelle and Spencer Bivens to cowl. Hjelle took over for Ray this afternoon and tossed 2 2/3 innings. He has thrown not less than two frames in 16 of his 45 appearances this 12 months; his longest outing was 3 1/3 in opposition to the Braves earlier this month. Bivens made one begin earlier this 12 months, and he has gone not less than two innings in six of his 15 aid appearances.
In the meantime, if Ray winds up on the IL, the Giants might recall rookie right-hander Mason Black, who made 4 appearances (three begins) for the large league membership again in Could. Sadly for Black, his first few MLB begins didn’t precisely go in line with plan; the 24-year-old gave up 14 runs in 14 1/3 innings throughout that temporary cup of espresso. He additionally has a 4.59 ERA and 5.21 FIP in 20 begins this 12 months at Triple-A. Nonetheless, Black is a stay arm on the 40-man roster with expertise beginning within the majors.
Proper-hander Tristan Beck is one other choice to fill in for Ray, however it’s unclear what number of extra rehab outings he wants earlier than he’s able to return to the Giants; the 28-year-old has been on the 60-day IL all season after present process surgical procedure to take away an aneurysm from his arm. What’s extra, Beck has restricted expertise beginning on the MLB stage, and he has given up 13 runs (11 earned) over 10 2/3 rehab innings at Triple-A. All this to say, it’s crucial for the Giants that Ray will get again on the mound as rapidly as doable. Sitting 5 video games again within the NL Wild Card race, their postseason hopes are already dwindling. Shedding Ray for a chronic interval may very well be the ultimate nail of their proverbial coffin.
