What we learned as Ray’s exit turns tide in Giants’ loss to Mariners originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
A day after overcoming an early exit by their starting pitcher to win, the Giants couldn’t make lightning strike twice in the Pacific Northwest and came up short in a 4-3 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Sunday at T-Mobile Park.
This time it was Robbie Ray who got the quick hook, though unlike Blake Snell’s early departure on Saturday, this was more health related than ineffectiveness.
That set the tone on a day when San Francisco’s pitching was far too charitable and the offense was far too quiet, with a few exceptions.
Heliot Ramos continued his fantastic 2024 MLB season, crushing his 20th home run of the campaign. Grant McCray hit his second homer since making his MLB debut on Aug. 14. Both Ramos and McCray also had two hits apiece.
Other than that, it basically was a snooze fest for the Giants’ bats.
Ramos got the Giants going early with his two-run home run off Mariners starter and Northern California native Bryan Woo in the first inning. Tyler Fitzgerald, who reached on an error leading off the game, also scored as San Francisco took a 2-0 lead.
Seattle came back in the bottom of the inning, riding Dylan Moore’s speed to their first run. Moore drew a leadoff walk then stole second, took third on a wild pitch and strolled home Cal Raleigh’s RBI single.
After the Mariners tied it in the fifth inning, they scored twice off Sean Hjelle in the sixth to take a 4-2 lead.
McCray’s second career home run cut Seattle’s lead in half in the eighth inning, and the Giants later had the tying and go-ahead runs on base with one out but couldn’t manufacture anything out of it.
Matt Chapman drew a walk off Mariners closer Andrés Muñoz leading off the ninth, and advanced as far as third base before Mark Canha struck out to end the game.
Here are the takeaways from Sunday’s loss:
Another Ramos Milestone
In this time of transition where the Giants have opened the doors for some of their younger players, Ramos stormed through and might just be the best thing about the 2024 season.
One of the best young hitters in all of baseball, Ramos powered up for his second home run in three days. The home run tied Ramos with Matt Chapman for the team lead and moving the young slugger into rarefied air.
The 24-year-old is the first Giants player younger than 25 years old to reach the 20-home run plateau since Pablo Sandoval belted 23 in 2011.
Ray’s Early Exit
For the second time in three starts, Ray’s afternoon ended far earlier than anyone had hoped for. But unlike when he was pulled because of ineffectiveness after recording just two outs against the Atlanta Braves on Aug. 14, this time the lefty was removed because of a possible injury.
After throwing his second pitch of the fourth inning, Ray grimaced and grabbed at his left leg, signaling a potential hamstring injury. A team trainer came out to check on the pitcher, and the decision was made for Ray to call it a day with what the Giants later announced was hamstring tightness.
Until that point, Ray had done fairly well against his former team. Despite the Mariners showing a lot of patience at the plate and working deep into counts, Ray still allowed just one hit and one run. He had four strikeouts but walked three, symbolic of the control issues he faced. Ray threw 62 pitches, 37 for strikes.
Too Many Freebies
As was the case for most of the series, the Giants repeatedly gifted the Mariners with baserunners via walks or hit by pitches.
Moore scored Seattle’s first run after drawing a seven-pitch walk in the bottom of the first inning.
When the Mariners scored twice in the sixth to take a 4-2 lead, one of the runners who scored – Randy Arozarena – started the rally by getting hit by a pitch, one of two batters hit in the inning by Hjelle.
That came on the heels of the first two games of the series, when Giants pitchers combined for 17 walks and hit a batter. The 21 walks are the most by San Francisco over a three-game span this season.
The freebies were a gift for the Mariners, who had fewer hits (20) than walks during the three games.
Source Agencies
