SAN FRANCISCO – After back-to-back one-run losses in 10 innings, things got much worse for the Giants on Wednesday night in front of their home fans at Oracle Park, losing 13-2 to the Atlanta Braves.
The game was out of reach six batters in, when the Giants already trailed 5-0. Starting pitcher Robbie Ray’s night ended two batters later. Though Ray only gave up one hit, his control problems and a blast into the water put the Giants in a deficit they couldn’t come back from.
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Through the first four innings, the Giants had five hits and the Braves had three. But every hit the Braves had was a home run, and the Giants already were down 7-1. The Braves wound up with four homers on the night.
This marks the first series the Giants have lost since dropping three of four to the Los Angeles Dodgers from July 22 through July 25. The Giants had won or split five straight series.
Here are three takeaways from the Giants’ fourth loss in a row.
San Francisco Giants
Ray’s Disastrous First Inning
The last time Ray stepped foot on the mound, the veteran left-hander threw six innings and hurled 105 pitches – both highs since his return from Tommy John surgery. Ray hadn’t thrown six or more innings since Sept. 22, 2022, and his 105 pitches were his most since tossing on Aug. 10 of that year.
Wednesday’s start was a bit shorter, and far uglier.
Ray needed 39 pitches to record two outs in the first inning before being pulled by manager Bob Melvin. He already had allowed five earned runs and watched one ball sail into McCovey Cove. In order, here’s how the night went: Hit by pitch, hit by pitch, strikeout, walk, walk (run scored), grand slam, strikeout and walk. The outing was tied for Ray’s shortest of his career.
Both of Ray’s hit batsmen to begin the game started in a 1-2 hole. So did Ray’s first walk, issued to Matt Olson. Orlando Arcia, Ray’s second walk, was down 0-2 immediately. All three of Ray’s walks, and the two batters he hit, had two strikes on them.
Michael Harris II, who has missed the past two months to injury, took the second pitch he saw and launched a hanging knuckle curve 423 feet into the water. It was the second Splash Hit of the 2024 MLB season, and the first by an opposing team.
McCray’s MLB Debut
What was a catastrophic top of the first inning ended with a routine fly ball to rookie center fielder Grant McCray in his MLB debut. He then had to wait until the bottom of the third inning to step in the batter’s box for the first time.
Leading off the inning for the Giants, McCray took a fastball for a strike to begin his at-bat, but then swung and missed at two sliders in the dirt for a quick strikeout. His next at-bat wasn’t much better. McCray in the fifth inning again only saw three pitches. After swinging and missing at a slider at the bottom of the strike zone and a curveball in the dirt, McCray hit a curveball straight into the ground back at starting pitcher Grant Holmes for an easy out.
McCray again found himself down 0-2 in his third at-bat but gave everybody a reason to get out of their seats, at least for a second. Holmes hung a slider right down the middle, and McCray nearly made him pay for it. McCray just missed the sweet spot, sending a fly ball 359 feet to the left-field warning track.
In his fourth and final at-bat, McCray got jammed by a slider for a fly out to left field.
Fitz Magic
One of the main reasons the Giants were excited to add McCray was the 23-year-old can be the kind of spark athletically that Tyler Fitzgerald has infused in the lineup. Fitzgerald wasted no time igniting the Giants’ offense in their loss. If only others followed his lead.
Responding to such a rough top half of the first inning, Fitzgerald hit a high-and-inside fastball outside the strike zone into the left-field bleachers on the first pitch he saw. The ball actually bounced off the top of the wall, right next to the glove of former Giant Jorge Soler before going into the stands to get the Giants on the scoreboard.
The solo shot gave Fitzgerald homers on back-to-back nights, and he now has 14 in 60 games this season. But the Giants didn’t score again until the bottom of the seventh inning.
Fitzgerald also used his speed when an infield single between shortstop and third base couldn’t even garner a throw from Arcia in the fifth. His story keeps getting better, and Fitzgerald now is hitting .313 with a .995 OPS after going 2-for-5 on Wednesday.
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