The Giants couldn’t ask more of Robbie Ray. Seven innings, one run, nine strikeouts — all of which amounted to a seventh consecutive quality start.
On an evening where the offense couldn’t muster a single run, though, Ray couldn’t avoid taking his first loss of the season.
Despite Ray’s excellence, the Giants lost to the Miami Marlins, 1-0, on Saturday afternoon at LoanDepot Park as the offense — due in part to two excellent defensive plays by Miami — couldn’t cash in on numerous opportunities to score. San Francisco has now gone 13 consecutive games without scoring more than four runs, the longest such streak since 1988.
“Just got to fight out of it, unfortunately,” manager Bob Melvin told reporters in Miami.
Ray finished May with a 1.38 ERA over six starts with 45 strikeouts over 39 innings, the lowest ERA he’s ever posted in a calendar month in his career. The left-hander has allowed just eight runs over 46 innings (1.57 ERA) with 53 strikeouts over his stretch of seven straight quality starts.
The left-hander struggled early with his four-seam fastball command Saturday and leaned heavily on his changeup, the offering that he re-introduced this spring with the help of the Detroit Tigers’ Tarik Skubal. Ray’s 32 changeups were the second-most he’s thrown in a start in his career, and his 12 whiffs with the pitch were the most he’s generated in a single start.
“Could just tell that I was getting some bad swings on it and some soft contact,” Ray told reporters. “Just kind of leaned on it tonight. It was very effective.”
“I thought all his pitches were working well today,” Melvin said. “Walked a few guys early on, but as the game went along, his stuff got better and better.”
Ray’s efforts would’ve been rewarded with a victory on most days, but not on a day where the Giants left 11 men on base and finished 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Two of those missed opportunities, though, were a product of stellar defense from Miami.
In the top of the fourth, second baseman Tyler Fitzgerald sent a deep drive to the left-field warning track, but left fielder Heriberto Hernandez made a leaping catch to take away extra bases — and a potential home run.
In the seventh, Jung Hoo Lee sent a changeup from reliever Ronny Henriquez to center field that would’ve easily scored Heliot Ramos from first base had it landed, but center fielder Dane Myers made a leaping catch — banging into the wall in the process — to save a run.
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San Francisco’s inability to score a single run wasn’t entirely a product of Miami’s defense.
In the first, the Giants loaded the bases but ended the frame without a run as both Willy Adames and Mike Yastrzemski struck out. In the sixth, Henriquez entered for starter Edward Cabrera and struck out Fitzgerald to strand runners on first and second with two outs. Two innings later, San Francisco put runners on first and second with one out, but Yastrzemski flew out and Fitzgerald struck out.
“We got a bunch of hits last night and scored two runs,” said Melvin, whose team had eight hits Saturday. “Today, our at-bats, again, were pretty good. Couldn’t come through in a big situation. I thought Fitzy’s ball was gone. I thought Jung Hoo’s ball was at least off the wall. Just have to fight through these things when things aren’t going your way.”