NEWS NOW: Ray’s dominant return momentum to giant

LOS ANGELES — Robbie Ray reclined in a leather chair on Wednesday, grinning as music blared through the Giants’ clubhouse. Hall and Oates transitioned to AC/DC, and the volume was so high that conversations were barely audible. Ray appeared serene and composed, showing no signs of pre-game jitters.

Then the game began.

In his first inning after a 16-month hiatus, Ray hit two batters, walked two, threw two wild pitches, and allowed a run due to his erratic pitching. As his pitch count neared the thirties, Sean Hjelle started warming up in the visiting bullpen at Dodger Stadium.

The Giants had planned for Ray to throw 85 pitches in his comeback from Tommy John surgery, but manager Bob Melvin wasn’t going to let him reach even halfway in one inning. Ray was struggling, but he escaped the first inning with only one run scored against him. Sitting in the dugout with catcher Curt Casali, the two took a moment to regroup.

“Okay, we checked that box,” Casali thought. “Now he can do what he does.”

For the rest of the game, it was classic Robbie Ray.

In his Giants debut, the offseason acquisition threw five no-hit innings, supported by an opportunistic offense. The Giants won 8-3, giving Ray his first major league win since September 3, 2022, as he retired 14 consecutive batters after walking Andy Pages with the bases loaded.