San Francisco Giants Place Star Pitcher on Injured List

After leaving his last start early, the San Francisco Giants officially placed one of their aces on the IL.

Aug 14, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Robbie Ray (23) delivers a pitch against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at Oracle Park. / D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

On Tuesday, it was announced the San Francisco Giants placed left-handed pitcher Robbie Ray on the 15-day IL retroactive to August 26. During the fourth inning of Sunday's game against the Seattle Mariners, Ray left the game with hamstring tightness. He got an MRI on Monday to see the extent of the damage, and he will now miss time.

After the game on Sunday, Ray had said that he was hopeful they caught it early and he would make his next start, but now that is not the case.

The 2021 AL Cy Young winner had an up and down first seven starts for the Giants. His first start back from Tommy John was excellent, striking out eight in five innings. Then, in two of his next four starts, he allowed four or more runs, including an outing where he didn't make it out of the first inning on August 14.

He bounced back well in his following start, and looked to be getting back on track with nine strikeouts in 6.2 innings before injury struck.

Overall, he had a 4.70 ERA and 12.6 K/9 to start his career in San Francisco before it came to a halt once again.

It's a big blow for a team that is fighting to grab a Wild Card spot when their strength is pitching. A top of the rotation of two former Cy Young winners and Logan Webb would have faired well in tight games.

This setback is also tough for Ray, who is re-injured so soon after missing more than a year of his career.

The corresponding move the Giants made was to recall right-handed pitcher Landen Roupp from Triple-A.

Roupp has been back and forth between San Francisco and Sacramento all season, with three different Major League stints. He most recently pitched for the Giants on August 23 during a four game stint.

The 25-year-old was excellent to start 2024, but was sent down at the end of April following two rough starts. Since then he has made only five appearances.

In 15 games this season, Roupp's ERA is 4.70 and he has a 9.0 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 in 23 innings. In Triple-A, he has eight appearances, including six starts, with a 3.80 ERA and 12.7 K/9.

Although he has not started a game in the Majors yet, he will be a long relief option in bullpen games now that Ray is out. The right-hander already has six multi-inning appearances in his career.

There is not yet a timetable on Ray's return, so for now, San Francisco will have to use some patch work with bullpen games.