San Francisco Giants Starter Leaves With Apparent Injury

The San Francisco Giants Sunday starter left early after just a few starts off the injured list.

Aug 20, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Robbie Ray (23) pitches during the first inning against the Chicago White Sox at Oracle Park. / Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco Giants brought in Robbie Ray in a trade with the Seattle Mariners over the offseason. However, they knew that he would miss a majority of the 2024 season after making just one start in 2023 and needing Tommy John surgery. The lefty made his 2024 debut on July 24, but left early in just his seventh start.

In the fourth inning of Sunday's game against Seattle, trainers came out to check on Ray, and the first-year Giant was eventually pulled. He had thrown three innings, allowed one run on one hit, three walks and four strikeouts.

The Giants said that the former Cy Young Award winner left with hamstring tightness.

The 32-year-old said that he is "hopeful" that they caught it in time and that he won't miss any starts. However, he has never had any hamstring issues, so he isn't sure of the timeline or how it will affect him.

The good news for San Francisco is that he did not re-injure his elbow. That is always the worry so close after coming back from Tommy John and the team and Ray dodged a bullet. If Ray is confident that is was caught in time, it could mean he makes his next start, but nothing will be for certain until he has his MRI on Monday.

Ray's first six starts with the Giants have been a bit up and down. His first start came against the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he was excellent, allowing just one run and striking out eight in five innings. He then had a rocky start in which he allowed four runs in 4.1 innings.

He bounced back to allow just four runs in his next 11 innings before having his worst start of the year. Against the Atlanta Braves, Ray was unable to get out of the first inning. He was pulled after recording two outs and allowing five runs.

The former All-Star then had another superb start before getting injured against his former team.

If the Giants want to continue to fight for the third Wild Card spot, Robbie Ray will be essential to their success. The pitching staff behind Logan Webb and Blake Snell is their strong suit, and a player with Ray's stuff and experience is valuable. It would also provide them with terrific depth and one of the better number threes in the league.

San Francisco will be eagerly awaiting the results of the MRI.