CINCINNATI — For five innings Sunday, Robbie Ray looked like he was going to put manager Bob Melvin and new pitching coach J.P. Martinez in a very uncomfortable position.
Ray was perfect through that point of his debut, and in any other month, his pitch count of 61 would not have been an issue. But this being the first time out, that meant Ray had only about 25-30 more before the Giants would have to make a decision. As it turned out, Ray wouldn’t make it out of the sixth.
The finale in Cincinnati was a strange one, with both pitchers taking a no-hitter into the fifth and Ray flirting with perfection before a home run derby broke out on both sides. In the end, it was a 6-3 Giants win, which clinched a road series win to start their season.
The first baserunner on either side didn’t come until the fifth, when Heliot Ramos hit a solo shot with one out. Matt Chapman, who had the usual Matt Chapman defensive game, made it 4-0 with a two-run blast but the Reds countered with two homers in the sixth.
Ramos gets the Giants on the board with his second of the season 💪
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— Giants on NBC Sports Bay Area (@nbcsgiants.bsky.social) March 30, 2025 at 11:38 AM
CHAPPY’S GOT HIS FIRST DINGER 💥
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— Giants on NBC Sports Bay Area (@nbcsgiants.bsky.social) March 30, 2025 at 11:57 AM
It was a bullpen game from there, and the Giants are confident that always will favor them this season, although this one came with a twist. It was Camilo Doval, not Ryan Walker, who got the ninth. Doval returned to the ninth by striking out Elly De La Cruz and he had a 1-2-3 inning.
Loves A Debut
In his first appearance as a Giant last July, Ray threw five no-hit innings at Dodger Stadium. He was better than that Sunday, at least until he reached the sixth.
Gavin Lux ended the perfect game bid with a single up the middle and it unraveled from there. After a highlight-reel grab from Chapman prevented a double, Ray was hit with a pitch clock violation. Former Giant Austin Wynns followed that with a two-run homer to left that cut the deficit in half.
An absolute menace at the hot corner 😈
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— Giants on NBC Sports Bay Area (@nbcsgiants.bsky.social) March 30, 2025 at 12:01 PM
The next batter, Matt McLain, hit a solo shot, and Ray was pulled after walking Santiago Espinal on four pitches. Ray went from perfecto watch to three earned in 5 1/3. He struck out four while leaning heavily on his four-seamer, which had fluctuating velocity.
Ray picked up a new changeup in the offseason and worked on it often during the spring. He didn’t try it until the bottom of the third and threw 10 overall, just two of which landed for strikes.
The Right Way
Two games against very different kinds of right-handed starters. Two different pitches. Two homers for Ramos.
Martinez was sailing along until he threw a changeup down and away to Ramos, who reached for it and yanked it down the left field line. On a day when everything was getting knocked down by the wind early on, the ball had enough to get a half-dozen rows deep in left. It was Ramos’ second homer of the series, joining the blast he hit to right off a Hunter Greene fastball on Thursday. In the eighth Sunday, he added a 110-mph RBI single.
Ramos didn’t even make his 2024 debut until the 38th game of the season and still hit 22 homers. He’s as good a bet as any Giant to break the 30-homer draught that goes back two decades.
Circle of Trust
Saturday’s appearance was Lou Trivino’s first in the big leagues since 2022. He had a long road back from Tommy John surgery, but he signed a non-roster deal with the Giants in the offseason and easily won a bullpen job this spring.
Trivino, who broke into the big leagues with Melvin’s Athletics, was sharp in a perfect eighth inning of Saturday’s loss, throwing 11 of 13 pitches for strikes. A day later, Melvin tasked him with holding a one-run lead in the seventh. He got a pair of groundouts and then a long fly ball to right.
The Giants already had used Randy Rodriguez twice this series and Walker was unavailable due to back tightness, but still, it’s clear that Trivino will get high-leverage innings right away.
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