SAN FRANCISCO -- It's been a few years since Robbie Ray felt this good. Late Monday night, he said his seven innings against the Kansas City Royals were the sharpest of the year and described it as being "kinda on auto pilot." Ray had confidence throwing any pitch in any count, which reminded him of his form in 2021, when he was the American League's Cy Young Award winner.
A 2025 candidate was on the other side Monday, although right now, if you're left-handed, you don't need to pitch like a Cy Young to cut through this Giants lineup.
Bay Area native Kris Bubic threw seven shutout innings to lead the Royals to a 3-1 win, lowering his ERA to 1.47. He became the latest southpaw to make quick work of a team that's 28-20 overall but just 4-11 when facing a left-handed starter.
With our All Access Daily newsletter, stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams!
SIGN UP HERE The Giants didn't have a hit off Bubic until the sixth, when Wilmer Flores hit a slow roller that was initially ruled an error but changed to a hit because second baseman Michael Massey slipped before the ball got to him. Bubic allowed just two hits, which has been the norm.
After Monday's loss, the Giants are batting just .206 against left-handed starters with a .280 on-base percentage and .348 slugging percentage. They have 10 homers in those 15 games, and on Monday, they hit just one ball over 100 mph against Bubic. That was a Casey Schmitt double, which allowed the official scorer to sleep a bit better given that it came an inning after the 50-50 play at second.
"He pitches in, he pitches out, he pitches up, he pitches down," manager Bob Melvin said of Bubic. "He had a couple different breaking balls working ... we've seen some good pitchers this year [and] that was right up there."
Melvin has made some small tweaks against lefties, moving Flores and Tyler Fitzgerald up in the lineup. Schmitt is expected to get a lot of time at first until Jerar Encarnacion returns. But the real solutions will have to come from the team's marquee players. Willy Adames has a .371 OPS against lefties, and while Matt Chapman has a high OBP, he has just three extra-base hits. Both popped up multiple times Monday on a night when the Giants had seven of them overall.
San Francisco Giants
Find the latest San Francisco Giants news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
With a lineup heavy on right-handed hitters, the Giants figured they would fare well against lefties. That hasn't been the case, but Melvin wasn't too stressed Monday.
"I think regardless, it was going to be tough against [Bubic] today," he said.
Verlander Update
A day after both Melvin and right-hander Justin Verlander declined to elaborate on what was bothering the veteran in four innings, the manager said it was a pec issue. He didn't provide much more than that.
"We'll give it a day or two to calm down and hopefully we're good to go," Melvin said. "I think these next couple of days will tell. He does get an extra day [of rest] so that's good as well. I think he's going to take it easy the next couple of days and then we'll see how he's feeling on Wednesday."
The Giants are off Thursday, so Verlander can get some extra treatment if he is to start Saturday in Washington, D.C. If he's not ready, there are options. Kyle Harrison is in the bullpen and Jordan Hicks is still stretched out to start if needed.
Hicks made his first relief appearance Monday and allowed a run in the top of the ninth. He hit 100 mph three times but threw just seven of 18 pitches for strikes.
Headed Elsewhere?
To clear a roster spot for Schmitt, the Giants DFA'd David Villar for the second time in two months. If he clears waivers -- which seems likely given that he did the first time -- he can elect to become a free agent, and the expectation is that he will do so and look for a better opportunity elsewhere.
If this is it for Villar as a Giant, he'll finish with a .200 average, .683 OPS and 15 homers in 118 games. After the 2022 MLB season, there was a runway for Villar to take over at third, but J.D. Davis ended up breaking out and Matt Chapman was signed after the season.
The Giants have just 38 players on their 40-man roster, which is a bit odd and surely horrifies the previous regime. They'll get Encarnacion back from the 60-day IL in the next week or so, but there's still an open spot if they need to add someone at some point soon. Like, perhaps, PCL Pitcher of the Week Carson Whisenhunt.