SF Giants have to rely on Blake Snell and Logan Webb

Robbie Ray made his long-awaited season debut on July 24, finally giving the Giants the tools to run a traditional five-man rotation. They were no longer reliant on bullpen play. Whether it was Ray or Logan Webb or Blake Snell or Kyle Harrison or Hayden Birdsong, San Francisco theoretically had someone who could provide length.

About a month later, the Giants are again looking for answers. Ray had to withdraw his starting spot on Sunday because of a strained hamstring. Snell and Webb dominate, but Birdsong and Harrison struggle. San Francisco is back at .500.

And what now?

The severity of Ray's injury is not yet known, but hamstring injuries are rarely easy to just shake off and play through. Manager Bob Melvin acknowledged Sunday that hamstring injuries “don't usually last a couple of days” and it's entirely possible Ray could be out for some time. If that's the case, the Giants will have to get creative when it's his turn to play.

San Francisco still has some time to get things sorted out. Webb, Harrison and Birdsong will start for the Giants in Milwaukee. Melvin has not yet announced his starters for the weekend series at Oracle Park against the Marlins, but Snell will likely start Friday. Ray's next scheduled start would then be Saturday — one day before rosters expand from 26 to 28 players.

At this point, a bullpen game seems the most likely path. It's also unlikely that Jordan Hicks will be available for a spot start. Not only has Hicks returned from starting to reliever, but he's already thrown a career-high in innings (108 1/3) with more than a month to go in the season.

“I really have no idea right now,” Melvin told reporters after Sunday's loss about his plans to adjust the rotation without Ray. “We're just trying to cover another game — five, six innings of another game. We'll figure it out as we go along.”

The uncertainty surrounding Ray, who was scheduled to have an MRI on Monday, adds pressure on Webb to hold out for Tuesday's series opener in Milwaukee. The Giants need their star to provide yardage and ease the bullpen's workload — if not to give that unit the day off.

Despite having a day off on Monday, San Francisco's bullpen is overwhelmed. Last weekend, Birdsong, Snell and Ray threw just 10 innings together in Seattle. While Ray was out due to injury, neither Birdsong (four walks, one hit batter) nor Snell (six walks) were able to consistently find the strike zone.

The bullpen was used early and often, throwing 16 1/3 innings against the Mariners. Sean Hjelle, Ryan Walker and the Rogers twins each saw multiple appearances. Hjelle, Walker and Spencer Bivens all threw at least three innings.

Webb's performance on Tuesday is all the more important because neither Birdsong nor Harrison are guaranteed to pitch past the fifth inning. Harrison, whose workload has become a topic of discussion in recent weeks, has allowed 12 earned runs in 19 1/3 innings (5.59 ERA) in his last four starts. Birdsong has fared no better since August, allowing 13 earned runs in 15 innings (7.80 ERA) and walking 11 batters this month.

By trading Alex Cobb at the trade deadline and bringing Hicks back into the bullpen in July, the Giants signaled that they planned to ride Webb, Snell and Ray to the finish line.

If there is any good news for the Giants, it is that Webb, who has the most in baseball with 172 2/3 innings pitched, is throwing his best ball of the season. In his last five starts, Webb has allowed four earned runs in 37 1/3 innings. He threw a shutout against the A's on July 31 and could have been eliminated in the ninth inning in his last game against the White Sox.

Saturday was a rare losing streak for Snell, who has double-digit strikeouts in four of his last six starts, including his Aug. 2 no-hitter at Cincinnati.

If Ray goes on the injured list, winning games started by Webb and Snell will be even more important, as the Giants entered Monday trailing the Braves by five games in the wild card race.

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