SF Giants blown out by Diamondbacks in all-around ugly loss
PHOENIX - It was, from every angle, an absolute disaster of a night.
Left-hander Robbie Ray, over 4 1/3 innings, surrendered two homers and allowed eight earned runs, the most he’s given up in a single game. The defense committed three errors. Right fielder Jung Hoo Lee left the game early with back spasms. Shortstop Willy Adames homered but also left the game with what manager Tony Vitello described as a thumb contusion.
The result for the Giants was a 12-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday at Chase Field. The 10-run defeat is tied for their largest margin of defeat this season.
“I don’t know if it’s something I’m doing on the mound or tipping my pitches or what’s going on, but there seemed like there was not a lot of swing-and-miss tonight,” Ray said. “Not a lot of chase. … There were some hard-hit balls. So, it’s one of those things I just have to go back to the drawing board and figure out.”
Arizona’s offense set the tone for the night by absolutely ambushing Ray, needing just six pitches to plate four runs.
Ketel Marte singled on Ray’s second pitch of the night, and Corbin Carroll followed on with a single on Ray’s third. Ray’s fourth pitch induced a grounder off the bat of Geraldo Perdomo, but Matt Chapman committed an error as he couldn’t handle a tricky.
Finally, on Ray’s sixth pitch of the night, Nolan Arenado blasted his seventh career grand slam and his 35th career home run against San Francisco (20-28), the most he’s hit against any opponent.
“To be honest with you, at that point, you’re kind of hoping to log some innings,” said manager Tony Vitello. “He made a good adjustment in the fourth and kind of rolled through there, but then in the fifth, it wasn’t ideal.”
In response to the early ambush, Ray and catcher Eric Haase tried to change up the game plan. Ray heavily relies on his four-seam fastball, throwing the pitch nearly half of the time (47.5%). On Monday, however, Ray’s heater accounted for 30 of his 84 total pitches, or 35.7 percent.
Ray, whose ERA ballooned from 3.04 to 4.28, speculated that he might’ve been tipping his pitches.
“Baseball is funny,” Ray said. “Tonight is the best I’ve felt in a while. I felt like my mechanics were really good. My pregame warm-up felt really good. I felt like I was hitting my spots. Gave up some base hits on balls that were way out of the zone. … Hitters are good, so if they know what’s coming, they’re going to hit it.”
Arizona had already established a commanding 7-2 lead going into the fourth inning, but the Diamondbacks blew the doors open by putting up a five-spot to take a 10-run lead.
Ray exited the game after fielding a comebacker that deflected off his quad, but his night was likely done anyhow. The left-hander said after the game that he felt fine.
The blowout loss would’ve been enough agony, but there were injuries to match the insult.
First, there was Lee, who was lifted for Will Brennan after two at-bats due to back spasms. Then, Adames was pinch-hit for in the top of the sixth after he committed an error in the bottom of the fifth when a grounder deflected off his thumb.
Vitello said Lee likely won’t play tomorrow, adding that the team will assess Adames before Tuesday’s game and see if he’s fit to play.
“The ball was real well struck,” Vitello said. “He doesn’t see it because it’s in front of the runner. Jumped up on him and just nicked his thumb. But when I say nicked, it’s a baseball and it was hit whatever the velocity it was you guys got.”
Up next
Following Monday’s blowout loss, right-hander Landen Roupp (5-4, 3.49 ERA) face the Diamondbacks’ Ryne Nelson (5.40 ERA).
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This story was originally published May 18, 2026 at 9:42 PM.