Deadspin | Plagued by bullpen woes, Giants hope veteran Robbie Ray can silence Phillies

Apr 6, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Ryan Borucki (47) is relieved by San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello during the seventh inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants continue to struggle in the bullpen and will keep looking for answers when they host the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night in the middle game of a three-game series.

The Phillies rallied for a 6-4 win on Monday after reliever Ryan Borucki couldn’t hold the 4-2 lead that starter Adrian Houser handed to the bullpen in the seventh with two runners on base and no one out.

Borucki allowed the inherited runners to score, then gave up two more runs in the loss. He started his appearance by walking Kyle Schwarber.

“I’ve been preparing for that moment the last two days,” the left-hander said. “You can’t start by walking Schwarber on four pitches.”

With Schwarber aboard and the bases loaded with no one out, Bryce Harper singled to right to score Justin Crawford and Trea Turner. Alec Bohm’s double to right scored Schwarber.

“We should have won that game, and I didn’t do my part to get the job done,” Borucki said.

San Francisco is ranked 21st in the majors with a bullpen ERA of 4.93 and an 0-2 record.

The Phillies, on the other hand, saw five scoreless innings from their bullpen in relief of rookie Andrew Painter. The Phillies rank 15th in reliever ERA at 4.17 and have a 2-1 bullpen record.

Tim Mayza, Jonathan Bowlan, Jose Alvarado, Brad Keller and Jhoan Duran surrendered just two hits to close the game.

Philadelphia is expected to add a valuable arm to the roster Tuesday when Orion Kerkering, last seen on blooper reels for his throwing error that ended the Phillies’ 2025 season at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the postseason, returns from the injured list.

The 25-year-old has been rehabbing a strained hamstring in the minors to start the season, which has given him time to work on a new pitch — a splitter.

“It’s been really good,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson told the media over the weekend after getting a report from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. “It gives the hitter a different look and gets them off the slider a little bit, but it’s got a lot of bottom to it.”

Two veteran lefties will get starting assignments on Tuesday, with the goal of taking as much heat as possible off the bullpen. The Phillies’ Cristopher Sanchez (1-0, 0.79 ERA) will go against the Giants’ Robbie Ray (1-1, 3.38).

Sanchez has pitched in two Philadelphia wins — March 26 over the Texas Rangers, 5-3, and a 6-5 Wednesday against the Washington Nationals, in which he didn’t get a decision.

Over the two games, Sanchez allowed just one run and seven hits in 11 nnings with 17 strikeouts. The 29-year-old has never lost to the Giants, going 2-0 with a 1.46 ERA in five career head-to-heads, including three starts.

Ray will make his 11th career start against Philadelphia, having compiled a 4-2 record and a 5.20 ERA.

The 34-year-old has allowed eight hits, including two home runs, in 10 2/3 innings to open the 2026 season. He lost 3-0 to the New York Yankees on March 27 and followed with a 7-2 win against the Mets last Thursday.

–Field Level Media

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