Following arduous Tommy John recovery, SF Giants’ Robbie Ray back to All-Star form

SAN FRANCISCO Robbie Ray remembers when everything clicked It was April days since Ray underwent two surgeries that in effect robbed him of two seasons The first three innings of Ray s afternoon were fine but unspectacular giving up a sacrifice fly in the first and another in the third The fourth inning was different Ray began the frame with a strikeout then induced a groundout and a fly out Ray s excitement didn t lie in the results As Ray walked back to Oracle Park s third-base dugout he realized his timing was back He felt synced up He was in the end back Something clicked with my delivery Ray explained I can t necessarily put my finger on it It was like that feeling where you haven t ridden a bike in a long time and then all of a sudden you get on it You don t forget that feeling That s kind of what I was feeling in that fourth inning I was like Oh this is it Ray turned in his best outing as a Giant seven innings two runs eight strikeouts It was an outing that kicked off a two-and-a-half-month stretch of excellence a stretch that has landed him a spot on the National League All-Stars alongside Logan Webb and Randy Rodr guez Ray won t pitch in the All-Star Meeting since he s starting on Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers but the selection itself is plenty rewarding It s definitely been a journey Ray reported and it s nice to see it pay off For Ray this journey began on May Ray experienced left forearm discomfort during his first start of the season with the Seattle Mariners The Mariners placed him on the injured list the following day and following a setback in his rehab Ray opted for season-ending surgery to repair his flexor tendon in late April Further testing revealed Ray s ulnar collateral ligament also needed repair He d need the dreaded Tommy John surgery If Ray only needed to rehab his flexor tendon he could ve been back for the start of the season Tommy John surgery ensured he d be out for the greater part of if not all of the first half On May Dr Keith Meister performed the two procedures Ray who was then in the second year of a five-year million contract spent a good chunk of the rehab process at the Mariners Spring Training facility in Peoria Ariz In Ray s absence Seattle s rotation evolved into one of baseball s best featuring Luis Castillo Logan Gilbert George Kirby Bryan Woo and Bryce Miller Ray would never rejoin that group On Jan the Giants traded for Ray in exchange for outfielder Mitch Haniger right-hander Anthony DeSclafani and cash considerations San Francisco understood Ray would miss most of of the season The association also knew that Ray wouldn t instantly regain his Cy Young form when he did return But former president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi saw the foreseen I think for us Robbie and the long-term vision of him being a tandem at the top of our rotation with Logan Webb was the No motivation but specific of the flexibility it creates for opportunities internally and a little bit more maneuverability in terms of other free agent moves or business acquisitions we re looking at is certainly part of it Zaidi reported at the time of the contract The key adjective long-term Ray resumed his recovery with the Giants following the business not making the first of rehab appearances until June On July days since his last start in the majors Ray returned to a major-league mound his task being the Dodgers in Los Angeles The rust was apparent when he walked in a runner with the bases loaded in the first inning But the stuff was apparent when he threw five no-hit innings with eight strikeouts against a group that would go on to win the World Series As well as Ray pitched against the Dodgers his return was defined by inconsistency His third and fourth starts were prime examples On Aug against the Detroit Tigers he pitched six innings of two-run ball his first quality start since surgery On Aug against the Atlanta Braves he recorded two outs walked three and allowed five runs unable to finish the first inning Over seven starts Ray posted a ERA Ray was back But he wasn t back It just seemed like I felt really good but it just wasn t adding up Ray announced I d throw in bullpens and it was great Then I d go out in the encounter and it was like I entirely lost it In hindsight with the arrangement for Robbie with the salary with our underperformance on the pitching end at times last year I think a lot of the narrative around Robbie coming back was that he d be this savior for the pitching staff right It was like As soon as we get Ray and Alex Cobb back we ll really start to roll mentioned pitching coach J P Martinez Looking back I don t think that was totally fair to him to put so much pressure on him Justin Verlander who underwent Tommy John surgery in and missed all of knows firsthand the difficulty of fending off doubt You just have to fight it Verlander stated You have to trust the process In my circumstance the rehab was going really well and there would be particular small things that would creep up You just got to remind yourself This is normal and not every day is going to be a great day The only thing that really puts your mind at ease is performing going out there and trusting it and letting it happen Then once that happens you forget about it One of the most of influential figures in Ray s recovery was Webb who underwent Tommy John in Webb returned in missing only a little more than a year following his surgery but it wasn t until about months following the surgery that Webb threw five innings in a single championship Despite being five years Ray s junior Webb helped the left-hander understand the peaks and valleys of the recovery process Thankfully I had Webby here to talk me through that process of coming back from surgery and understanding there s going to be days where you don t necessarily have it Ray announced You might feel great but your body s still trying to figure it out He was a key piece in helping me to realize that In his conversations with Webb and others Ray learned that it s not until -to- months post-surgery that pitchers started feeling like themselves again During spring training roughly months after undergoing surgery Ray hit that sweet spot The results during Cactus League play were exceptional Over five starts Ray had a ERA with strikeouts to one walk Along with his usual repertoire of four-seam fastball curveball and slider Ray reintroduced a pitch to his arsenal that had been dormant for years a changeup Related Articles Dodgers prospect De Paula hits -run homer to lift NL to - win in All-Star Futures Event SF Giants offense silenced as Ohtani pitches in rivalry for first time SF Giants make All-Star situation for Tyler Rogers after Misiorowski selection SF Giants send Dodgers to seventh straight loss in action-packed series opener SF Giants get their first taste of Shohei Ohtani on the mound for Dodgers Ray regularly threw a changeup as a rookie in but the pitch faded from his repertoire by He sprinkled in a couple changeups over the years but the pitch wasn t a prominent part of his mix But at the conclusion of the postseason Ray texted Tarik Skubal the American League Cy Young Award winner about how he threw his changeup Skubal in return sent Ray the kitchen sink I think it s allowed me to get deeper into games Ray revealed not just necessarily going for the strikeout every single time but getting early outs and being able to go deep Added Martinez Just having something to keep those hitters honest moving the other direction and pulling the string on them has done wonders for him Entering Sunday Ray is - with a ERA and has totaled strikeouts over innings The Giants are - on days that Ray starts which includes unit wins in his first nine starts of the year Earlier this month Ray threw the second complete tournament of his career against the Arizona Diamondbacks Ray s injuries robbed him of two prime seasons but in his first fully healthy year back he s proving he s still a top-of-the-rotation arm The impressive thing about what he has done up to this point is it s almost like you have to start your career over again commented manager Bob Melvin You never really know You go through rehab It s a lonely time but he took it seriously Credit to him for hard work and going through what was a tough rehab period