Giants' Robbie Ray flashed his All-Star form. Then Aaron Judge ‘happened to get me'
San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello could have tapped into a fresh bullpen but stuck with Robbie Ray to face Aaron Judge a third time. His homer marked the lone blemish on Ray's solid outing.
San Francisco Giants pitcher Robbie Ray works against the New York Yankees during the first inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) (Jeff Chiu/Associated Press) Robbie Ray's pitch count neared 80 with a runner in scoring position in the sixth inning of Friday's scoreless game. Two games into the season, San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello could have tapped into a fresh bullpen for a fresh arm and better matchup, but this battle called for a challenge.
"You have two of the best guys in the league going at it," Vitello said. "It was mano-a-mano. " Judge had been 0-for-6 with five strikeouts as he walked into the box.
Ray had held the New York Yankees to two hits, was coming off a five-pitch fifth inning, and struck out Judge his last time up. This at-bat took a swerve early, when Judge won an ABS challenge by a tenth of an inch and Ray was soon behind in the count 3-0. He battled back to a full count and started hurling four-seamers, but one too many.
Judge pummeled a 93 mph fastball on the inner part of the zone 404 feet just fair of the left-field foul pole for a two-run homer. Ray would have liked the fastball elevated a bit more. "He happened to get me," Ray said.