Biggest Surprise from Giants Two-Game Losing Streak to Open Season

When trying to analyze the San Francisco Giants’ two-game losing streak to start the 2026 campaign, there are many directions in which one could go.

The offense is off to the worst in Major League Baseball historically. No Major League team has started a season with no runs and five or fewer hits combined in their first two games. It was enough to get manager Tony Vitello to blame himself for the lack of offensive production.

But there's a deeper issue, one that is likely short-term but one the Giants must correct as they prepare for their second series of the season. The two veteran pitchers they're counting on to be their north stars, Logan Webb and Robbie Ray, are responsible for nine of the 10 runs San Francisco has allowed to the New York Yankees in two games.

Off to a Bad Start

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Robbie Ray throws a pitch. — San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Robbie Ray. | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Webb’s performance on opening night was about as uncharacteristic as one can get from a pitcher who has finished in the Top 6 in Cy Young voting each of the past three seasons.

He gave up nine hits, seven runs — six of which were earned — and a walk in five innings. He also struck out seven. But by the time he left the game the Giants were in a 7-0 hole. He gave up every run San Francisco allowed. He enters his next start against the San Diego Padres with an ERA of 10.80.

Ray, a left-hander who won the 2021 American League Cy Young Award while with the Toronto Blue Jays, only gave up two runs in his debut. But he allowed five hits in 5.1 innings. He struck out four and gave up a home run Aaron Judge. Allowing a home run was practically the only thing that Webb didn’t do on Wednesday.

It's hard to for a team to stay in a game when it’s not scoring runs. But it's also hard to come back when the starting pitchers are giving up too much traffic and too much damage. So, while it's trendy to put blame on the offense, one must acknowledge that neither starting pitcher was sharp in their openers.

It’s also not worth panicking about just yet. Webb went 15-11 with a 3.22 ERA last season. He struck out 224 and walked 46 in 207 innings. Ray went 11-8 with a 3.65 ERA last season, with 186 strikeouts and 73 walks in 182.1 innings. It’s a long season. Both will likely start at least 30 games if healthy. Their track records suggest a bounce-back is coming soon.

But Webb and Ray both surprised many Giants observers with how they pitched in their openers — and not in a good way. It helped put San Francisco in a two-game hole to begin the season, one that can be dug out of but one that needs their 2025 versions to do so.