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The Giants are where they are primarily because of their pitching. They’re not in wild-card contention because of any super offense or sparkling defense or stellar baserunning. It’s all about pitching, pitching, pitching.
Naturally, the Giants were going to be represented at the July 15 All-Star Game in Atlanta with at least one pitcher, Logan Webb, their ace. The only drama was whether he was going to have company.
The answer is a resounding yes. Three Giants pitchers were named to the National League team on Sunday with lefty starter Robbie Ray and reliever Randy Rodríguez joining Webb, meaning 23% of the 13-man NL pitching staff are Giants.
It’s the first time since 2011 that three Giants pitchers are All-Stars. Fourteen years ago, Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Ryan Vogelsong, and Brian Wilson were selected along with third baseman Pablo Sandoval. Because the Giants were the defending champs, Bruce Bochy was the NL manager.
Webb was an easy pick as the major-league leader in innings (120 ⅓) while ranking second in the NL behind Zack Wheeler in both ERA (2.62) and strikeouts (133). He pitched an All-Star inning in 2024 but struggled to command his sinker and gave up three runs, two on a Juan Soto double, in the American League’s 5-3 win.
Ray is an All-Star for the first time since 2017 (he did not appear in the game) when he was a 25-year-old Diamondback. He’s coming off a three-hit complete game Thursday in Arizona and has a team-high nine wins (the Giants have won 14 of his 18 starts) with a 2.68 ERA. He was NL Pitcher of the Month for May.
The most intriguing Giants All-Star is Rodríguez, a Dominican Republic native who’s dominating hitters, especially lefties, to the tune of a 0.71 ERA with 53 strikeouts in 38 innings. The righty has surrendered runs in just two of 38 outings, none at Oracle Park. Since May 1, he has given up one earned run in 24 ⅓ innings.
Saturday night, Rodríguez replaced Webb with two outs and two runners aboard and retired A’s All-Star shortstop Jacob Wilson. As a setup man, Rodriguez doesn’t have a lofty saves total (just one), but manager Bob Melvin has used him in high-leverage situations all season. Webb called him “the best reliever in baseball.”
Melvin campaigned for reliever Tyler Rogers as well. The submarine baller has appeared in 44 games, tied for tops in the majors, and sports a 1.70 ERA.
The leading candidate among position players was outfielder Heliot Ramos, an All-Star last season who’s hitting .274 with an .806 OPS and team-high 14 homers.
There was talk earlier of Wilmer Flores, who leads the club with 55 RBIs, but he posted an OPS under .600 after homering three times against the A’s in May.
As for Rafael Devers, a career American Leaguer before he was acquired in a June 15 trade with Boston, he was the AL leader in fan votes among designated hitters. After the trade, his votes were transferred to the NL, and he finished well behind the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani in the voting.