Giants left-hander exited his start today in the fourth inning with left hamstring tightne s. He was facing his former team, the Mariners, and pitching in Seattle for the first time since he suffered a season-ending injury during his debut start of the 2023 campaign. This time, the 2021 AL Cy Young winner is hoping the injury will not mark the end of his season. The 32-year-old will go for an MRI tomorrow, reports . Having never dealt with hamstring injuries in the past, he was unable to offer much insight into his timeline. Still, he expre sed optimism that he wouldnt be out for too long. According to , Ray described the injury as minor Jakub Skarek Jersey and suggested he left the game before it became anything significant. The southpaw has tried to push through injuries in the past and did not want to make the same mistake this time around. While Ray himself said its too early to know if hell require a trip to the injured list (per ), manager Bob Melvin implied that Ray could mi s time even if the i sue turns out to be mild. Those things dont typically take a couple of days [to heal], the skipper explained. Ray has made seven starts for the Giants this year since coming off the injured list at the end of July. Including his outing this afternoon, he has pitched 30 2/3 innings with a 4.70 ERA and 3.52 SIERA. San Francisco is 4-3 in his starts. While he hasnt always looked his best, he will nonethele s be difficult for the Giants to replace. If Ray only needs to mi s a single start, Melvin could get by relying on bulk relievers like and to cover. Hjelle took over for Ray this afternoon and to sed 2 2/3 innings. He has thrown at least two frames in 16 of his 45 appearances this year; his longest outing was 3 1/3 against the Braves earlier this month. Bivens made one start earlier this year, and he has gone at least two innings in six of his 15 relief appearances. Meanwhile, if Ray winds up on the IL, the Giants could recall rookie right-hander , who made four appearances (three starts) for the big league club back in May. Unfortunately for Black, his first few MLB starts didnt exactly go according to plan; the 24-year-old gave up 14 runs in 14 1/3 innings during that brief cup of coffee. He also has a 4.59 ERA and 5.21 FIP in 20 starts this year at Triple-A. Nonethele s, Black is a live arm on the 40-man roster with experience starting in the majors. Right-hander is another option to fill in for Ray, but its unclear how many more rehab outings he needs before hes ready to return to the Giants; the 28-year-old has been on the 60-day IL all season after undergoing surgery to remove an aneurysm from his arm. Whats more, Beck has limited experience starting at the MLB level, and he has given up 13 runs (11 earned) over 10 2/3 rehab innings at Triple-A. All this to say, its critical for the Giants that Ray gets back on the mound as quickly as po sible. Sitting five games back in the NL Wild Card race, their postseason hopes are already dwindling. Losing Ray for a prolonged period could be the final nail in their proverbial coffin. Tyce Thompson Jersey