Walker picked up a blown save in Friday's 5-4 extra-inning win over Atlanta, allowing two earned runs on three hits -- including one home run -- while striking out one over 1.1 innings.
Walker struck out the lone batter he faced in the sixth inning. However, he struggled in the seventh, surrendering a single and a two-run homer to the first two batters he faced. The right-hander threw 18 of his 27 pitches for strikes, marking his highest pitch count this season. Walker has appeared in five games since being removed from the closer role, during which he has been charged with three runs (two earned) on five hits while striking out two across 3.2 innings.
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Giants' Ryan Walker: Picks up loss Monday
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Walker (1-3) was tagged with the loss in Monday's 1-0 extra-inning defeat to the Padres, allowing one unearned run over one inning.
Walker induced three straight outs in the 10th, but a sacrifice bunt and subsequent sacrifice fly brought home the automatic runner. The right-hander threw six of his seven pitches for strikes while taking his third loss of the season, as the Giants' offensive struggles continued. Walker was removed from the closer role Wednesday and now owns a 4.50 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and a 20:7 K:BB across 22.0 innings in 25 appearances. He has also recorded 10 saves, three holds and two blown saves.
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Giants' Ryan Walker: Demoted from closer role
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Manager Bob Melvin announced after Wednesday's loss to the Tigers that Walker is being demoted from the closer role in favor of Camilo Doval, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Walker pitched a scoreless eighth inning during Wednesday's 4-3 defeat and has converted his past three save chances, but he'll now be dropped from the closer committee after opening the campaign with a solo grip on the job. The right-hander has gone 10-for-12 in save opportunities, but his 4.95 ERA and 1.30 WHIP are a far cry from the 1.91 ERA he posted in 2024. Doval, who has recorded 97 saves since debuting for San Francisco in 2021, has rebounded from a down year in 2024 with a 1.16 ERA, 0.73 WHIP and 20:8 K:BB across 23.1 innings this season.
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Giants' Ryan Walker: Secures ninth save
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Walker pitched a perfect inning to earn the save in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Royals.
Walker has recorded the Giants' last two saves, so he's currently doing a decent job of fending off Camilo Doval's challenge for the closer role. Walker has also pitched four consecutive scoreless and hitless innings, though he has a 1:2 K:BB in that span. The right-hander is at a 5.00 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 16:7 K:BB with nine saves in 11 chances over 18 innings this season.
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Giants' Ryan Walker: Earns save Sunday
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Walker struck out one in a perfect inning to earn the save in Sunday's 3-2 win over the Athletics.
This was Walker's third consecutive scoreless inning since his blown save versus the Twins on May 11. The right-hander got through his outing Sunday on a tidy seven pitches (six strikes) to earn his eighth save in 10 chances this season. Walker also has a hold, but he's been less dominant in 2025 than he was in 2024, posting a 5.29 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 16:7 K:BB over his first 17 innings this year. Walker's unsteady pitching has almost all been since April 20, which has opened the door for Camilo Doval to rejoin the closer conversation for the Giants, which has the ninth inning looking like a two-man committee for now.
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Giants' Ryan Walker: Grabs sixth save
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Walker earned the save in Saturday's 6-3 win over the Rockies, striking out one batter in a perfect ninth inning.
With Camilo Doval being deployed in the seventh inning, Walker was brought in for the ninth to preserve the Giants' three-run lead. Walker forced the first two batters to ground out and came away with the save after retiring Adael Amador on a seven-pitch strikeout. It was Walker's first save since April 19 as he and Camilo Doval have formed a closer committee after Walker initially opened the campaign as the clear No. 1 option.
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Giants' Ryan Walker: Secures save No. 5
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Walker gave up a hit in a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save in Saturday's 3-2 win over the Angels. He did not strike out or walk a batter.
The right-hander allowed the tying run to reach on a one-out single by Jorge Soler and fell behind the next batter 3-0, but Walker escaped with his seventh consecutive scoreless appearance. He's converted all five of his save chances this year, and the only run Walker has allowed all season came Opening Day in Cincinnati.
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Giants' Ryan Walker: Earns fourth save
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Walker earned the save in Sunday's 5-4 win over the Yankees, striking out one in a perfect ninth inning.
Walker was called upon to protect a 5-4 lead in the ninth inning and delivered a clean inning to record his fourth save in as many chances. The 29-year-old has been rock-solid to open the season, posting a 1.29 ERA, 0.57 WHIP and 6:1 K:BB across seven innings.
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Giants' Ryan Walker: Works clean ninth inning for save
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Walker earned the save after throwing a clean ninth inning during Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Astros.
Walker made quick work of Houston's lineup to secure his second save of the season, tossing nine of his 13 pitches for strikes to retire the big bats of Isaac Paredes, Yordan Alvarez and Christian Walker in order. The 29-year-old right-hander seized San Francisco's closing gig in the middle of last season due Camilo Doval's struggles in 2024, and Walker has converted each of his first two save opportunities to open 2025.
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Giants' Ryan Walker: Works ninth in Monday's win
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Walker walked one and struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning during Monday's 7-2 win over the Astros.
It wasn't a save situation, but it was still reassuring to see Walker on the mound after back tightness had him shut down over the weekend. Camilo Doval picked up a save Sunday in his absence, but Walker should get the bulk of the ninth-inning work for the Giants after a breakout 2024 campaign that saw him post a 1.91 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 99:18 K:BB over 80 innings.
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Giants' Ryan Walker: Earns Opening Day save
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Walker earned the save in Thursday's 6-4 win over the Reds, allowing a run on one hit in the ninth inning.
Walker recorded the first two outs in the ninth before hitting Jacob Hurtubise with a pitch, who then came around to score on a TJ Friedl single. However, Walker would rebound and record the final out to close out the Giants' Opening Day victory. The 29-year-old Walker is coming off an impressive 2024 campaign, during which he posted a 1.91 ERA and 0.85 WHIP across 80 innings. He logged 10 saves after taking over the closer job late in the year and should have pretty good job security to begin 2025.
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Giants' Ryan Walker: Named closer
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Manager Bob Melvin said Wednesday that Walker will open the season as the Giants' closer, Justice delos Santos of The San Jose Mercury News reports.
After Camilo Doval endured a string of poor performances following the All-Star break and was removed from the closer's role in early August, Walker took over as the Giants' primary closer to finish out the 2024 campaign. In addition to providing sterling ratios (1.91 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 99:18 K:BB over 80 innings) in his high-leverage relief role, Walker collected 10 wins, 10 saves and 21 holds. With the Giants opting not to make any major additions to the bullpen over the offseason, Walker looks like he'll get the chance to close on a full-time basis for the first time in his career. He'll be in position for fewer wins in the ninth-inning role, but if health prevails and he continues to perform at the level he did in 2024, Walker could finish among the league leaders in saves.
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Giants' Ryan Walker: Earns 10th save
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Walker pitched a perfect inning and earned the save in Monday's 6-3 win over the Diamondbacks.
Walker has rebounded with a pair of saves since he took a walk-off loss versus the Orioles last Thursday. The right-hander is up to 10 saves this year, which is impressive considering he took over the closing job in mid-August and the Giants haven't exactly been a dominant team. He's added 22 holds with a 1.94 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 99:17 K:BB across 79 innings in his second major-league campaign.
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Giants' Ryan Walker: Falters in non-save situation
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Walker (9-4) allowed two runs on two hits and struck out two over two-thirds of an inning to take the loss Thursday versus the Orioles.
Walker allowed multiple runs for the first time since July 9 as he gave up a walk-off, two-run home run to Anthony Santander in the ninth inning. The Giants' closer had not given up an earned run over his previous 20.2 innings, and he entered Thursday on a 12-inning scoreless streak. He avoided a blown save since this misstep came in a tie game. Walker has eight saves, four blown saves and 22 holds with a 1.99 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and a 98:17 K:BB through 77 innings this season.
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Giants' Ryan Walker: Perfect for eighth save
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Walker picked up the save Wednesday against Baltimore, striking out one batter during a perfect ninth inning.
Walker has converted on eight consecutive saves and hasn't allowed an earned run in 20.2 innings. During that stretch, he's allowed eight hits and has fanned 31 batters. On the year, Walker boasts a 1.77 ERA.
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Giants' Ryan Walker: Secures another save Sunday
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Walker got the save over the Padres again Sunday, completing five outs while not allowing any baserunners.
Walker entered in the eighth with one out after Camilo Doval coughed up a two-run homer to make it a 7-6 game and then walked a batter to bring the leading run up to the plate for the Padres. Walker was able to get out of the inning and then pitched a perfect ninth to lock up the win for the Giants. Walker's now converted seven consecutive save chances and owns a sparkling 1.82 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 95:16 K:BB in 74.1 innings this season.
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Giants' Ryan Walker: Picks up sixth save
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Walker picked up the save over the Padres on Saturday, allowing one hit over a scoreless ninth inning.
Walker took the mound with a three-run lead in the bottom of the ninth and surrendered a leadoff double to Fernando Tatis on the first pitch before retiring the next three batters in order to end the game and secure his sixth save of the campaign. The right-handed reliever has converted each of his six save opportunities this season and still hasn't allowed an earned run since July 27 against Colorado. Since the start of August, he's gone 2-0 with six saves while posting a 29:3 K:BB over 16 innings.
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Giants' Ryan Walker: Locks down fifth save
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Walker struck out two in a perfect inning to earn the save in Friday's 3-1 win over the Marlins.
Walker has allowed just one unearned run on seven hits and two walks over his last 14.2 innings, striking out 27 in that span. He's picked up all five of his saves this year over his last eight appearances, and it doesn't look like Walker will be letting go of the closer role any time soon. He's now at a 1.92 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 92:15 K:BB through 70.1 innings this season. Walker's 67 appearances have him tied for second in the majors with Houston's Bryan Abreu and trailing only his Giants teammate Tyler Rogers (68), who earned the win Friday.
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Giants' Ryan Walker: Secures fourth save
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Walker allowed a hit and struck out one over a scoreless inning to earn the save in Tuesday's 5-4 win over the Brewers.
Walker gave up just a two-out single while protecting a one-run lead. He's continued his dominance in August, allowing one unearned run while posting a 24:2 K:BB over 12.2 innings this month. He's also earned all four of his saves in that span. Walker still looks to be the Giants' closer even with Camilo Doval back from a brief stint at Triple-A Sacramento. Walker has easily been the Giants' best reliever this year with a 1.95 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 90:15 K:BB over 69.1 innings.
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Giants' Ryan Walker: Picks up win Sunday
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Walker (8-3) got the win over the Athletics on Sunday, allowing an unearned run on two hits and a walk while striking out five over two innings.
Walker entered in the bottom of the ninth looking to send the game to extras with the score tied 1-1. He successfully did so and then came back out for the bottom of the 10th with a 4-1 lead after the Giants tacked on three. Walker found himself in a jam with the bases loaded and nobody out and struck out three batters in a row to seal the deal. He's now put together eight straight outings without giving up an earned run and has piled up three holds, a win and a save while posting a 14:2 K:BB over that span. For the year, Walker owns an impressive 2.10 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 79:15 K:BB in 64.1 innings.
