Familiar issue rears its ugly head even as SF Giants eke out a win against Padres

The SF Giants got their first win of the season on Monday night against the San Diego Padres. It was a pretty stress-free game for San Francisco until the ninth inning when Ryan Walker entered and tried to get the save.

Ultimately, Walker got the job done but it wasn't without some usual dramatics. He started off about the worst way you can with a three-run lead in the ninth by walking the first batter. He was able to get both Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado out which he deserves a lot of credit for, but then Jackson Merrill made it a one-run game with a two-run homer to make the score 3-2.

Walker did get Xander Bogaerts out to finish the game, but it was on a sinker left up in the zone that Bogaerts smashed right at shortstop Willy Adames to end things.

Ryan Walker still looks shaky in the ninth even as SF Giants win

It was a pretty typical Ryan Walker performance. He looked great at times like when he struck out Tatis and induced a weak ground ball from Machado, but the walk to start things was less than ideal and he hung a slider to Merrill which does not exactly give one confidence that he has figured things out against lefties who slashed .266/.333/.413 against him in 2025 while righties slashed .244/.319/.339 against him.

Perhaps more importantly, Walker struggled in the ninth inning again. He only converted 17 of his 24 save opportunities last season and had a 4.91 ERA in the ninth inning last year compared to a 1.69 ERA in the eighth inning. Part of that has to do with the fact that he made 12 appearances in the eighth and 40 in the ninth, but it still suggests he struggles closing the door.

Everyone knows Walker's stuff can be absolutely nasty when he's on. When he is locating his pitches where he wants them with that cross-fire delivery he can be nearly un-hittable especially against righties.

But when he gets out of wack and loses his command, things can get ugly really quick. He blew a number of games down the stretch last year and yet the Giants chose not to go and get a new closer in the offseason.

Walker is only three appearances into this new season so maybe he will settle in and recapture the form he showed in 2024, but if he continues to struggle in the ninth then the Giants may have no other choice than to go with a new closer. One guy is certainly proving he could be an elite late-inning arm and might take his place at some point.