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SF Giants closer looks to be back on track after stretch of struggles

ByNick San Miguel|
May 18, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Ryan Walker (74) and San Francisco Giants catcher Patrick Bailey (14) celebrate their victory against the Oakland Athletics at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images
May 18, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Ryan Walker (74) and San Francisco Giants catcher Patrick Bailey (14) celebrate their victory against the Oakland Athletics at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images | Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images

The SF Giants have been fortunate to get great production out of their bullpen so far this season. Their closer Ryan Walker went through a rough patch earlier this year, but it seems as if he has righted the ship and is back on track.

The Giants currently have the best team bullpen ERA in all of MLB at 2.66. That is a huge reason why the team has gotten off to a strong start. Despite this, they nearly had a closer controversy recently due to Walker's struggles.

SF Giants closer Ryan Walker appears to be back on track

Beginning with a blown save against the Los Angeles Angels on April 20th, Walker had a rough few weeks where he blew, or nearly blew, several saves. He did not look like the same Walker we saw last season who had incredible command of both his sinker and slider.

Yet, in his last four outings Walker has not allowed a single earned run and has not even allowed a hit. His mechanics look much crisper and he appears to be much more confident on the mound.

Manager Bob Melvin deserves credit for sticking with Walker throughout his struggles. It would have been easy to publicly declare that Camilo Doval would reclaim his role as the closer with how well he has been throwing the ball lately, but a move like that could have damaged Walker's confidence.

Now, it seems like the Giants have the bullpen configuration they were counting on coming into the season with a confident Doval pitching the seventh inning, a confident Tyler Rogers pitching the eighth, and a confident Walker pitching the ninth.

Bullpens are a fickle thing so this may not last, but at least for now the Giants should feel good about where things stand with their bullpen. We know that the Giants play a lot of close games so they need their bullpen to be elite so they can close out as many of those tight games as they can.

The bullpen has been strong up and down the board with Randy Rodriguez and Erik Miller contributing in a big way. Melvin has to feel like he is spoiled with all of the great options in the bullpen right now which is a great feeling for a manager to have.

Having Walker back on track makes everything in the bullpen feel more settled. Even though his 5.00 ERA sticks out a little like a sore thumb, if he can build upon how good he has looked in his last four outings then that ERA will certainly drop as he continues to pitch well.