Ryan

Walker

How the mighty have fallen. The 30-year-old right-hander opened the season as the Giants’ closer, but he has registered a miserable 6.46 ERA, 1.89 WHIP and a 14/10 K/BB ratio over 15 1/3 innings in his first 16 appearances. He’ll try to work through his issues at the Triple-A level for the time being. Even in the deepest of leagues, it’s safe for fantasy managers to cut bait here.

Walker allowed three hits and walked one after coming on during the fifth inning. Those who picked up Caleb Killian or Keaton Winn still aren’t assured much of anything, but that Walker was used so early and fared poorly tonight bodes well for the Giants’ alternatives in the ninth.

Xander Bogaerts hit a two-run homer off him. It’s the fourth straight appearance in which Walker has been scored upon, and his hold on the closer’s role in San Francisco is probably completely gone at this point. That’s good news for Caleb Kilian and Keaton Winn, but with the situation still unsettled and Erik Miller rejoining the mix pretty soon, it’s a tough situation to speculate on in shallow leagues. Kilian might be the best bet. Winn, for what it’s worth, retired two of the three batters he faced after coming into a tie game in the seventh today and was dinged with a run after leaving.

Walker was summoned in the eighth inning with a one-run lead to face the heart of the Rays’ order. He put runners on the corners with no outs on a walk and a single, then blew the lead on a game-tying sacrifice bunt before getting out of the inning. He’d get charged with his second blown save this week as the Giants struggle to find consistency in the late innings. It might be time to start speculating on Keaton Winn and Erik Miller, though it’s unlikely manager Tony Vitello settles on one reliever in the ninth inning.

Walker gave up a leadoff walk to Adolis García and a game-tying triple down the right-field line to Bryson Stott. A comebacker from Edmundo Sosa was the second out, but Justin Crawford was able to leg out a walkoff groundball single on a ball deep into the hole. Walker, carrying a 1.50 WHIP and 4.26 ERA, had looked to have finally made inroads on the Giants closer role after back-to-back saves on April 21 and April 22. But he’s just not pitching well enough to say he has it for sure right now.

Walker issued a walk, but didn’t allow a hit while procuring his third save of the 2026 season. The scoreless inning lowers his ERA to 3.27 on the campaign, and he’s allowed just two runs in his 8 2/3 innings of work in April.

Walker was summoned to close out the game against the Dodgers with a two-run lead in the ninth. He pitched a perfect frame, striking out two batters in what was his best outing of the season for his second save. Walker’s usage so far this season suggests he won’t necessarily get every save chance, but he’s still the favorite to lead the team as long as he can get the job done.

Ryan Walker got the save chance in the ninth with the Giants up by one run and surrendered the lead on a pair of hits before going to extras. He got one more inning and held the Nationals scoreless in the tenth. Kilian worked the 11th and fell in line for the win with a shutout 12th after the Giants took the lead. It was a rare traditional save opportunity blown by Walker, who holds a 4.00 ERA over nine innings. Kilian has been outstanding, giving up one run with 14 strikeouts over 10 frames. It’s difficult to gauge how this situation will play out, but expect more mixing and matching between Walker and Kilian, with Erik Miller and Keaton Winn also in the mix.

He did not pitch a scoreless ninth inning -- that was, for some reason, Erik Miller’s road to hoe. Walker has not started a ninth inning in a single game this month, and this feels very much like a closer-by-committee while Walker is used as a true fireman. It’s a disappointing result so far for fantasy managers, as Walker has allowed just three earned runs in seven innings and has only one save to show for it. Walker-reliant managers with clearer save options on the waiver wire have to at least consider a move at this point.

Walker’s last appearance, in which he pitched the sixth inning, raised some questions surrounding his role. He got the call once again in a high-leverage spot, with two runners on and two outs in the seventh with a four-run lead. Walker recorded the final out in the frame, then stranded two runners in a scoreless eighth. The Giants would tack on two more runs in the top of the ninth before Keaton Winn entered to close it out in a non-save situation. It appears this may be more of a committee situation than initially anticipated, with Winn possibly in the mix for saves.