PHOENIX — Robbie Ray made 68 starts at Chase Field during his tenure with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and yet, his first complete game in downtown Phoenix came during his first outing as a visitor on Thursday night.

Ray took the mound at Chase Field for the first time since the Diamondbacks traded him in 2020, and the southpaw dominated in a 7-2 win for his San Francisco Giants.

Ray needed 102 pitches to deliver his second career complete game, giving up two runs on three hits. San Francisco secured a four-game series split after Arizona won the first two games and forced extra innings on Wednesday.

“First start back, too, so that’s maybe just a little added incentive on there,” Ray told reporters postgame.

The Diamondbacks faced Ray for the first time at Oracle Park in May, scoring three runs in the first inning followed by five shutout frames. The Giants won that game, and they are now 14-4 when Ray starts this season.

Ray threw four perfect innings to start Thursday’s game, during which time his offense built a 4-0 lead against D-backs starter Brandon Pfaadt.

Eugenio Suarez ended Ray’s early no-hitter with a solo shot in the fifth inning, his 27th home run of the year. Ray retired the next seven hitters.

Ketel Marte hit a solo shot in the ninth inning off his former teammate, his 19th of the year.

“ I think he is a better pitcher now,” Marte said of Ray. “He is not afraid to throw strikes, he’s got nasty stuff.”

Ray pitched for the Diamondbacks from 2015-20, earning an All-Star Game selection in 2017 as the Diamondbacks marched to the postseason. He threw his first career complete game that season, as well, blanking the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.

“ I’ve seen Robbie do some amazing things,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “I’m a big fan of his, except for every time he throws against us. We gotta figure out a way to beat him. Good teams can beat that type of pitcher.”

Arizona traded Ray during the 60-game 2020 campaign to the Toronto Blue Jays, and he won the AL Cy Young award the following season. Ray made a stop in Seattle before landing with San Francisco in a trade ahead of the 2024 campaign, after he underwent Tommy John surgery.

He finished Thursday’s game with one walk and seven strikeouts, as his ERA dropped to 2.68.

“Full year of being healthy, I think that’s the biggest thing that’s allowed me to do what I’ve been able to do this year,” Ray said. “I always knew it was in there, just it takes time after surgery.”

Brandon Pfaadt’s up-and-down performance

Pfaadt, meanwhile, had trouble early, as he walked back-to-back batters with one out in the first inning. They both came home to score, starting with a Heliot Ramos double and followed by a Jung Hoo Lee sacrifice fly.

After a breezy 1-2-3 second inning, Pfaadt allowed an RBI double to Willy Adames in the third, and he scored on a single by Ramos.

The top five hitters in San Francisco’s batting order went 6-for-12 with two walks against Pfaadt, while the bottom four finished 0-for-10 with seven strikeouts.

Pfaadt completed six innings for the first time since May 19, but with four earned runs charged, he has not thrown a quality start in his last eight games.

“ I think I felt good overall,” Pfaadt said. “I think the problem has been that first inning, and I think that’s pretty important for our team in general. We know the potent offense we have, and the ability to go out there and be efficient in the first inning is huge.”

The Giants tacked on against relievers John Curtiss and Kevin Ginkel, as they out-hit the Diamondbacks 12-3.

With the loss, Arizona dropped below .500 again at 43-44. They are 3.5 games back of a playoff spot.

“We had a chance to win the series and we didn’t, so we gotta reload tomorrow,” Lovullo said.

Diamondbacks’ next game

The Diamondbacks begin a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals on Friday at 6:40 p.m. MST.

Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez will match up with Kansas City southpaw Kris Bubic in the opener.

Catch the game on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app.