Jed Jacobsohn/Associated Press
Jed Jacobsohn/Associated Press
Jed Jacobsohn/Associated Press
Logan Webb returned from the San Francisco Giants’ three-city road trip with a frustrating result hanging over him: with an offense unable to aid in run support, a career-high-tying 12 strikeouts and two runs allowed earned him a loss in Anaheim.
Wednesday night, Webb was similarly stellar but enjoyed a reversal of fortune. The Giants scored all their runs in the sixth inning of a 4-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers, securing at least a split of the four-game series.
Because the Brewers hit the changeup well, the gameplan called for Webb to go heavy on the sweeper and sinker combination. Of the 11 swings-and-misses Webb generated, six were off the sweeper as he struck out six over 6 ⅓ shutout innings. The outing was Webb’s second scoreless outing of the season, lowering his ERA to 1.98.
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“It was a decent chance to throw some sweepers,” Webb said. “I felt pretty good throwing that pitch. The only thing I haven’t done is throw it for strikes. That was kind of the emphasis on today, which was trusting throwing it in the zone. Patty (Patrick Bailey) has a lot to do with that. He keeps telling me to throw it and it ended up being a really good pitch for me today.”
Webb is mastering game-to-game adjustments and carving his place, again, among one of baseball’s most consistent workhorses. The Giants’ rotation is playing catch up to take some of the workload off the bullpen with Webb carrying a heavy load. His 36 1/3 innings not only lead the starters, but are the second-most in the majors, an inning behind Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler. His sub-2.00 ERA is is keeping afloat the rotation’s collective 4.28 ERA, which ranks 22nd in baseball.
Wednesday, Mike Yastrzemski aided Webb during one of the Brewers’ few threats. In the sixth inning, William Contreras, at first, put on the jets when Sal Frelick’s line drive to right field landed in front of Yastrzemski. Though Webb had collided with Brewers third base coach Jason Lane trying to get out of the way, he was oddly happy to see Contreras rounding second base for third.
“I was excited when I saw him going to third,” Webb said. “I was like, ‘You’re doing us a favor.’”
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As Webb suspected, Yastrzemski’s laser throw to Matt Chapman made it just in time for the tag and putout.
In the same inning, second baseman Christian Koss wrangled a sharp grounder from Rhys Hoskins, getting a throw to first in plenty of time for the third out. It was a complete turnaround from Tuesday night’s loss in which defensive mishaps aplenty spiraled into an eight-run loss.
“(That’s the defense) we need to play. Against teams like that that put a lot of pressure on you,” manager Bob Melvin said. “Yaz’s throw was huge and Koss made a big play up the middle, too. In close games at our ballpark — and we’ll play a lot of them — that’s the type of defense you need to win games.”
The top of the order made sure to get Webb his win just in time.
Willy Adames and Jung Hoo Lee led off the sixth against righty Freddy Peralta with back-to-back hits and Chapman loaded the bases with a walk to boot Peralta out of the game. Wilmer Flores dug out a breaking ball from Nick Mears up the middle to score a pair for his team-leading 26th and 27th RBIs.
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LaMonte Wade Jr. and Koss put the Brewers’ infield defense into uncomfortable twists. Both hit ground balls that resulted in errors to churn out two more runs.
There was drama in the ninth.
Ryan Walker, coming off a four-run blown save against the Angles, brought his struggles in Anaheim back with him. With a four-run lead in the ninth, Walker gave up a bases-loaded ground-rule double to Brice Turang and was replaced by Camilo Doval with one out in the inning and the tying run at second base. Doval induced a strikeout and groundout to preserve the win and notch his fourth save.
Walker had compiled seven straight scoreless outings, but he’s slipped in his past two to up his ERA to 7.27. Doval, on the other hand, has had six consecutive scoreless outings.
“The key to not allowing runs is to trust my stuff,” Doval said through interpreter Erwin Higueros. “I don’t think about the situation, I just think about how I’m going to go play catch with the catcher. I tell myself they gave me the ball because it’s a high leverage situation, so I’m going to go in and take care of it.”
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Though Walker is the named closer, Melvin didn’t rule out the idea of mixing and matching opportunities for him and Doval in save situations.
“We like them both,” Melvin said. “We’ll figure it out as we go along. It’s too early for me to say anything. Not talking to anybody, but we’re in a great position if we have two guys that can close games.”
