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New York Times

Giants' Logan Webb not nearly sharp enough to stem rotation issues in loss to Mets

SAN FRANCISCO — Friday turned into a random San Francisco Giants alumni cameo night at the ballpark. Former pitchers Russ Ortiz, Tyler Walker and Jean Machi received screen time and an ovation between innings of the team's 8-1 loss to the New York Mets. The Giants might be tempted to give those guys a tube of menthol rub and an invitation to stay through the weekend. Advertisement Hours after the Giants placed their third-best starting pitcher, Landen Roupp, on the injured list, their near-term outlook to cover innings became even more problematic. Logan Webb, the red wheelbarrow in their rotation, suddenly has a squeaky wheel. He couldn't make it past the fourth inning while giving up six runs on eight hits. The 16 earned runs Webb has allowed beginning with a July 11 home loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers are the most he's allowed over any three-start span in his major-league career. Sure, the Giants could help their situation by trading for more pitching. Scoring more runs, as novel as that sounds, would make life easier. But no iteration of this roster works if Webb isn't churning innings and racking up quality starts. Maybe it's not fair to expect Webb to be a paragon of consistency. Even the best pitchers will have periods where their body drags, the hits fall or there's a lack of conviction in their pitch mix. Any good team should be able to withstand three radar blips against three division-leading opponents (Dodgers, Blue Jays, Mets) from their best pitcher. But here's the problem: the Giants haven't been good even on days when Webb has been at his best. Despite arguably the finest first half of his career, the Giants are just 11-11 with Webb on the mound. If they're not careful, it could become the statistic that defines the season. 'It's just a tough stretch for him,' Giants manager Bob Melvin said. 'It never comes up with him that he feels fatigued. He had an extra day before this start. I think it's just one of those stretches he's going through right now.' Webb's velocity did not take a noticeable dip Friday. He merely looks like a pitcher who isn't quite sure what pitches will be dialed in on a specific night. The cutter, a new pitch he sprinkled into the mix principally to make left-handed power hitters less comfortable, has all but disappeared. He threw five of them last week at Toronto and none Friday night. The four-seam fastball he's used as a kill pitch in two-strike counts hasn't worked as well, either. Webb's pitch had a whiff rate of 32.6 percent, but the Mets swung through it only once in five hacks Friday night; Francisco Lindor hit a 1-2 heater out of the ballpark. Advertisement Webb's sweeping slider hasn't been sharp all season. And no matter how good his changeup and sinking, two-seam fastball are, there's bound to be hard contact when an opposing lineup is hunting for them. The Mets took advantage of Webb on the basepaths, too, stealing three bases on three attempts. Entering the game, opponents had stolen just four bases against Webb all season. Webb surmised that Mets first base coach Antoan Richardson, who held that same position from 2020-23 with the Giants on then-manager Gabe Kapler's staff, might have picked up a tell. 'I could be doing something where he knows I'm going home,' Webb said. 'I know I've done something (like that) in the past.' There is probably no cause for alarm with Webb. He insisted that his league-high innings payload isn't beginning to weigh on him. The greater immediate concern is that Webb couldn't keep the relievers mostly buttoned up in their jackets. The Giants had to use four pitchers behind Webb, including Tristan Beck, who replaced Roupp on the roster Friday, for two innings. That's not ideal for a team down to three healthy full-time starters and will rely on a Johnny Wholestaff game to get through Sunday. They'll need a fresh complement to back up Kai-Wei Teng or whoever replaces Roupp in the rotation in the subsequent series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, too. The Giants have successfully pieced together their share of games in Melvin's two seasons. They essentially had 2 1/2 starting pitchers for all of May and June last season while using openers and bulk relievers, and somehow didn't crater from contention. They made it work largely because they had Webb going close to the distance every fifth day. It's unfair to expect Webb to be a seven-inning stalwart every time out. But this is what the Giants have required of him over the past three seasons. For all the pitching depth they expected to have when this season began, the requirements are no different. Advertisement 'We've got to put the team in a better spot. I've got to be better,' Webb added. 'It sucks losing Roupp. Honestly, he's probably throwing the best out of all of us right now. It sucks losing him, and I know he's upset about it, but we all just have to step up and be better than what I did today.' (Photo of Logan Webb: Sergio Estrada / Imagn Images)