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Despite his 2023 success, Logan Webb was snubbed from Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game in Seattle. He showed all of baseball why he belonged on Sunday, as the Giants sealed the first half of the season with a 1-0 win over the Colorado Rockies at Oracle Park.
Webb (W, 8-7, 3.14 ERA) fired his first-career complete-game shutout, allowing seven hits and striking out ten Rockies.
He became the second Giants pitcher to throw a shutout this season, the other being righty Alex Cobb on April 23 against the Cardinals.
This story has been updated with quotes and post-game material from the Giants clubhouse at Oracle Park.
On the outing, Webb said the crowd of 36,050 played a huge part in getting him ready to pitch the ninth:
“That was like the playoffs. It was that loud after every strikeout, every out. Hopefully we get some more of those feelings in the playoffs.”
Giants manager Gabe Kapler said the decision to keep Webb in the game was “surprisingly difficult,” especially with All-Star closer Camilo Doval warming up in the bullpen:
“Obviously, he earned the opportunity – got a full house on their feet wanting to see him come come back out in the ninth, but you also have arguably the game’s best closer out there (Doval). … This is an entertaining game and Logan did just that today –– he entertained everybody with with a fantastic performance.”
Catcher Patrick Bailey was hoping Webb would recieve the chance to finish the game, too:
“I was hoping he was gonna get the chance. And I mean, he’s earned it. He’s eaten up so many innings and I wouldn’t even say he’s eating up innings – he’s dominated a lot of innings and really helped out our bullpen all year and has been amazing. And for him to get a complete game shutout is really cool.”
One key has been the right-hander’s changeup, which he threw 48% of the time – continuing his recent trend of using the pitch more. In his first four starts, opponents were hitting .344 with a .563 slugging percentage against the changeup. They’ve cooled off against it in his last 14 starts, with batters hitting 34-for-173 or .197.
Webb lowered his ERA to 3.14, the second-lowest in the National League for qualified starting pitchers not chosen to the midsummer classic. Only San Diego’s Blake Snell has a lower mark (2.85).
Webb has been the Giants ace and among the game’s top workhorses during the first half; he’s also served as much-needed stability in a San Francisco rotation mostly in shambles. The Giants have had to rely on just two or three traditional starters to navigate through each of the past few weeks, with an overwhelming dependence on bullpen games.
Through it all, Webb has remained a constant and he finishes the first half leading the big leagues in innings pitched. He has a certain milestone in mind:
“I really want to get to 200 innings. I came up with a lot of guys that were really good at doing that and I think that kind of old school part of them really rubbed off on me, and I just want to be able to say I could go 200 innings for the team and be able to come out every five days.”
Webb’s run support in the first half has been questionable, at best. In 28 starts since Aug. 13, 2023, he’s received two or fewer runs in 16 of them – not ideal for a starter atop a rotation.
J.D. Davis, another fellow All-Star Game snub, also proved his case with a fourth-inning blast to left-center off Rockies starter Kyle Freeland (L, 4-10, 4.72 ERA). The Giants third baseman is now 8-for-his-last-39 with two doubles, two runs batted in, a homer and 15 strikeouts since June 28.
Davis had the best case to represent Giants position players in Seattle. Entering Sunday, his .277 batting average stood as second-best among NL third baseman to St Louis’ Nolan Arenado, while his .351 OBP leads the pack. He’s also a key offensive contributor in numerous categories, including RBI. He’s second on the club with 11 homers.
Davis’ 421-feet shot – struck at an impressive 109.1 mph off the bat – was the sole run of the game for the struggling Giants offense. And though Freeland didn’t record a strikeout through six innings, he elicited weak contact to a Giants club that entered Sunday with a .619 OPS since June 22, the third-lowest in baseball.
Freeland exited in the seventh after attempting to dive for Brett Wisely’s bunt. The Colorado left-hander lay on the ground for several minutes, favoring his right shoulder that appeared to be dislocated. He was replaced by righty Justin Lawrence.
Up Next
The Giants are off for the All-Star Break until July 14 when they open the second half on the East Coast in Pittsburgh for a three-game series. The team has not yet announced their starting pitching probables for the second half.
Notes
2023 MLB Draft week is set to get underway on Sunday at 4 p.m. with the first 70 picks being televised on MLB Network, ESPN and ESPN+. The Giants will pick three times on the first night, holding selections No. 16, 52 and 69 – the latter is a compensation pick for Carlos Rodon signing with the New York Yankees during the offseason. … Left-handed pitching prospect Carson Whisenhunt fired a scoreless inning during Saturday’s Futures Game in Seattle. The 22-year-old – also the organization’s fourth-ranked prospect and No. 98 overall, according to MLB.com – struck out two and allowed one hit.
