Giants Falter Again Despite Solid Pitching from Logan Webb

MIAMI — The Giants faced an uphill battle this series, but they were hopeful with ace Logan Webb on the mound Sunday.

The situation seemed to tilt in their favor, especially since the Marlins were gearing up to pitch Ryan Gusto, a 27-year-old from Santa Rosa sporting a 5.85 ERA over 32 major league appearances.

Webb delivered an impressive performance.

Unfortunately, the Giants’ batting lineup struggled to make an impact against Gusto.

Gusto managed to strike out six and allowed just one run in 4 1/3 innings, but it wasn’t enough, and Miami fell to San Francisco 2-1 after needing to lean on their bullpen.

This loss deepened the Marlins’ troubles, as the Giants’ record dropped to a disheartening 15 games below .500, equaling their season low of 28-43 from last weekend after a brief respite of three consecutive victories against the Cubs and Braves.

However, they faced another setback, with three losses following those wins.

Webb’s performance was commendable, making just a few slips in an otherwise stellar game. He kept the Marlins to five hits and two runs, completing eight innings, marking his third straight outing of that length.

There were likely two at-bats he wished he could redo, particularly against Kyle Stowers. The Marlins’ cleanup hitter managed to hit a sinker on the first pitch—while it didn’t go yard, it did give Miami a 1-0 lead in the second. In the next inning, he drew a walk with two outs, and a subsequent double by Otto Lopez increased the lead to 2-1.

In the third inning, the Giants responded with a double by Luis Arraez into the left-field corner followed by a single from Casey Schmidt, which put two runners in scoring position.

Bryce Eldridge walked and made it to third, but ultimately no runs materialized.

Post-fourth inning, the Giants had only managed four runners, but none could advance past first base. With closer Pete Fairbanks unavailable after two recent saves, the Marlins turned to Lake Bashar, who faced little adversity in the ninth.

Interestingly, the most notable moment for the Giants in that inning came from Rafael Devers, who was called in to pinch run after Jonah Cox got walked. Devers didn’t seem to have much luck shaking things up; he stormed back to the dugout, almost colliding with Jace Tingler on his way out.

What It Means

Webb allowed multiple runs for the first time in five starts since returning from bursitis in his right knee. Yet, he boasts a 1.02 ERA since returning on May 29, with only the Brewers’ Jacob Misiorowski, the MLB ERA leader, having a better mark.

Who Is Hot

Manager Tony Vitello adjusted Casey Schmidt’s position in the batting order for the final game, but Schmidt responded well, beginning a five-game streak of multi-hit games. Sunday saw him back in the third slot, where he added two singles, driving in Luis Arraez in the process, extending his multi-hit streak to six games.

This achievement marks the sixth occasion since 2000 where a Giants player has registered multiple hits in six straight games, the last instance being in 2013 with Marco Scutaro’s seven-game streak.

Who Is Not?

On the flip side, Matt Chapman has struggled to find his groove recently.

After showing some promise at the plate earlier this month, he’s appeared increasingly lost during this road trip, going hitless in 19 at-bats and striking out eight times in the last four games.

Before this slump, Chapman had hit .344 over his previous 26 games, raising his OPS to .762, the highest since early in the season, but this recent downturn has seen it drop to .716.

To the Next

The Giants will head back to San Francisco to commence a six-game homestand against the Athletics starting Tuesday. It’s uncertain how the fans will react, particularly as some plan protests against players who previously opposed the team’s LGBTQ Pride Night.

Tyler Mahle is set to make his first start since late May after recovering from a hamstring injury and will join Robbie Ray for the series opener on Tuesday.