SAN FRANCISCO – Logan Webb did what Aces are speculated to do on Wednesday.
After the Giants lost the primary two games of their home series against the Dodgers – in front of a not-so-partisan crowd at Oracle Park – Webb said his team was “embarrassed.” This made Wednesday's contest a must-win game.
And Webb delivered, pitching six shutout innings within the Giants' 4-1 win, despite a 31-pitch first frame that led manager Bob Melvin to query whether he would even make it into the second half.
The Giants were perhaps 1.5 games out of the ultimate Wild Card spot within the National League as of Thursday morning, however the deciding factor was that that they had not beaten either of the league's top two teams (the Dodgers and Phillies) within the nine games leading as much as Wednesday had the season up to now.
Add to that the team's absurd string of injuries and a sub-.500 overall record, and you might have a team that had lost every ounce of preseason optimism and needed to put up with months of sustained mediocrity and malaise – from fans – and within the clubhouse – that's a part of it.
But for one night, the swing was actually pretty much as good because the day's starting pitcher.
“Giving us six shutout innings — that’s probably his best work of the year,” Melvin said.
No, one win out of ten doesn't change much, nevertheless it was definitely nice to see the team's only standout player – Webb – giving the team exactly what it needed and for his teammates – a lot of whom are only starting out joined the massive league team – support him.
Webb was caught by Curt Casali on Wednesday. The catcher isn’t any stranger to Webb or the Giants, however the day before he was literally in a special organization — and a totally different league. Casali scored two goals for the Iowa Cubs on Tuesday in Syracuse, opted out of his minor league contract with that organization and signed an enormous league contract with the Giants on Wednesday, taking a cross-country flight and becoming the ace of San Francisco caught in 24 hours.
Given the recent development of the Giants roster, this all seemed pretty normal.
Against a Dodgers team whose top five hitters were all expected to be All-Stars this season, the Giants began Wednesday with five players who weren't on that team's roster when the calendar flipped to May.
While an injection of youth could be just what this organization needs to construct a brighter future – on Wednesday, Luis Matos belted a house run and had two hits, including an RBI single; Heliot Ramos added an RBI double – not a perfect situation when playing against the Dodgers.
Luckily that they had Webb on the mound.
Webb isn't a traditional ace. He's not an enormous strikeout guy who knocks batters out at 100 miles per hour. He plays to a defense. He can throw 110 pitches in a single outing, or, as Melvin said after Wednesday's game, much more.
He can also be the one player on this roster with a guaranteed contract for the 2028 season, making him the inspiration of this team.
And he was in a position to handle the burden of the moment — yes, even mid-May — and the chaos of Wednesday's roster.
What's much more impressive is how he did it.
The Dodgers were working on April 2, the last time Webb faced them.
Los Angeles had a selected game plan for the Giants' ace on this game – they sat on his best and most regularly thrown pitch, his changeup.
Webb could hit the zone with as many sinkers as he wanted, the Dodgers' elite hitters would foul them until he threw the changeup. And when the pitch was thrown deep, the Dodgers would let it fall out for a ball, forcing Webb to place it within the zone where — for all its movement — it will get crushed.
So Webb didn't make the change on Wednesday. He only used the sphere 15 times.
It was a refreshing approach in a league where there are numerous pitchers who just throw their best “stuff” regardless of what, and never numerous pitchers who’ve any skill to their game.
Webb was hardly dominant on Wednesday, but the top justifies the means.
“Let them adjust,” Webb said. “This might be the hardest lineup in baseball – [they] made me work…It's no secret that I sort of struggled against those guys.”
“Find a way to get through five or six — that was my thought process… Get this trip through.”
On a team where roster churn is something of an organizational philosophy – one that's currently being severely tested – Webb became the de facto leader when he signed his five-year contract before last season.
But he took on the role and quickly grew into it. There is no longer any doubt about his leadership ability.
Sure, he can rally the troops with his voice, but what's more important is what he does on the field. And on Wednesday, against the best team in baseball — a team that overwhelmed him last time — and in a must-win game with a bunch of virtual strangers around him, he found a way to win. That is leadership.
Was it pretty? No. Webb only had five swings and missed the entire game.
Is it important?
Also no.
He could get through it.
The remainder of this Giants roster must follow suit and rack up more wins than losses over the subsequent month or so.
While that's a bleak outlook, that's all this team has right away.
Maybe the proper identity is to be the darkest bunch of ne'er-do-wells within the National League West – the team that everybody hates because their only goal is to attain yet one more run by any means needed than the opposite team, the 2024 Giants. Give up any ego, play along a bit and convey an unattractive but successful product to market.
Heaven knows, whatever their mantra was for the beginning of the season, it didn't work anyway.
If you do that long enough, possibly the bevy of injured players can come back and help this team win in style.
Or the Giants can stay on the dirt road until the top of the season. This team has the defense and bullpen to back it up.
But lower than two months into the season, the Giants are ready where pragmatism is required. You need to stick to whatever works.
Webb can have shown the Giants the best way on Wednesday.
Let's see if this team – a totally different version from the version that began the season – can follow the leaders.
image credit : www.mercurynews.com