MILWAUKEE – It was a frustrating night for a pitcher Tuesday at American Family Field.
The two starters, Logan Webb and Tobias Myers, have been nearly as good as they may be over the past few weeks, but each were out of the sport in the underside of the sixth inning because the Giants and Brewers traded home runs in the primary inning of their three-game series.
Mike Yastrzemski's two-run blast into right field within the seventh inning was the Giants' (67-66) third home run of the night – the fifth overall by either side – and it proved crucial in a much-needed 5-4 victory to maintain pace with the Braves (72-60), who maintained their 5 1/2 game lead for the ultimate wild card.
For San Francisco, it was the fourth straight one-point game after losing two of three such games against the Mariners over the weekend.
“They all have their own personalities, but we were very conscious that every night felt like that,” manager Bob Melvin said. “… I don't want to say you become immune to them, but you certainly get used to the intensity of every inning, every pitch, and the fact that you can't let up. If you allow a run, you have to come back and do it again.”
“We've kind of developed that in this phase, but it would still be nice to have a game where we don't have to use our best relievers every game.”
Once again, it was Ryan Walker and Tyler Rogers who did the work in the ultimate two innings, however the Giants still needed more from their bullpen. They used 4 relievers behind Webb, who only lasted two batters into the sixth inning after not one of the Giants' three starters made it past the fourth during their weekend series in Seattle.
Webb removed his cap and wiped his brow after his 14th pitch to William Contreras in the primary inning landed in foul territory, just out of reach of first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr., getting the Brewers' designated hitter on base along with his fifteenth pitch of the batting appearance. Those 15 pitches were essentially the most Webb has thrown in a batting appearance in his entire profession. He screamed a curse into his glove that may very well be heard throughout the stadium when he finally returned to the dugout after sinking 33 pitches for his first three outs of the night.
The Giants' workhorse at the highest of their rotation understood the circumstances and his frustration grew with each putaway pitch that didn't produce the specified result.
“I wanted to give them as much as I could, but unfortunately I put myself in a dead end in the first inning,” said Webb, who allowed 4 runs on two home runs in five innings. “Long at-bats and a long inning. I thought I could get through six innings, but I wasn't very good in the sixth inning.”
Perhaps much more frustrating than losing a batter on the fifteenth pitch is denying a runner a main scoring position. The Giants took a 1-0 lead within the third inning, though Myers entered the sport with the bottom ERA in the main leagues since June 1, but allowed three runs for under the second time in that span.
After Grant McCray hit a single and stole second base, Myers was called for a balk when his shoe got stuck during his throw. This allowed McCray to attain on a groundout from Wade. San Francisco scored two more runs against Myers on solo hits from McCray and Matt Chapman.
“It's funny,” McCray said with a serious expression. “On the way to the third, I was laughing and thinking, 'I got you.'”
McCray got him even higher within the fifth inning, sending a 422-footer halfway up the second deck in right field, a swing that immediately followed a diving catch by center fielder Blake Perkins that robbed Thairo Estrada of a lead-off home run. Instead, it was the Giants' rookie center fielder who gave them a temporary 3-2 lead within the fifth inning.
The Giants asked for a crew chief review to find out if Perkins had pushed Estrada's ball against the wall on the opposite side of the outfield fence, however the out was upheld.
“I honestly felt like they should have given him the home run,” McCray said. “When he came back, I thought, 'I've got your back, daddy, I've got your back, don't worry.'”
The Giants needed a 3rd home run to take the lead for good, and Yastrzemski hit their final home run of the night. After falling behind 2-0 within the seventh inning against reliever Joel Payamps, Yastrzemski dropped two offspeed passes outside the strike zone after which hit a 2-2 fastball into the right-field seats for a two-run shot that turned a one-run deficit right into a one-run lead.
“When you have a lead in the game, you have to keep it. That's the job of the starting pitcher,” said Webb. “I didn't manage to do that today, but the guys had my back.”
Webb faced two batters within the sixth inning but didn't surrender either. He left the sport after hitting his second home run to offer the Brewers a 4-3 lead. It was Webb's shortest start since July 25 in Los Angeles, which was also the last time he allowed greater than three runs. Webb had a 0.96 ERA in five starts since then, the very best in the main leagues during that span, and had scored no less than seven runs in 4 of those games.
His home run-less streak stretched even further back to July 20, a league-leading 43 1/3 inning streak into the night, but he served up a pair of gigantic hits to Jackson Chourio and Willy Adames. Webb entered the sport with one among the bottom home run rates in the main leagues — his 0.36 HR/9 was the very best home run rate in baseball entering the sport — and had not allowed multiple home runs in any of his starts this season.
Chourio, the Brewers' rookie outfielder, ripped up a piece of the center-field scoreboard along with his 449-foot moonshot that gave them a 2-1 lead within the third inning. Adames had an excellent higher handle on his two-run shot within the fifth inning — at 110.8 mph to Chourio's 109.7 mph — and tossed his bat as he watched the ball fly an estimated 435 feet over the Brewers' bullpen in left-center field.
“His line gets out of whack when you allow four hits the whole time and two of them end up being two-run home runs,” Melvin said. “He pitched well.”
The Giants' bullpen, alternatively, answered its call of duty despite having to handle a heavy workload in three close, tense games over the weekend.
Rogers needed to get the ultimate out within the seventh inning, then hit a leadoff single within the scoreless eighth. Walker was also willing to pitch multiple innings if needed, warming up within the eighth and coming back within the ninth to get a three-out save, his fourth of the season.
Both relievers are already at the highest of the league when it comes to appearances, having appeared in two of their three games in Seattle, with Walker appearing in two innings on Friday.
“It's not like we haven't played these games every day,” Melvin said. “It's uncomfortable to have to put guys in for an inning or more, especially guys who are at the top of the league in terms of appearances, but when it comes to a situation like this … look, they've been so good. We feel good when they're in the game and we have a lead. It usually works out for us.”
Remarkable
The Giants were one among three teams to draft Myers in 2022 before he was traded to the Brewers, where he was one among the majors' only starters within the second half. During his three-week stint with the Sacramento River Cats, his path crossed with Heliot Ramos and Sean Hjelle.
Webb's 15-pitch battle with Contreras in the primary inning was one among the longest of the season. The Twins' Manuel Margot accomplished a 16-pitch batting appearance against the Rangers' Andrew Heaney on August 16 that surpassed Nick Castellanos' 15-pitch batting appearance on August 4 for the longest of the season.
Next
LHP Kyle Harrison (7-5, 4.00) takes the ball against RHP Freddy Peralta (8-7, 3.86) within the second game of the series. Since Harrison has had a number of off days recently and had already reached a career-high innings (117), the Giants decided to offer the 23-year-old rookie nine days rest between starts. First pitch is scheduled for five:10 p.m. PT.
Originally published:
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