After most starts, Logan Webb reminds, win or lose, that what he really cares about winning. It can be reductive, but if Webb is nothing else, he’s competitive.
In Webb’s 39 starts over the past two seasons, the Giants have won 30 games. On Tuesday, the Giants won in part because Webb threw a career-high 112 pitches in seven shutout innings. The righty convinced his manager to trust him and it paid off.
Webb’s arm will probably be a little sore when he wakes up Wednesday morning. That’s natural after firing 45 sliders, 37 changeups, 24 sinkers and six four-seamers in total. But the Giants, and Webb, got the win. A heavy arm after a win doesn’t need nearly as much ice.
“It was really cool,” Webb said. “To throw that many pitches — it’s kind of my job to do that,” he later added.
Pitchers have thrown at least 112 pitches just 13 times so far this season. General consensus has shifted toward the ideas that pitchers both get less effective as the order turns over multiple times and can risk fatigue or injury if overtaxed.
Webb’s previous career high was 107 pitches. He’d only eclipsed the century mark five times before Tuesday, two of which came in 2022.
But Webb was dealing on Tuesday. Although a few changeups went awry, the offspeed pitch generated 10 swing-and-misses. The pitch complemented his patented sinker-slider combination, leading to nine strikeouts.
Webb started the seventh inning at 94 pitches. Without a traditional starter healthy for the series finale Wednesday, the Giants were relying on him pitching deep into the game. He recorded a quick out then walked MJ Melendez and surrendered a single to Carlos Santana lined off Thairo Estrada’s glove in shallow right field.
That’s when Kapler strolled out to the mound. Even at 104 pitches, Kapler knew Webb gave SF the best chance at getting out of the inning. When Kapler retreated to the dugout without motioning to the bullpen, the Oracle Park crowd cheered.
“I just wanted to make sure he felt 100%,” Kapler said. “Obviously we had some help if he needed it. So I kind of wanted to see if he was all present and able to have a good conversation, which he was. He was very calm and under control. He also said that his body felt great.”
Webb has earned the trust of the Giants’ coaching staff. It’s not an unconditional trust — just two turns ago, Kapler removed the ace after 87 pitches in a move Webb disagreed with. But Webb realizes that over the course of a long season, he and his manager are going to be on the same page much more frequently than not.
Webb has earned the confidence of Kapler and the coaches. The 2021 National League Manager of the Year told Webb that he wanted him to get the next two batters. Webb assured him he could.
With the help of Luis González’s assist from right field, Webb came through on his promise. He struck out Kyle Isbel looking, then the right fielder cut down Melendez at home with a one-hopped throw. SF escaped the inning and kept Webb’s shutout intact through seven innings.
“He’s one of the few pitchers that we have, probably one of the few pitchers around baseball, that even as his pitch count rises — if he’s feeling really good and able to stay in his delivery and deliver strikes — you feel like he’s still the best option that you have,” Kapler said.
Kapler added that Webb’s preparation and training between starts allows him to maintain efficiency late in games. But if 112 pitches isn’t too many, what is? Webb doesn’t exactly think that way. There’s no specific number that scares him off.
And Webb’s still only 25-years-old. There’s plenty of life in his right arm. This was the right time to let it go. They pushed, but didn’t force it.
“I told (Kapler) afterwards, ‘Hey, I probably could’ve given you some more,’” Webb said. “But there’s a lot of season left, so it was probably smart to go back out there.”