Shortly before Matt Manning’s first pitch in Comerica Park, MLB released its 2023 schedules.
For the first time ever, all 30 teams will play one another. The Giants open their season in Yankee Stadium and will host interleague games against the Red Sox, Rays, Mariners, Orioles and Rangers, among others.
Until then, the Giants (61-62) have 39 more games to play in a season rapidly slipping away from them. With their 6-1 loss to the last-place Tigers, San Francisco falls back below .500.
San Francisco’s offense, bottom third in MLB in the major hitting categories since the All-Star break, stalled. The Giants put a leadoff man on in the third, fourth and fifth inning but had nothing to show for it. Twice they stranded a runner on third.
In total, the Giants scored one run on eight hits, leaving 10 on base by going 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position. They’re scoring a mediocre 3.56 runs per game in the second half.
The Giants stayed in it early on because Webb, after not recording a strikeout for the first start of his career his last turn, returned to form.
He fanned the second, third and fourth Tigers he faced. He struck out five in the first three innings, putting one baserunner on via walk.
Webb leaned on his changeup more than usual, throwing it 44% of the time and generating eight whiffs. The pitch allowed him to toss four no-hit innings.
The first Tigers hit came in the form of Jeimer Candelario’s slap-single with one out in the fifth. It traveled eight feet in the air and beat a shifted infield. With it, the game turned sideways.
Tucker Barnhart followed Candelario with a chopper over Wilmer Flores’ head and past Thairo Estrada’s glove in shallow right. That double had an expected batting average of .070.
A walk and three more singles drove Webb’s pitch count up to 32 in the inning and brought Gabe Kapler out of the dugout. Nothing was hit particularly hard, but Detroit kept finding grass. One single skipped over Brandon Crawford’s glove up the middle.
By the time Webb handed his manager the ball, the Tigers led 4-0. Thomas Szapucki allowed two more and though San Francisco eventually got on the board with a run, it was far too late. All six of Detroits runs came in that fifth frame.
The loss brings the Giants to 7-5 in the past two weeks — a soft pocket in the schedule that SF could have racked up wins against sub-.500 teams. The bullpen is either gassed, ineffective or both, with John Brebbia and Camilo Doval representing essentially the only reliable leverage options. Chronic knee issues have put first baseman Brandon Belt’s season potentially in jeopardy. A major talent infusion from Triple-A isn’t on the horizon.
It might not be too early to start circling dates on the 2023 schedule.