This year, the Giants have blown a 4-0 lead to the Royals. They’ve blown an early 3-0 lead to the Dodgers in an eventual blowout loss. They blew a 6-1 lead in the second of consecutive 11-inning losses to the Tigers.
Add another blown lead to the list.
The Giants scored three quick runs for Logan Webb, who was cruising in his first start since signing a five-year, $90 contract extension. But San Francisco put up six straight scoreless frames and Miami cut into its lead.
In the seventh inning, as Webb’s pitch count crossed the century mark, Jorge Soler tagged a go-ahead home run, spoiling his start and knocking him out of the game.
Soler’s bomb proved the difference in a 4-3 Marlins victory, and worsened Webb’s record to 0-4 on the season. The Giants (5-10) have now dropped four straight games — and another in painful fashion.
Having contract negotiations bleed into the regular season could have been a built-in excuse for Webb, who started the year 0-3 with a 4.76 ERA. But the 26-year-old ace shrug that off.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say I was thinking too much about it,” Webb said. “There were obviously conversations, but they were all good conversations. I think we kept everything really smooth, so there’s probably a little bit, maybe thinking about it a little bit.”
Webb was supposed to make his first start after signing the deal on Sunday, but a five-hour delay that eventually became a postponement pushed his day to Monday against the Marlins.
The righty from Rocklin, CA struck out the first two batters he faced in 1-2-3 opening inning. By far the most successful development story the Giants have had in recent years, Webb (6.2 IP, 8H, 4ER, 6K, 0BB) had great stuff.
The Giants built him a lead with one run in the second and two more in the third — all of which came from homegrown position players.
Catcher Joey Bart, the former second overall pick, smacked a ground-rule double 108.6 mph off the bat. Then Heliot Ramos followed him with a scorched double of his own — Ramos’ first MLB run batted in.
Neither Bart nor Ramos, both first round picks, have panned out so far for San Francisco. Bart’s struggles, and awkward standing within the organization, are well-documented. Ramos, drafted 19th overall in 2017, had hit .143 with no extra base hits in 14 MLB games before Monday and slashed .227/.305/.349 in Triple-A last year.
Then in the third, another homegrown Giant drove in two more runs. David Villar, who entered the game hitting .186, albeit with three home runs, laced a two-out double to put SF on top 3-0.
Three runs, three drafted-and-developed position players. For an organization that has mostly struck out in the draft for the past half-decade, the flurry was a pleasant rarity.
The three-run burst also stood out for the larger context. The Giants have posted the lowest OPS as a team against left-handed pitching, and the runs all came off southpaw Jesus Luzardo. They have been among the most homer-reliant offenses; all of their hits stayed in the park.
But after that, the offense put up six straight zeroes. Miami used two left-handed relievers to combat the Giants’ order. Early offense before cooling off is becoming a common theme, and Miami took advantage by chipping away.
In the seventh, two squibbed singles put Marlins on the corners with no outs. Webb’s 103rd pitch induced a perfect double play ball that kept the runner on third.
Webb was one out away from escaping the inning and preserving the Giants’ 3-2 lead. Then the umpiring crew called him for a balk that would have scored the runner from third, only to retract the call.
One pitch later, the pinch-hitting Soler tagged a slider over the plate for a 413-foot shot.
Webb was certainly the Giants’ best chance at getting out of the inning. The ace who posted a 2.90 ERA had fanned six while walking none in the outing. To that pont, he’d surrendered just one extra base hit.
And any alternative would have dipped into the bullpen that has been the common denominator in San Francisco’s blown leads. Entering Monday, Giants relievers had posted a 6.08 ERA — 28th in MLB.
As Soler’s homer soared over the center field fence, an animated Webb hopped off the mound and screamed into his glove. He was tasked with stopping the Giants’ losing skid. What transpired was more of the same from the Giants.