Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
There are reasons to watch the Giants play meaningless September baseball.
The Bruce Bochy countdown is here, six more games to go — all at home — in his legendary career (he says, at least). There are tryouts for next season being conducted up and down the roster, Mike Yastrzemski, Tyler Rogers and Joey Rickard bumping their stock Sunday.
Is the development of Logan Webb on the list?
The Giants’ rookie starter came through with the best start of his young career in a 4-1 win in Atlanta, salvaging something in a series in which they have lacked a pulse and sending Bochy back to Oracle Park for his final return flight with a reason to smile. The Giants (75-81) avoided clinching a losing season, which would come with a loss in their final homestand, against the Rockies and Dodgers, which begins Tuesday.
Webb was not only dominant but mostly efficient, running through a Braves lineup that lacked Ronald Acuna Jr. and Ozzie Albies. He went six strong innings while allowing just one run on two hits and two walks with seven strikeouts to close the Giants’ road record at 42-39.
Webb had burst onto the scene, rocketing from the depths of the minors and looked great in his first three starts in August. September had not been kind to him, bringing a 10.22 ERA in three starts this month into SunTrust Park, where he showed stuff that the Giants believe in.
Webb got swinging strikes with each of his pitches, a fastball that hit 95 mph up front and a low-80s slider being his putaway pitch. The Braves didn’t get their first hit until the third inning and didn’t threaten until the fifth, when Webb walked Matt Joyce and Tyler Flowers with one out. Facing his first true test, Webb took seven pitches to strike out Billy Hamilton and finished starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel with a changeup to escape unscathed, 27 pitches later.
Atlanta’s lone run came in the sixth, when Adeiny Hechavarria tripled and Freddie Freeman’s ground ball scored him. But Webb left after 90 pitches with a step up on next year’s rotation battle, when he, Tyler Beede, Dereck Rodriguez, Conner Menez and perhaps Shaun Anderson will fight for spots.
After Webb exited, there was still reason to see excitement for next season, Rogers tossing two scoreless innings in relief. One of the greatest joys with the Giants is watching opposing teams face the submariner for the first time, and Atlanta couldn’t figure him out. The 28-year-old rookie struck out three and lowered his ERA to 1.23 in 14 2/3 innings.
After being obliterated, 14-1, in the first two games of the series, the Giants’ offense continued its slumber until the sixth inning, when they finally got to Keuchel. Yastrzemski, who’s 9-for-21 (.429) in his past five games, opened with a single, and Austin Slater hit a fielder’s choice before Evan Longoria’s double broke the scoreless tie. A Dansby Swanson error put Kevin Pillar on, and Rickard doubled on a ball that Nick Markakis couldn’t quite get to, scoring two for a 3-0 lead.
Rickard, who’s also going through a tryout, went 2-for-4 and is seeing more time as he tries to put himself on the Giants’ radar for next season.
But for this season, there will be reason to watch Bochy’s final week.
And Webb’s final start of the year.