PHOENIX — There never is any doubt about the number that’s front and center for Logan Webb when he takes the ball for the first time every season. But on Tuesday night, after reaching 200 innings for a second straight year, the Giants ace provided an important clarification.
“It’s 200 innings of quality innings,” he pointed out.
That hasn’t always been the case during the 2024 MLB season, particularly lately, but Webb finished up — probably — with six shutout innings against a good Arizona Diamondbacks lineup Tuesday night, picking up his 13th win in easy fashion when the lineup backed him with five homers.
After the 11-0 victory, Webb hinted that his sixth big league season is over. The Giants have just four games left, and while Webb could come back on normal rest Sunday, that start currently looks like it belongs to Hayden Birdsong.
Assuming this is it, Webb finished with his best start in about five weeks. He allowed 15 runs in four previous September starts, but the Diamondbacks had just four hits in Webb’s six innings.
“I really needed that one, to be honest,” Webb said. “I feel good finishing with that.”
"I really needed that one."
Logan Webb shares why tonight's impressive start was so important to him pic.twitter.com/lvr7bFL3aQ
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) September 25, 2024
Webb lowered his ERA to 3.47, which ranks 10th in the National League. His FIP is his lowest since 2021, and he’ll finish as a four-WAR player for the fourth consecutive season. He is ticking off one strong campaign after another, although this year was rockier at times than he expected it to be. His trademark changeup wasn’t always there, but he adjusted mid-season, adding a cutter that he threw 20 times Tuesday.
“It’s just something I’ve kind of felt comfortable with. I think the changeup has been weird all year, and I think [the cutter] just helps with getting them off some of the softer stuff down,” he said. “I’ve tried to throw one for a while now and I finally found a grip that makes the ball actually go that way, so I’m excited to keep tinkering with it. These last two games I felt good throwing it.
“It felt like I threw a lot, to be honest. [Giants catcher Patrick Bailey] kept calling it. If Patty is calling them, he must have confidence in what I was doing.”
The pitch should be a bigger part of his repertoire next season, and perhaps Webb will have another edge, one that Matt Chapman has learned about in recent days. Webb’s wife, Sharidan, is due to give birth to their first child any day now, and that’s the focus as the Giants finish out their season. Webb did, however, leave the door open a crack to appear one more time.
The six innings moved him into a tie with Kansas City Royals right-hander Seth Lugo atop the MLB leaderboard, but Lugo is scheduled to pitch Saturday. It’s possible the Royals lock up their playoff seed before then and save Lugo for the postseason, but they’re currently tied for the fifth seed in the American League and they have yet to officially clinch a wild-card spot, so as of now, Lugo is in line to start.
Regardless, Webb will lead the National League and become the first Giant to do that in back-to-back years since Gaylord Perry in 1969-70. He has a double-digit lead over Philadelphia’s Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler, and the Phillies already have clinched the NL East.
Giants manager Bob Melvin was coy about his weekend plans, but Webb seems ready to focus on fatherhood and acquiring Dad Strength. This season left a bitter taste in his mouth, but he said he’s encouraged by how much fun the Giants are having right now and plans to make that part of the messaging next spring.
“I think it’s important to keep having fun,” he said after a fifth straight win. “The more you feel it, the more you get to see as a young guy what that looks like, I think the better it is going into next year. It’s going to be a big emphasis on what we talk about next spring and what we try to do.”
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