(Via Chris Mezzavilla)
It’s August 17, and the Giants (78-42) already have more wins in a season than they’ve had since 2016.
Their 78th came on Tuesday in another win over the Mets (59-60), a 3-2 victory that was comfortable until the very end.
Logan Webb was again spectacular, putting forth possibly the best start of his career in a season full of them. The Mets couldn’t touch Webb, either fanning at his devastating slider, or making soft contact that didn’t leave the infield. The New York lineup was able to induce just 83 pitches from the right-hander in 7 1/3 innings, striking out eight times.
Tuesday was the fifth consecutive start where Webb has given up two runs or less while pitching at least six innings. Since he returned from the IL on July 9, Webb has allowed just nine earned runs and 32 hits in 43 and 1/3 innings. He has a 1.64 ERA in his last 11 starts and the Giants have won 10 of them.
While Kevin Gausman is the undeniable choice for the first game in a hypothetical playoff series, it’s hard not to see how Webb wouldn’t be the choice for Game 2.
Webb’s final line didn’t look as pretty as it should’ve, however, thanks to a Pete Alonso two-run blast in the eighth that left Oracle in the blink of an eye. It was just one of two balls the Mets hit in the air against Webb. The pitch to Alonso would be his last.
Though Webb was missing bats, his biggest moment came in the fourth on a ground ball. Facing his first and only jam of the night, Webb got Jeff McNeil to ground into an inning-ending double play with runners on the corners, McNeil unable to lift a low changeup on the first pitch he saw. The double-play secured the Giants’ 2-0 lead.
That 2-0 lead came via a first inning Tommy LaStella homer to dead center, one that also knocked in LaMonte Wade Jr. who singled to open the game. Mets starter Marcus Stroman shaped up quickly after that, throwing stuff just as nasty as Webb’s while striking out nine in seven innings. Most impressive was what he did to Buster Posey, striking out the All-Star three times, the only time that’s happened to Posey this season.
Evan Longoria provided the Giants with an insurance run they ended up needing dearly in the bottom of the seventh, blasting a solo shot to left for his 10th of the year. He’s now the ninth Giant to reach double-digit home runs this season. The Giants had seven players reach double-digit home runs in all of 2019.
Things got hairy in the ninth, when McNeil singled to open the inning, and made his way to second after a ground out to first. It all led to former Giant, Kevin Pillar, stepping up vs. Dominic Leone with a runner in scoring position and two outs. There would be no payback for the former Willie Mac Award winner, who struck out looking on three pitches.