What we learned as Webb stays hot, dominates Mets in Giants’ win

What we learned as Webb stays hot, dominates Mets in Giants’ win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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SAN FRANCISCO — Logan Webb had the worst run support in baseball last year, and through his first three starts this season, it looked like he was in for another season of having to do most of the work himself.

The Giants scored just four total runs when Webb was still in the game during his first three starts, but 10 days ago, they blew out the Tampa Bay Rays behind their ace. They’ve kept the trend going, and on Tuesday they won a Webb start for the fourth consecutive time.

With a 5-1 win over the New York Mets, the Giants have now scored 21 runs in Webb’s last three starts. He had to wait a while for the bats to break out Tuesday, but that was fine. Webb threw a season-high eight innings, picking up his third straight win and lowering his ERA to 2.33.

Even by the standard of this being a Webb start, the Giants were quiet at the plate early on. Luis Severino is off to a strong start in his first season with the Mets, and he didn’t allow a hit in the first four innings. Michael Conforto’s single to left finally got the Giants on the board and opened the floodgates. Matt Chapman, Thairo Estrada and Mike Yastrzemski each followed with singles, giving Webb a 3-0 lead.

With the win, the Giants have clinched the series against a Mets team that was red-hot coming into San Francisco. They’ll go for the sweep on Wednesday behind Blake Snell, with former Giants pitcher Sean Manaea on the other side.

Same Old Logan

Webb threw exactly seven innings in each of his three previous starts, allowing three total runs. The dominance continued Tuesday, when he scattered six hits, walked one and struck out four while throwing a season-high 106 pitches.

Early on, it looked like Webb might chase more than just a shutout attempt. He was absolutely dominant the first time through the order, getting seven outs on the ground and one strikeout before Omar Narvaez doubled with two outs in the third. Webb needed just 15 pitches to get through the first two innings.

With the latest dominant start, Webb jumped back ahead of Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow for the MLB innings lead. He is sixth in the National League in ERA, a very positive sign given that he has at times been a slow starter. A year after finishing second in the Cy Young race, Webb looks poised to take a serious run at the top spot.

Revenge Series

Conforto spent some time before Tuesday’s game catching up with old friends. In the fifth inning, he took it to his former teammates.

In the top of the inning, Conforto made a diving catch to prevent a single. In the bottom of the inning, his bloop to left gave the Giants their first hit off Severino.

Conforto later added a single. He had a homer, single and scored two runs on Monday night, which had to feel good after a 1-for-10 last season against the team that took him 10th overall in the 2014 draft.

Yaz He Did

Nobody in the lineup could use a little luck more than Yastzemski, who returned from the road trip with a .121 average. His single off Severino left the bat at just 65 mph, but it landed softly in the outfield grass and brought two runs home. In the seventh, Yastrzemski pulled a single that hit off first baseman Pete Alonso’s glove and let Estrada jog home after his leadoff triple.

Yastrzemski is 6-for-15 on the homestand with seven RBI. On Tuesday night, he exceeded his RBI total from his first 13 appearances this season, and he got his average above .200 for the first time this year.

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