SF Giants clinch winning road trip behind Webb’s first gem of year
HOUSTON — Logan Webb is a different pitcher now than he was last year. He’s tweaked his mechanics. He’s upped his cutter usage. He’s altered his changeup.
At his core, he remains the Giants’ ace of staff.
Webb turned in the first of many quality starts as the Giants (4-1) beat the Houston Astros (2-3) on Tuesday night at Daikin Park, 3-1, allowing one earned run over seven innings with six strikeouts, the only blip on his line being a solo home run.
One of baseball’s best ground ball pitchers, Webb induced three double players, none of which were bigger than the one in the sixth inning. Following Chas McCormick’s one-out single, Webb got Jose Altuve to hit into an inning-ending, 5-4-3 double play, letting out a roar of emotion and slamming his right hand into his glove. It was a satisfying slice of vengeance for Webb, who allowed a solo homer to Altuve in the fourth.
To get through seven innings, Webb was tasked with facing the heart of Houston’s order for the third time. Webb allowed the tying run on base as Isaac Paredes hit a leadoff single, but Webb proceeded to strike out Yordan Alvarez and Christian Walker, then get Yainer Diaz to hit an inning-ending ground out.
Tyler Rogers ended up in a critical situation of his own, giving up back-to-back two-out singles to the bottom of the Astros’ order that set the stage for Altuve. Daikin Park roared in anticipation of another big hit from Altuve, but Rogers induced an inning-ending pop out and escaped without allowing a run. Ryan Walker shut the door in the ninth, recording his second save of the season.
Heliot Ramos hit his third home run of the year, battling back from an 0-2 count to pull a 108.3 mph line drive into the Crawford Boxes. With the homer, Ramos became the third Giants player to begin a season with an extra-base hit in five straight games, joining Willie Mays (1971) and Felipe Alou (1963).
Willy Adames recorded his first extra-base hit in a Giants uniform, driving in two runs with a double. Christian Koss made his major-league debut, drawing a walk in his first plate appearance and scoring on Adames’ double.