‘Bad game for us’: Giants drop series against Nats

WASHINGTON — In the six weeks between June 10 and Saturday, there was only one hotter team in baseball, by record, than the Giants, who snaked a seven-game winning streak around the All-Star break to claw their way back into playoff contention. But since that win streak ended on Wednesday, the red-hot Giants have gone ice cold.

Already slumping offensively, the Giants on Saturday turned to their stopper and co-ace, Logan Webb, looking to snap a three-game mini-dry spell. What they got was a career-worst start from Webb and their fourth straight loss, a 10-1 shellacking from the last-place Nationals at Nationals Park that pushed them further behind Arizona for the NL’s top Wild Card spot.

“Bad game for us,” manager Gabe Kapler said.

Washington tagged Webb for six earned runs in 1 1/3 innings in the shortest start of the right-hander’s career; the six earned runs were one off Webb’s career-high and the most he’s allowed in a start this season.

“Just a [crappy] day,” Webb said. “It was frustrating … really frustrating … I can’t explain it.”

The trouble for Webb didn’t begin until the second inning, after he retired the Nationals in order in the top of the first. He allowed a leadoff single to Joey Meneses, walked Keibert Ruiz, then allowed consecutive run-scoring hits to Dom Smith and Corey Dickerson.

Webb responded by striking out Luis Garcia, but wouldn’t record another out. Three pitches later, Alex Call smacked a Webb sinker to the right-field wall for a two-run triple, and Webb coughed up a two-run homer to red-hot rookie CJ Abrams three pitches after that.

Ten batters in, Webb’s night was done, having allowed more runs than in his previous three starts combined. Webb needed 29 pitches to get through his first three hitters in the second inning; he’d end up throwing 41 in the frame, and 51 total while recording four outs.

“They had three straight really, really good at- bats,” Webb said. “I threw 29 pitches to three hitters and I’ve never had that before, They don’t really swing and miss often and they did a good job in doing that,. They just kinda got me after that. It was one of those days where the balls were finding holes and then they did some damage.”

Said Kapler: “He wasn’t able to put anybody away.”

It was an ill-timed clunker and entirely out of character for Webb, who entered play leading the Majors in innings pitched. He had completed at least six innings in 17 of his previous 20 starts this season.

Those contributions have been even more valuable to the Giants when you consider how their staff has performed around Webb. In 78 games not started by Webb this season, San Francisco’s starters have averaged only about 13 outs per game (4.1 IP). With Kapler aggressively deploying his ‘pen when Webb doesn’t pitch and San Francisco frequently utilizing bullpen games, the Giants lead the NL with 418 2/3 relief innings so far in 2023.

They will employ an opener in Sunday’s series finale as well, with Anthony DeSclafani likely pegged for the bulk innings behind lefty Scott Alexander.

“As a group of starters, I don’t think we feel like we’ve done our best job,” Webb said. “We might be putting a little pressure on ourselves to keep going and keep attacking guys, and hopefully we can string together a bunch of good starts. Right now, just as a team, we’re struggling. But it happens. It’s the ebbs and flows of the season and you always hope they don’t come in bunches like they are right now.”