SAN FRANCISCO — There are few instances where a game in mid-May meets the “must win” qualification. To Logan Webb, based on how Monday and Tuesday unfolded — based on how the season has unfolded —Wednesday’s series finale just about met that benchmark.
“I think we were kind of embarrassed with how we played the first two games,” Webb said. “I felt that. We all felt that. I just wanted to go out there and give it all I could. Luckily, it turned out the way it did. There’s not many much-needed wins early on in the season; I thought tonight was a much-needed win.”
Led by Webb’s six shutout innings, a performance partially made possible by Luis Matos’ awe-inspiring home run robbery, the Giants (20-25) beat the Dodgers (29-16), 4-1, at Oracle Park, avoiding a sweep and securing their first win against their Southern California rivals this season.
With San Francisco having only played 45 games so far, Wednesday night’s game, regardless of outcome, didn’t had the singular power to make or break the club’s year. But given the ebbs and flows of the last week, Webb’s assessment of this game’s importance is apt.
The Giants have lost seven players to the injured list since May 10, and after a narrow 6-4 loss to the Dodgers on Monday, they were blown out, 10-2, on Tuesday. Webb not only pointed out how Los Angeles took the first five games of the season series, but also alluded to how Mookie Betts was replaced by Miguel Rojas in the bottom of the eighth inning despite no apparent health issues.
“We’ve lost to five games to them already? (They were) pulling guys in the eighth and ninth inning who weren’t hurt yesterday,” Webb said. “It was kind of embarrassing. I think we all felt that. We wanted to just get out here and do our thing and prove to ourselves that we’re better than what we showed the first two games, and better than what we’ve showed the whole season.”
San Francisco, as a whole, certainly played cleaner on Wednesday, but Matos, specifically, enjoyed redemption. During Tuesday’s loss, Matos dropped a very catchable fly ball at the warning track in the first, turning a fly out into three free bases. A little over a day later, Matos threw his hat in the play of the year conversation.
In the fourth, Matos perfectly tracked Teoscar Hernández’s deep drive to center field, jumping, extending and robbing a home run, banging his body into the wall in the process. Neither Webb nor right fielder Mike Yastrzemski nor manager Bob Melvin thought Matos could make the catch off the bat, but as Matos laid on the warning-track dirt, he pulled the ball from his light-blue glove, revealing that he, indeed, made the play.
“He’s a showman,” Webb said. “That’s what excites people and excites us. He saved us a run today, so it was awesome.”
Added Yastrzemski, who hit a two-run homer in the third: “I was just kind of feeling that it was a courtesy jog that I was giving over there at first. Then, I saw him pick up speed and bring it back.”
Oracle Park erupted and Webb immediately raised his arms in jubilation, but the ballpark turned silent as Matos sat on the warning track, reeling from a collision that occurred in the same spot where Jung Hoo Lee dislocated his left shoulder. As head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner hustled out to center field, there was likely no shortage of people wondering whether Matos would be the next player headed for the injured list. But following a brief examination, Groeschner jogged back to the home dugout — alone — and Matos stayed in the ballgame.
Luis Matos makes an INCREDIBLE catch at the wall. pic.twitter.com/ksJls1lIlF
— MLB (@MLB) May 16, 2024
“I was just hoping we didn’t have another guy go down in the same spot against,” Melvin said.
“I hit the wall pretty hard,” Matos, who also had an RBI single, said through interpreter Edwin Higueros. “My foot got stuck In the padding. I was a little bit concerned, but thank god nothing bad happened.”
With help from Matos, Webb turned in six scoreless frames, striking out five and walking three. Webb’s night, though, wasn’t smooth sailing.
In the first, the Dodgers made Webb throw 32 pitches. In the second, Webb recorded two quick outs and got ahead of James Outman, 0-2, but proceeded to throw seven straight balls, walking Outman and falling behind to Mookie Betts, 3-0. Betts flew out to end the inning, but by temporarily losing the zone, Webb had thrown 51 pitches through two frames. Despite the high pitch count early, Webb delivered his seventh quality start of the year.
Curt Casali, playing in his first game as a Giant since July 4, 2022 after signing a one-year deal, had a productive night, setting the table for Yastrzemski’s two-run homer with a single and making a textbook play on Outman’s swinging bunt down the third-base line in the fifth inning.
Following a day off on Thursday, the Giants will welcome the Rockies (15-28) to town for a three-game set. Despite sitting in last place in the NL West, Colorado has won seven straight games, a stretch that includes sweeps of the Rangers and Padres.