Logan Webb works, offense quiet in loss to Rockies – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

The Giants appeared to be on track to open the second half of the 2024 MLB season with a win over the bottom-ranked Colorado Rockies on Friday, but a bullpen implosion resulted in a frustrating 7-3 loss at Coors Field.

According to Fangraphs, San Francisco had the league’s easiest remaining roster after the All-Star break and now had to play a game with the team in last place in the division to avoid dropping even further in the wild-card standings.

Giants ace Logan Webb (left, 6 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, 99 pitches) faced Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland (out, 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, BB, 4 K, 89 pitches), four days after an unforgettable performance in his first MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday.

Unfortunately for San Francisco, Webb couldn’t recover from his performance at the Midsummer Classic and the offense couldn’t pick him up either.

Here are three lessons we learned from the Giants’ 4-3 (47-52) loss to the Rockies (36-63):

Something about this innings…

Webb is the first to admit that sometimes his performances don’t start out so well.

“My first inning is usually my worst inning,” Webb told reporters Tuesday after his disappointing All-Star Game performance.

That was the case again on Saturday against the Rockies.

Webb had a hit and two walks to load the bases with no outs in the bottom of the first. He induced a groundball double play that scored the game’s first run before a second Colorado runner scored on an infield hit to first.

In the 20 starts leading up to Friday’s game, Webb had a 4.95 ERA in the first innings this season, his second-worst inning performance behind his 5.29 ERA in the fifth innings this season.

Speaking of the fifth inning…

Webb got going after the first inning and threw three scoreless frames before running into trouble again in, you guessed it, the fifth. Webb gave up a leadoff single to Sam Hilliard before Ezequiel Tovar hit a go-ahead homer to give Colorado a 4-2 lead.

FitzMagic

When you play for the Giants, you hope your well-rested offense can get off to a strong start in the second half against a bad Rockies team, in a stadium where your hitters typically thrive.

That hasn’t been the case. San Francisco scored just three runs on Friday and struggled to get the bats going again on Saturday.

Tyler Fitzgerald came to play anyway.

Trailing 2-0 in the third inning, Fitzgerald hit a solo home run to left to get the Giants on the board. The rookie came to bat again in the fifth inning and drove in Mike Yastrzemski from third to tie the game with two outs.

Had to have it

The Giants were able to generate some momentum heading into the All-Star break. Sitting three games under .500 and a few games back of the final Wild Card spot, they were optimistic about their trajectory. Blake Snell was pitching well, the lineup was healthy, and the rotation would soon get a boost in the form of rehabbing veteran starters Robbie Ray and Alex Cobb.

However, in two short matches the momentum has disappeared.

A series loss to the third-worst team in baseball is a disappointing way to start the second half of the season and raises more questions about the direction the team wants to go with just 10 days before the July 30 trade deadline.

This wasn’t a bullpen game where a battered lineup struggled to generate offense. The Giants had their ace on the mound, and the offense couldn’t pick him up. This was a must-win series.

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