Logan Webb unable to stop SF Giants slide in 7-1 loss to Diamondbacks

A lead-off home run by LaMonte Wade Jr. was all the offense the SF Giants could muster for ace Logan Webb against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The SF Giants have played 314 regular-season games over the past two seasons. After losing to the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-1 on Wednesday afternoon, they are now exactly 157-157 over that span. While the Giants have not officially been eliminated from postseason contention yet, losing five out of six games to start the team's final road trip of the regular season has effectively buried them in the standings. San Francisco has seemed to claw their way back from several unlikely circumstances this season, but it's almost assuredly over.

LaMonte Wade Jr. led off the game with a solo home run to give the Giants (and Webb) a 1-0 lead. It was Wade's 16th home run of the year and lifted his OPS on the season above .800. Plenty has gone wrong for San Francisco offensively this season, but Wade has been one of the few players who has looked like someone the team can count on going forward. Given his struggles throughout 2022, that was far from a guarantee back on Opening Day.

It's a Leadoff LaMonte kind of day pic.twitter.com/tK6s0xxqCC

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) September 20, 2023

The Giants lead would not last for long, though. Corbin Carroll led off the bottom of the first inning with a single, stole second base, and scored on a two-out hit by Christian Walker. Webb would go on to deliver another quality start, his league-leading 21st of the season, but a two-run Dbacks rally in the third inning would propel Webb to his 13th loss of the year.

There is no justifiable reason for Webb to have a 10-13 record. He leads the league in innings pitched with 207 by a significant margin and has a well above-average 3.35 ERA. Webb has the best strikeout-to-walk ratio in MLB this season and has continued to induce plenty of soft contact as well. Yet, the Giants offense has somehow continuously failed to give him the run support he's deserved. 

The Giants briefly threatened a rally against Kelly in the top of the seventh inning. Michael Conforto led off the inning with a double, and he advanced to third on a groundout. A two-out walk to Wilmer Flores led Dbacks manager Torey Lovullo to replace Kelly with right-handed reliever Ryan Thompson. With two outs and runners on the corners, Thairo Estrada represented the potential go-ahead run, but he struck out on three pitches.

Following that missed opportunity, Giants rookie reliever Ryan Walker allowed back-to-back home runs to start the bottom of the seventh as Arizona burst things open. Sean Hjelle, who was recalled prior to the game, would need to replace Walker after he was unable to finish the inning in 30 pitches. Walker was ultimately charged with four earned runs.

The right-handed reliever has seen his production dip in September, which is obviously a cause for concern. However, it's easy to think that fatigue may be the biggest culprit. Walker's career high in appearances (50) and innings pitched (59) entering the year are both significantly less than what he has been asked to do between Triple-A and the majors this season. Walker has not only appeared in 60 games, but he has also racked up 76.2 innings pitched through multi-inning outings.

The SF Giants are now 3.5 games back of the Cubs for the final National League Wild Card but also would have to jump the Reds and Marlins. Now, they will head to Southern California to begin a four-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Neither team has announced a probable starting pitcher for Thursday's matchup, but first pitch at Dodger Stadium is scheduled for 7:10 PM Pacific.