Giants Using Neat Trick to Get Logan Webb in Rotation Before New Starter’s Debut

The San Francisco Giants are using this little trick to get Logan Webb another start before this veteran makes his debut.

San Francisco Giants pitcher Logan Webb. | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

Logan Webb won't have to wait so long to get the taste of his opening day loss out of his mouth.

The San Francisco Giants ace is expected to make his second start of the season on Tuesday when the Giants face the San Diego Padres. His spot in the rotation is notable because he'll make his second start of the campaign before a new Giants starter, Adrian Houser, will make his debut with the team on Wednesday.

San Francisco’s probables are set at MLB.com but are subject to change. And it turns out Webb’s second start of the season is a feature of the schedule and not a glitch.

How Logan Webb Starts on Tuesday

San Francisco Giants pitcher Adrian Houser. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Giants opened the season before everyone else on Wednesday when they hosted the New York Yankees at Oracle Park. The game was a national broadcast, and it allowed the Giants and the Yankees to debut a day before everyone else. Webb took the ball in that game and had perhaps the worst opening day start of his career.

He went five innings, allowing nine hits, seven runs (six earned), with one walk and seven strikeouts. The Giants lost the game, 7-0.

That Wednesday game gave San Francisco a unique opportunity because MLB built in two off days — one on Thursday after Webb’s start and another on Sunday, a rare off day for any team.

Landen Roupp will take the ball on Monday for his first start of the season. He last threw in spring training on March 18. He last threw on Tuesday against Sultanes in San Francisco’s final exhibition game. So he’ll be pitching one extra rest, which is a feature for most starters during spring training but not during the regular season.

If Webb starts on Tuesday, it will be on extra rest since he started on Wednesday. It’s an opportunity to get him back in the rotation without having to push him into normal rest, which the Giants could have done by starting him on Monday. He’ll probably benefit from that extra rest because his third start will be on normal rest and is projected for April 5 against the New York Mets.

As for Houser, he hasn’t started a game since March 20 in spring training against the Kansas City Royals. In that game he went six innings, allowing four hits and two earned runs. He struck out five and walked two. He threw 78 pitches and he threw 73 pitches in the start before that on March 14. So he’s properly stretched out as he prepares to start on an abnormal amount of rest for the finale.