Notes: Webb's K mastery, Moronta's debut

Giants manager Gabe Kapler couldn’t help but steer the conversation toward young right-hander Logan Webb following his club’s 5-4 win over the Indians at Scottsdale Stadium on Saturday.

“Anytime you’re ready to talk about Webb, I’m excited to talk about that,” Kapler said.

Kapler’s enthusiasm was understandable, as Webb extended his impressive start to the spring by striking out six and allowing only one hit over three scoreless innings against Cleveland. The 24-year-old has yet to allow a run over six innings in his first three Cactus League appearances and has continued to make a strong push for a spot on the Giants’ Opening Day roster.

“That’s as good as I’ve ever seen his changeup look,” Kapler said. “I don’t want to overdo it here, but he’s been really impressive in this camp. He’s been really impressive because he’s doing exactly what we had hoped and kind of prompted him to do, which is to use his secondary pitches with the same level of confidence that he uses his fastball.”

Webb’s outing began on an unusual note, as he struck out four batters in the first inning while leaning heavily on his changeup, which Kapler believes “has a chance to be an elite pitch.” After punching out Eddie Rosario and Andrés Giménez, Webb whiffed José Ramírez on a pitch in the dirt, but the ball got away from catcher Buster Posey, allowing Ramírez to reach on a wild pitch and extend the inning. Still, an unfazed Webb came back to strike out Franmil Reyes to leave Ramírez stranded.

“The changeup was working good,” Webb said. “I thought Buster did a great job of calling it and keep calling it because if I miss one, I know I can get right back to it in the zone. I’m kind of just sticking with that changeup. I thought everything was going pretty well today.”

Webb, who logged a 5.47 ERA over 54 1/3 innings in 2020, is vying for the fifth spot in the Giants’ rotation, but the club appears to have five veterans ahead of him on the depth chart in Kevin Gausman, Johnny Cueto, Anthony DeSclafani, Alex Wood and Aaron Sanchez. Still, Sanchez is coming off shoulder surgery and has yet to appear in a Cactus League game, though he was scheduled to throw three innings in a simulated game at Scottsdale Stadium on Saturday.

Kapler also revealed Saturday that Wood is dealing with back stiffness, prompting the Giants to push his start back. It’s possible that injuries or other unforeseen developments could end up opening up a path to the Opening Day roster for Webb, though it’s clear that he’s making a compelling case for himself based purely on his results on the mound.

Moronta debuts

Reyes Moronta reached a significant milestone on Saturday, working a clean eighth in his first outing since undergoing right shoulder surgery in September 2019.

Moronta retired Tyler Krieger on a groundout, struck out Bo Naylor looking and induced a pop out from Steven Kwan, though he was noticeably working with diminished velocity. The 28-year-old reliever sat around 92 mph, down from the 97.2 mph he averaged on his fastball in 2019.

“It’s certainly something that we noticed,” Kapler said. “Obviously, we feel like when Reyes is at his best, he’s throwing a little bit harder than that. I think it’s important to acknowledge that that’s happening. The execution, getting outs and throwing strikes, landing his secondary weapon, his slider, for a strike, that’s certainly a good sign. Performance matters. At the same time, obviously, we always want to see the best stuff.”

Weird baseball

The Giants had already wrapped a 5-4 victory after Rico Garcia pitched a scoreless top of the ninth, but they decided to play the bottom of the inning at the request of the Indians, who had a couple pitchers who still needed to get some work in. The two clubs played the half inning without umpires, rendering the results from the frame unofficial.

“It’s a little strange to do it without umpires, but I thought their catcher [Beau Taylor] did a nice job of calling balls and strikes,” Kapler said. “At that point, it looked like everybody was just kind of getting their work in.”

Worth noting

• Rule 5 Draft pick Dedniel Núñez underwent an MRI exam that revealed posterior inflammation in his right elbow and will continue to be monitored in the coming days. Núñez had hit 97 mph with his fastball in his first outings of the spring, but his velocity was down in his last appearance, and he also struggled with his command.

• Austin Slater started in right field for the first time since tweaking his hamstring and launched his first home run of the spring in the second inning on Saturday. Slater crushed an offering from Cleveland right-hander Zach Plesac out to right-center field for a three-run homer that capped a four-run outburst for the Giants.

“It’s nice to get multiple [at-bats] off the same guy and get more of an in-season rep there to help you game plan and start thinking about multiple at-bats off the same guy,” Slater said. “I was sitting soft with runners in scoring position and was able to get something up in the zone.”

Slater said he injured his hamstring while making a turn at first base in his first Spring Training at-bat against the Angels on Feb. 28. He missed the next 10 Cactus League games before returning to the lineup at designated hitter on Friday against the Rockies.

“It’s a lot better,” Slater said.

• Catcher Curt Casali also collected his first home run of the spring on Saturday, clobbering a 98-mph fastball from Cleveland right-hander Emmanuel Clase out to left field to put the Giants ahead, 5-4, in the fifth.

Up next

Left-hander Conner Menez will start for the Giants as they head to Salt River Fields at Talking Stick to face the D-backs on Sunday at 1:10 p.m. PT. Left-hander Caleb Smith is scheduled to pitch for Arizona.