'That's what a horse does': Webb leads Giants to LA sweep

LOS ANGELES -- Few things have been as reliable for the Giants this season as Logan Webb going deep into games. He did so again in Sunday’s series finale at Dodger Stadium, pitching seven innings of two-run ball as San Francisco defeated the Dodgers, 7-3, for a seventh straight victory.

“He's becoming one of the more durable and dependable starting pitchers in baseball,” said manager Gabe Kapler. “... That's what a horse does -- they post and they pitch deep into games.”

In helping the Giants achieve their first sweep at Dodger Stadium since Aug. 20-22, 2012, Webb had to navigate through some traffic, as he allowed eight hits, two walks and a hit batter while striking out five. But even when the Dodgers managed to get to him, Webb did a good job of not letting things get out of hand, quelling rallies in the fourth and fifth innings after just one run. That was thanks to an arsenal that was effective pretty much all around.

“My slider was better than it probably has been recently, so I was excited about that,” said Webb. “I thought the sinker was pretty good. The changeup wasn't my favorite, but I think towards the end, it was starting to get better.”

Webb joins Framber Valdez as the only MLB pitcher with eight starts of seven innings or more this season. Webb has now gone at least five innings in all 15 of his starts this year, and he’s completed six innings in all but two of his starts.

“The fact that he's nearing 100 innings pitched is really huge for us,” said Kapler. “Every inning that Logan Webb covers means that we don't have to have a bullpen arm cover that inning.”

Indeed, Webb’s outing loomed particularly large following the pregame placement of left-hander Alex Cobb on the 15-day injured list with a left oblique strain. Kapler said that Cobb could be ready to return as soon as the Giants’ series against the Mets in New York at the end of the month, though the recovery time for pitcher oblique injuries is, on average, a good deal longer.

In any event, once again, the Giants are operating with only three healthy starting pitchers, with seven games remaining in their stretch of 10 straight with no off-days. Cobb’s IL placement comes just a day after Alex Wood’s return from a lower back strain, and they’ve been without Ross Stripling -- dealing with a lower back strain of his own -- for a month.

So far, the Giants have mainly patched the holes with bullpen games, with Sean Manaea, Jakob Junis and Tristan Beck most regularly serving as their bulk pitchers. In the past two days, they’ve recalled Beck and Keaton Winn, the latter of whom has worked primarily as a starter with Triple-A Sacramento and can also provide length in relief. Throwing a wrench into that, however, is John Brebbia landing on the IL on Saturday with a right lat strain. Brebbia has been the Giants’ first man up in eight games this season, including Friday.

The biggest question now is whether it could be time for the Giants to call upon their top prospect, Kyle Harrison. Harrison, MLB Pipeline’s highest-ranked left-handed pitching prospect, was promoted to Triple-A this season, where he has a 3.42 ERA in 14 starts, with 80 strikeouts against 37 walks. He’s projected to be Major League-ready at some point in 2023. A mere 21 years old, the Giants won’t want to rush him, but the needs of the moment might end up dictating the timing of his callup.

“I think everybody is going to be in the discussion as we try to cover these innings in the next week or 10 days -- and nobody in particular,” said Kapler.

Despite their starter woes, the Giants have managed to move into second place in the National League West. They’re half a game ahead of the Dodgers and 3 1/2 behind the D-backs. Since May 15, they’ve won 22 of 31 games (.710), the best winning percentage in the Majors in that span.

“I just think you're starting to see a cohesive unit, one where one batter passes the torch to the next batter, believes in the guy behind him,” said Kapler. “From a pitching perspective, we're really beginning to trust our bullpen arms in the biggest moments, and not just one or two, but the entire bullpen, which I can't say was true all the way through this season, but it's definitely true now.”