Webb 'electric' in hurling 1st career shutout

SAN FRANCISCO -- Logan Webb carried the Giants into the All-Star break in style, tossing a seven-hit complete game in a 1-0 win that sealed a series victory over the Rockies on Sunday afternoon at Oracle Park.

It was the first career shutout and complete game for Webb, who struck out the side in the ninth to cap the 103-pitch gem. The 26-year-old ace let out a roar after getting Elias Díaz to swing through a slider for the final out, walking off the mound to a standing ovation from the fans in attendance.

Webb finished with 10 strikeouts and no walks in the crisp one-hour-and-56 minute affair, ending his first half with a 3.14 ERA over a Major League-high 126 innings this season. He went the distance despite not having much room for error, as J.D. Davis’ fourth-inning solo shot off Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland accounted for the lone run of the game.

“I’m tired,” Webb said. “That’s the first thing. I’m tired. But yeah, that was awesome. I can’t put it into words right now. I’m super excited that I was able to do that. We ended up with a win to end the first half. I think that’s the most important thing. We’ll come back after the break ready to roll.”

After taking two of three from the Rockies, the Giants will head into the All-Star break with a 49-41 record, trailing the first-place Dodgers and D-backs by 2 1/2 games in the National League West. While they’ve struggled with injuries and a streaky offense in the first half, one of the Giants' constants has been Webb, who has been the frontline starter they envisioned when they signed him to a five-year, $90 million extension in April.

Webb’s changeup, which has been one of the most valuable pitches in baseball this year, was particularly devastating on Sunday, as he threw it 50 times and used it to generate 10 of his 14 swinging strikes.

“Electric,” catcher Patrick Bailey said. “The changeup was probably the best I’ve seen it so far, which is pretty impressive because it’s been lights-out all year. The slider was dialed. The sinker execution -- that was about as good as it gets and as fun as it gets.”

Webb also benefited from stellar defense behind him, with right fielder Mike Yastrzemski throwing out Jurickson Profar trying to stretch a single into a double in the first inning and the Giants turning two double plays -- including a 3-6-1 twin killing to end the sixth -- to keep the Rockies off the board.

“The way it started, you knew it was going to be a great day after that play,” Webb said. “They played amazing. Those guys put in so much work. They played awesome. They’re always awesome, but they really had my back today.”

The Giants had All-Star closer Camilo Doval and Taylor Rogers warming up in the eighth, but manager Gabe Kapler decided to stick with Webb, who returned to the mound in the ninth with his pitch count at 90. He received a rousing ovation from the Oracle Park crowd when he emerged from the dugout, giving him one final boost of energy as he neared the finish line.

“It’s surprisingly challenging,” Kapler said. “Obviously, he earned the opportunity. You’ve got a full house on their feet wanting to see him come back out in the ninth. But you also have arguably the game’s best closer out there. You’re trying to make the decision, who’s the best person to get the next three hitters out? At the same time, you really want to reward Logan for his performance up to that point. At the end of the day, this is an entertaining game, and Logan did just that today. He entertained everybody with a fantastic performance.”

Webb fell short in his previous attempt to throw a complete game against the Phillies on May 30, 2022, but he managed to finish it off Sunday, whiffing Kris Bryant, Ryan McMahon and Díaz to finally achieve the elusive goal.

“I’m happy to say I could do it,” Webb said. “Hopefully I throw many more.”

Following his stellar first half, Webb seems well on his way to accomplishing another one of his ambitions: throwing 200 innings.

“I came up with a lot of guys that were really good at doing that,” Webb said. “I think that kind of old-school part of them really rubbed off on me. I just want to be able to say I can get to 200 innings for the team and be able to come out every five days. We’ve got a long way to go, a whole other half, but I think it shows that the team is trusting me to go out there and throw a lot of innings.”