Webb gets flood of run support to back stellar start

SAN FRANCISCO -- Logan Webb has received the lowest run support among qualified starting pitchers in the Majors this season, but he finally got some much-needed breathing room on Saturday night.

The Giants continued their offensive turnaround by erupting for 13 hits in a 9-1 drubbing of the last-place Rockies at Oracle Park, helping Webb snap his personal three-game losing streak and secure his first win since Aug. 2.

• Games remaining (20): vs. COL (1), vs. CLE (3), at COL (4), at AZ (2), at LAD (4), vs. SD (3), vs. LAD (3)
• Standings update: The Giants (72-70) are 2 1/2 games behind the D-backs (75-68) for the third and final National League Wild Card spot. They also trail the Marlins (73-69) and are in a virtual tie with the Reds (73-71) in the race.

“I kind of wish we could spread it out over a couple of past Logan starts,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “It was a small thing, but we got Logan out of there after six innings. If we’re in a 1-0 game, we probably send him back out there and try to keep another zero on the board. Obviously, it was nice for Logan to pitch with that lead, but [it was] also nice for us to manage that game a little bit more appropriately for going forward.”

San Francisco scored a combined two runs in Webb’s previous three starts, but the club matched that output in the first inning alone. Mike Yastrzemski drove Colorado right-hander Chase Anderson’s first pitch of the game to center field for a leadoff double, and Thairo Estrada followed with a two-run shot to left field to give the Giants an early lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

The Giants added four more runs in the fourth to build a comfortable six-run lead for Webb, who made sure it held up by holding the Rockies to three hits over six scoreless innings. He recorded all 16 of his outs via strikeout (4) or groundout (12), effectively mixing his sinker, changeup and slider to stymie Colorado’s attempts to elevate the ball.

The 26-year-old right-hander now has a 3.40 ERA over a Major League-high 193 innings, leaving him only seven shy of reaching 200 for the first time in his career.

“I only have four starts left,” Webb said. “If I don’t get to 200, then I did a very poor job of pitching. It was always a goal of mine to get there. To be honest, I feel like I haven’t pitched at my best all year. I wish it was more quality than quantity. But yeah, it’ll be cool.”

Yastrzemski went 4-for-5 with two RBIs out of the leadoff spot, while Estrada knocked in three runs to spur the Giants’ offense, which has now scored at least eight runs in three of its last four games. The nine runs of support were the most Webb had received in a start since July 17, 2022, and almost triple the amount the Giants had averaged in his previous outings (3.03 per game) this year.

“He’s deserved it for almost every one of his starts,” said Yastrzemski, who is 7-for-10 with two doubles, a home run and four RBIs over his last three games. “It was nice to get him a little support today.”

The complete performance came one day after president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi held a pregame meeting to reiterate his belief in the team despite an 11-21 slide that put a dent in their playoff hopes in recent weeks.

“Farhan is really good at speaking from his heart,” Kapler said. “He’s good at being disarming. He’s got a ton of experience in playoff chases, a ton of experience around a lot of different types of clubs. Any time he comes in and just kind of speaks from the heart, I think it lands really well. I thought it landed well yesterday. As importantly, I thought our players spoke up and had some insightful things to say. We are a big team. That’s what an organization is. I just thought it was well-timed and well-received.”

The Giants entered Saturday with an MLB-worst .650 OPS since the All-Star break, but their feeble offense has come alive against the lowly Rockies, who own the highest ERA (5.69) in the Majors. After scoring 18 runs in the first two games of this series, San Francisco has now won 15 of its last 16 meetings with Colorado dating to last August.

“I think our guys are swinging the bats well in this series, but I think even leading up to this series, you could start to see some signals of the offense coming to life,” Kapler said. “I think that’s the result of having a little bit [of a] more full lineup and a deeper bench.”