'We just have to be better': Giants can't pick up Webb

CHICAGO -- It was a typical start for Logan Webb, in more ways than one.

Webb delivered another quality start for the Giants, but he got no help from his offense, which remained absent in a 5-0 loss to the Cubs in Monday afternoon’s series opener at Wrigley Field.

San Francisco recorded only two singles and didn’t put a runner in scoring position against Chicago left-hander Justin Steele, who struck out a career-high 12 over eight scoreless innings. The Giants, who are 9-19 since Aug. 5, have scored only four runs and racked up 43 strikeouts while dropping four in a row to the Padres and Cubs.

“We’ve got to have more of a sense of urgency, all of us,” Webb said. “It’s frustrating. I know we’re a better team than that. It just seems we’re lacking energy and urgency. We’ve got to act that way.”

• Games remaining (24): at CHC (2), vs. COL (3), vs. CLE (3), at COL (4), at AZ (2), at LAD (4), vs. SD (3), vs. LAD (3)

• Standings update: The Giants (70-68) slipped a game behind the D-backs (71-67) and Reds (72-68) and a half-game behind the Marlins (70-67) for the third and final National League Wild Card spot. San Francisco also fell four games behind the Cubs (74-64) for the second NL Wild Card position. Chicago leads the season series by a 3-1 margin.

With the Giants in danger of losing more ground in the crowded NL Wild Card race, manager Gabe Kapler met with veteran hitters Mike Yastrzemski and Wilmer Flores after the game to try to shift the team-wide mentality at the plate and remind players to be accountable to each other.

“We definitely have to be better than we showed today and we’ve been showing recently,” Kapler said, “And actually, it’s been a longer stretch than that. Right now, I think we have to be more aggressive. ... What that means is, we’re walking up to the plate and we’re going to be on the offensive. We’re going to be the ones who are forcing the action. Right now, I think we’re a little defensive at the plate, and it’s hurting us.”

Webb was charged with the loss after allowing three runs on five hits over 6 2/3 innings in his 20th quality start of the year. Seiya Suzuki accounted for most of the damage against Webb, launching a second-inning solo shot before adding an RBI double that kicked off a two-run rally for the Cubs in the seventh.

The Giants, meanwhile, had no answers for Steele, who gave up a two-out single to Casey Schmitt in the second and then retired 16 batters in a row before issuing a leadoff walk to J.D. Davis in the eighth. San Francisco’s only other hit came courtesy of Paul DeJong, who snapped an 0-for-27 funk with a two-out single in the eighth, his first knock since going 3-for-5 in his Giants debut against the Phillies on Aug. 23.

Limited run support has become an all-too-familiar trend for Webb, who has the lowest run support average in the Majors (3.03 runs per nine innings) this year. The 26-year-old right-hander has received one run or fewer of support in 16 of his 29 starts, with the Giants going 13-16 in those games.

“Pretty unacceptable,” Yastrzemski said. “We’re not playing well enough on offense. We’re not playing well enough on defense. We’re probably making too many mistakes on the mound. It’s a shame to go out there and play like that behind Webby when he competed as well as he did to start the game off today. It’s just one of those things where we’ve [got to] take a look in the mirror and decide who we want to be, and hopefully come back with some aggressive fierceness.”

Of course, the Giants’ offensive woes go well beyond Webb’s starts. San Francisco entered Monday last in the Majors in home runs (20) and OPS (.633) since Aug. 5, and the club’s flat Labor Day performance did nothing to assuage those prolonged issues.

“We’re not pressing any panic button,” Kapler said. “We’re not worried long term. But we have to fix it. We have to fix it immediately. Right now, we just have to be better.”