Logan Webb's complete game leads SF Giants to 2-1 victory over Padres

In a battle between two Cy Young contenders, SF Giants righty Logan Webb's stamina helped him defeat Blake Snell and the San Diego Padres.

The SF Giants defeated the San Diego Padres on Monday night 2-1. In a battle between two of the best pitchers in MLB, Giants righty Logan Webb was able to come out on top against Padres lefty Blake Snell. Following the win, the Giants moved ahead of the Padres in the standings and avoided falling behind San Diego for the first time since May 16th. A lot has gone wrong in San Francisco over the past few months, but finishing the season behind the Padres would be another low point to cap off the team's second-half collapse.

It must have seemed like Groundhog Day for Webb for most of the night. He completed his league-leading 22nd quality start, extended his league-leading innings pitched tally to 216, and lowered his ERA on the season to 3.25. Yet, it looked like he was going to pick up a loss for most of the day.

Webb stumbled out of the gate. He allowed a lead-off single to Xander Bogaerts, followed by a double to Fernando Tatís Jr. Webb induced a soft groundout from Juan Soto, but then Manny Machado hit a high pop fly into shallow left field.

Left fielder Luis Matos took a direct route to the ball but hesitated out of his break. That split-second delay likely cost Matos a chance to make the catch and allowed the ball to hit the ground just beyond a dive. He managed to keep the ball in front of him, though, holding to a single. While Matos would record a double play on the next play, the Padres took a 1-0 lead.

Manny getting the scoring started 👏 pic.twitter.com/wDdMnP0rPL

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) September 26, 2023

After the first, the Padres were only able to manage six singles against Webb across the next eight innings. By the end of his start, Webb had allowed one run on eight hits and a walk with seven strikeouts and zero walks in nine innings pitched. It was the fourth time this season Webb has completed eight innings pitched without allowing more than one run and his second complete game.

The Giants offense reached base in every inning against Snell. Austin Slater led off the first with a single, Marco Luciano walked in the second, Slater hit a ground-rule double in the third, J.D. Davis singled in the fourth, and Slater was hit by a pitch in the fifth. However, they were unable to get multiple hitters on base in the same inning until the sixth.

With two outs in the sixth inning, Snell walked Luciano for the second time in the game. Mitch Haniger put two runners on base with a line drive single into left field, but Patrick Bailey struck out on three pitches.

Padres manager turned to his bullpen at the start of the seventh inning. Tom Cosgrove allowed a two-out single to Slater before he was replaced by Robert Suárez who retired the side.

In the eighth, however, Suárez issued a one-out walk to pinch-hitter LaMonte Wade Jr.. Luciano came to the plate and lined a 2-2 fastball down the right-field line with a 99.5 mph exit velocity for a double to put two runners in scoring position.

Giants manager Gabe Kapler deployed Joc Pederson as a pinch-hitter for Haniger against the right-handed pitcher in the clutch situation, but he was intentionally walked to get to Bailey. The rookie catcher hit a soft ground ball to first base that led to a force out at home.

After Monday's game, Bailey has just seven hits and three walks in 54 plate appearances in September with 18 strikeouts. Bailey has openly discussed increased fatigue as his workload has eclipsed his previous single-season highs in the minor leagues. San Francisco is hopeful that is something that a continued focus on adding more bulk to his frame can help correct in the offseason.

With two outs in the inning, Kapler sent another pinch-hitter to the plate to try and get on the scoreboard. This time, it was Michael Conforto who lined a 1-1 pitch past a diving Machado at third base for a go-ahead two-RBI single.

Clutchforto! pic.twitter.com/Q054gGe9h0

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) September 26, 2023

Webb returned to the mound in the ninth with a one-run lead and allowed singles to Soto and Machado to start the frame. A groundout by Ha-Seong Kim put two runners in scoring position for Ji-Man Choi. In a strikeout situation, Webb got another slow groundout to Wade at first base. He made a quick throw to Bailey at home, who tagged Soto out. Then, Webb got a ground out from Jurickson Profar to finish off the game.

In a messy race for the National League Cy Young, Snell did probably further solidify himself as the favorite with another dominant outing. Snell struck out seven across six shutout innings pitched, allowing four hits and two walks. He lowered his league-leading ERA to 2.25. However, his inability to work deep into games proved costly. For Giants fans clamoring for Webb to get the award, they got an excellent Exhibit A for why he should on Monday night.

The SF Giants will continue battling the Padres and look to keep the winning ways going on Tuesday. Now 78-79, the Giants will send rookie Kyle Harrison (Giants Top Pitching Prospect) to the mound. He will face veteran righty Seth Lugo. First pitch is slated for 6:45 PM Pacific at Oracle Park.