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Spencer Strider outduels Logan Webb in SF Giants 5-1 loss to Atlanta

In a battle between two of the best starting pitchers in MLB, Spencer Strider outdid Logan Webb and led Atlanta past the SF Giants.

Marc Delucchi

Spencer Strider outduels Logan Webb in SF Giants 5-1 loss to Atlanta
Spencer Strider outduels Logan Webb in SF Giants 5-1 loss to Atlanta /
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The SF Giants lost to Atlanta on Friday night 5-1, falling short in a battle between aces Logan Webb and Spencer Strider. Strider lived up to his billing as one of the best pitchers in the league, making his first start in a week. Webb, on the other hand, had his worst outing since July. Following the loss, the Giants fall to 66-62 on the season and have a negative run differential on the season for the first time since May 29th. They are now one game back of the Chicago Cubs for the final wild card.

SF Giants starting pitcher Logan Webb throws a pitch against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at Oracle Park on August 25, 2023.
SF Giants SP Logan Webb throws a pitch against Atlanta on August 25, 2023 / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Webb surrendered a solo home run to center fielder Michael Harris II in the top of the first inning, which quickly put the Giants behind. Harris pulled a fastball that was out of the strikezone and inside high over the right-field wall. It was the first of several run-scoring hits against Webb that would come on pitches outside the strikezone.

Webb exchanged zeroes with Strider in the second and third innings, but he was unable to keep Atlanta for long. Harris led off the fourth inning with a single and came around to score on a line drive double by Matt Olson. Marcell Ozuna drove Olson in with an RBI single to put Atlanta ahead 3-0.

Webb would be forced out of the game in the top of the sixth inning, when he faced the most dangerous part of Atlanta's lineup once again. Ronald Acuña Jr. tripled to lead off the inning and scored on an RBI single by Harris. After recording one more out, Giants manager Gabe Kapler replaced Webb with southpaw Alex Wood, who allowed Harris to score.

Despite allowing the inherited runner to score, Wood completed 3.2 shutout innings of work, saving the rest of the Giants' pen. He allowed just one hit and a walk alongside two strikeouts.

While Webb struggled through 5.1 innings pitched, Strider picked up where he left off last week when he completed seven shutout innings against San Francisco and struck out 10. Strider did allow a run, his first since August 7th, but he struck out nine in seven low-stress innings.

Wade Meckler (Giants Top 22 Prospect) and Luis Matos (Giants Top 4 Prospect) gave the Giants an early opportunity against Strider with back-to-back one-out singles in the bottom of the second inning. However, LaMonte Wade Jr. struck out and Acuña managed to catch a line drive from Thairo Estrada that was hit toward the right-center field gap.

Meckler did have another solid day at the plate, finishing 2-for-2 with a walk. He posted a new MLB career-high 99.7 mph exit velocity on one of his singles. He was the only Giants player to record more than one hit.

After that, the Giants did not come close to scoring again until the bottom of the sixth inning when got just under a 3-2 fastball from Strider in the bottom of the sixth inning and was forced to settle for a warning track fly out.

Finally, after Joc Pederson tripled to lead off off the seventh inning, the Giants scored their first run of the game on a groundout by J.D. Davis. Neither team would score again.

Davis doubled off the wall against Raisel Iglesias with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, a positive sign of life from the scuffling third baseman. However, he was stranded when Iglesias struck out recent acquisition Paul DeJong to end the game.

As the SF Giants continue to fall in the standings, they will look to begin righting the ship on Saturday afternoon against Atlanta. The Giants have not yet announced a starting pitcher, but whoever gets the nod will face Atlanta lefty Max Fried.

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Marc Delucchi
MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).

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