Hunter Greene outduels Logan Webb in SF Giants 4-1 loss to Reds

The SF Giants sent ace Logan Webb to the mound on Wednesday looking for a sweep against the Cincinnati Reds, but the offense came up short.

The SF Giants lost to the Cincinnati Reds 4-1 on Wednesday afternoon, wasting a quality start from ace Logan Webb that could have resulted in a huge sweep of one of their biggest competitors in the National League Wild Card race. Still, after taking two out of three, they are tied with the Dbacks for the final postseason spot and are a game ahead of Cincinnati. Overall, they are 69-64 on the season.

Reds SP Hunter Greene throws a pitch against the SF Giants on August 30, 2023 / Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

After Kyle Harrison (Giants Top Pitching Prospect) earned comparisons to Tim Lincecum following his historic Oracle Park debut on Monday, Webb had a day reminiscent of a different franchise legend. Matt Cain.

Cain was a fantastic pitcher for the Giants, particularly early in his career, but through a combination of bad luck and the timing of his arrival in the majors, it seemed like his great outings were consistently wasted by offensive struggles, poor defense, or a bullpen implosion.

The Giants have had some Cain-era struggles to give Webb run support this season, although the team's entire offense has admittedly been in a horrendous slump for nearly three months. But on the heels of two magical wins, the combination of offensive, defensive, and bullpen struggles behind a great effort from a starting pitcher was undeniably Cain-esque.

Reds starter Hunter Greene deserves the lion's share of credit for Cincinnati's victory. The top high school prospect in the 2017 MLB Draft, Greene has an excellent two-pitch arsenal, primarily bouncing between his high-90s four-seam fastball (topped out at 98.9 mph on Wednesday) and a high-80s slider.

Home plate umpire Bill Miller had a big strike zone on getaway day, which both pitching staffs took advantage of. Webb used his more consistent command to test the patience of Cincinnati's hitters by benefitting from several strike calls an inch or so off the plate. But even with less command, Greene still benefitted from the favorable zone.

The Giants did not have a runner reach base with fewer than two outs until Mike Yastrzemski, who was activated from the injured list prior to the game, led off the fifth inning with a walk. Greene immediately erased the baserunner, though, generating a ground ball double play from shortstop Paul DeJong.

On the mound, Webb allowed a single to fellow Northern California native Christian Encarnacion-Strand with one out in the second inning. Then, the sinkerballer induced a surefire double-play ball from Nick Senzel. But rather than ending the inning, second baseman Thairo Estrada's throw to first base pulled LaMonte Wade Jr. off the bag. A couple of pitches later, Webb picked off Encarnacion-Strand, but Wade's throw to second base bounced off him into the outfield. Webb still worked around the pair of mistakes by striking out Will Benson to end the inning.

Webb managed to hold the Reds scoreless until the top of the sixth inning. Spencer Steer, the same hitter who ended Alex Cobb's no-hit bid on Tuesday night, lined a single off the right-field wall. Steer advanced to third on a single by Elly De La Cruz. 

De La Cruz quickly tried to steal second base, getting a great jump off of Webb. As soon as catcher Patrick Bailey tried to throw him out, Steer broke for home. Estrada had enough time to catch the throw from Bailey and throw Steer out at the plate, but his toss was too wide for Bailey to catch it and tag Steer in time. Instead of getting a huge out, the Giants trailed 1-0. Then, Encarnacion-Strand singled home De La Cruz to give the Reds a 2-0 lead.

With a well-rested bullpen, Giants manager Gabe Kapler ended Webb's outing after six innings and 92 pitches. Webb surrendered two runs on seven hits and zero walks, alongside seven strikeouts. It was Webb's 15th start this season where he completed at least six innings while allowing fewer than three earned runs. They have now lost six of those outings.

Casey Schmitt was easily the Giants' biggest offensive bright spot. Schmitt squared up Greene in each of his trips to the plate, recording a pair of hard-hit doubles, including one to lead off the seventh. With Schmitt on base, Thairo Estrada hit a bloop single into shallow center field to put runners on the corners with one out for Wilmer Flores.

Flores has easily been the Giants best hitter this season. So, Reds manager David Bell decided to remove Greene from the game for right-handed reliever Ian Gibaut.

Before Gibaut threw a pitch, he made a pickoff throw to first base that bounced off Encarnacion-Strand's glove and allowed the Giants' only run of the game to score. While Gibaut retired Flores and Patrick Bailey to end the inning, Greene was still charged with a run. Across 5.1 innings pitched, Greene struck out six and allowed one unearned run on three hits and a walk.

Fernando Cruz took the mound for the Reds in the seventh inning. He walked Yastrzemski to lead off the inning and, two batters later, made a bad throw to second base on a check-swinging bunt by Wade Meckler that should have at least resulted in one out. Instead, Schmitt had an opportunity with two runners on and one out.

Schmitt worked a full count against Cruz, making an excellent take against a 3-2 splitter just below the zone. But on the next pitch, he took another splitter that was a little higher and caught the outside corner. With two outs in the inning, Wade came to the plate and flew out in what would be the Giants' last plate appearance with the tying run in scoring position.

Giants top setup arm Tyler Rogers, pitching for the third time in four days, allowed two runs on three hits in the eighth inning. De La Cruz singled to left fielder Joc Pederson, whose well below-average defense was noticeable on several plays throughout the game, allowed the rookie to stretch it into a double. Two batters later, Encarnacion-Strand capped off a banner day in front of his hometown crowd with a two-run homer. He finished the day 4-for-4 with a double, home run, and three RBI.

By the way, just to further the similarities between Webb and Cain's bad luck, Rogers has allowed a run in eventual Giants losses eight times this season. Half of those appearances were started by Webb.

Reds closer Alexis Díaz walked Bailey on four pitches to start the ninth inning but quickly found the strike zone, benefitted from a great defensive play by De La Cruz, and did not allow a run to score. He recorded his 35th save of the season, tying Giants closer Camilo Doval for the National League lead.

After taking a series against the Reds, the Giants will head on the road for back-to-back series against other Wild Card contenders. Before they face the Chicago Cubs next week, they will head south for a three-game set against the San Diego Padres, who desperately need a positive stretch to avoid falling into irrelevance. First pitch at Petco Park on Thursday is scheduled for 6:40 PM Pacific. The SF Giants have not yet announced a probable starting pitcher. Rookie Pedro Avila is scheduled to start for San Diego.