What we learned as Giants lose third consecutive Webb start

What we learned as Giants lose third consecutive Webb start originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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SAN FRANCISCO -- At times Friday, it was very easy to tell that this was a game between a team that just had a 3-7 road trip and one that had lost eight consecutive games.

The second Giants run scored on a bloop to right that had a hit probability of one percent but fell between three Cincinnati Reds. The second Reds run scored a few minutes later when Wilmer Flores couldn't snag a flare with a hit probability of five percent.

In the third, LaMonte Wade Jr. was generously given a double when his high pop-up to right -- which had a hit probability of 1 percent -- clanked off Jake Fraley's glove. The Reds later scored a run on an inside-the-park homer after Stuart Fairchild's deep drive got away from Michael Conforto and Tyler Fitzgerald in left-center.

The sloppiness cost the Giants more than the Reds, who won 4-2 to pick up their first victory since April 29.

Coming off one of the roughest road trips of his career, Logan Webb took some time to settle in, but ultimately looked like his usual self. He retired 10 of 11 after the Reds scored their third run and got his pitch count under control with a nifty five-pitch fifth inning. When Matt Chapman and Casey Schmitt combined for an athletic double play, Webb was through seven for the fifth time this season.

Webb was charged with three runs -- two of them earned -- on eight hits and a pair of walks, but his usual results came with his usual run support.

Thai-d up

The Reds scored right away off Webb, but Thairo Estrada evened things up in the bottom of the first. Estrada jumped on a hanging slider from Andrew Abbott and hit a soaring homer to left, his sixth of the year.

After a slow start, Estrada is just one homer behind Conforto for the team lead. He has reached base in nine of 10 games this month and is batting above .300 over his last 26 games after sitting at .160 through his first 13 games. With 21 RBI, Estrada now leads the team.

Before the season, manager Bob Melvin talked repeatedly about how Estrada could be an All-Star if he improved his discipline at the plate, and he gave that message to the second baseman at the start of camp. With the surge, Estrada is up to fourth among NL second baseman in fWAR and second in homers.

De La Cruzing

The Reds have a budding superstar in Elly De La Cruz, the second-year shortstop who entered the series with seven homers and an MLB-leading 23 stolen bases. There was a crowd waiting for his autograph near the visiting dugout after BP, and De La Cruz didn't disappoint in his second visit to Oracle Park.

De La Cruz singled with one out in the first and nearly got picked off right away. But a review overturned the call on the field and he immediately took off for second, stealing the bag easily. He scored Cincinnati's first run, and then got their second run in the third inning after another single and another stolen base.

With 25 stolen bases, De La Cruz has nine more than the next closest player in the Majors. He has nearly doubled up the Giants entire team, who have 13 on the season and just one over their last 14 games.

Another one down

Austin Slater slammed into the wall in left-center while trying to track down Spencer Steer's double in the first inning, and his night was over by the bottom of the second. Slater took his first at-bat, but Michael Conforto replaced him an inning later and the Giants announced that Slater was dealing with concussion-like symptoms.

It's been a brutal start to the year for the longest-tenured Giant, who is batting just .128 through 25 appearances and hasn't had his usual success against left-handed pitchers. Melvin has been looking to get him going and Slater seemed poised for three straight starts, but it seems likely he'll instead go on the concussion IL on Saturday, when Patrick Bailey comes off the same list.

The Giants can go in a number of different ways if they need to add another player Saturday. Tyler Fitzgerald can play center, so the addition doesn't necessarily have to be an outfielder. Second baseman Brett Wisely has been the best hitter of the 40-man players remaining in Triple-A and has experience in center field, although that would be swapping a lefty in for a righty.

Heliot Ramos figures to get more time, too. He hit a 108 mph double in his first at-bat Friday and scored the second run of the night.

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