What we learned as Webb gets no support in Giants' loss to Reds originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO -- When lineups were announced on Monday night at Oracle Park, it seemed like all of Pleasant Hill had shown up for Cincinnati Reds rookie Christian Encarnacion-Strand. But his return to the Bay Area quickly was overshadowed by the home debut of another East Bay native.

Two games later, the player with the longest last name in MLB history got his day in the sun.

Encarnacion-Strand matched the Giants with a career-high four hits, leading the Reds to a 4-1 win. The Giants failed to come up with a sweep against a team that's right behind them in the NL Wild Card race.

The Giants didn't do much against Hunter Greene, a young right-hander who paired a 98 mph fastball with a good slider, but there was plenty of traffic once the game hit the late innings.

The Reds took a two-run lead in the top of the sixth, but the Giants got a run back when right-hander Ian Gibaut entered for Greene and immediately winged a pickoff throw down the right field line. The Giants put two runners on, but second baseman Spencer Steer -- the villain on Tuesday night -- made an athletic grab of Patrick Bailey's hard grounder.

A throwing error put two on with one out in the seventh, but the Giants again failed to score the tying run. The Reds made them pay immediately, with Encarnacion-Strand hitting a two-run shot off Tyler Rogers.

Impossible Expectations

Alex Cobb didn't know how he could match Kyle Harrison's home debut … and then he went out and threw a one-hitter. That left Logan Webb with the unenviable task of trying to live up to back-to-back incredible performances.

Early on, Webb looked like he was up to it. He allowed just one hit the first time through the order and had four strikeouts through four scoreless innings. But the Reds caught up to him in the sixth.

After singles by Spencer Steer and Elly De La Cruz, the Reds perfectly executed a double steal, getting the first run of the game. De La Cruz raced home on a single by Encarnacion-Strand, putting the Reds up 2-0.

Webb ended up getting charged with two earned runs in six innings. He allowed seven hits and struck out six.

Schmitt Happens

Casey Schmitt had just two hits in his first nine games back from Triple-A, but the staff has felt much better about his approach and swing, and he had a strong day against one of the hardest throwers in the game.

In his first at-bat, Schmitt turned on 97 mph from Greene and yanked a double down the left field line. Two innings later he got an elevated slider and hit a double to the wall in left-center. The game was Schmitt's first with multiple extra-base hits since he had two doubles against the Cubs on June 11. He also had a long homer on the homestand.

Rough First Stint

Paul DeJong led the Giants to a win last Wednesday in Philadelphia, but it's been rough sailing ever since. DeJong was 0-for-2 with a double play on Wednesday and went hitless in 20 at-bats on the homestand. Dating back to the day he was traded to the Blue Jays -- who later DFA'd him -- he has just six hits in 69 at-bats.

J.D. Davis hit for DeJong in the seventh with a runner on, with Schmitt sliding over to short. The Giants like DeJong's defense, but if Schmitt starts hitting again, it would be easy to lean on the rookie until Brandon Crawford comes off the IL. The staff should have some flexibility in the next few days since rosters expand to 28 on Sept. 1.

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