Webb laments best pitch falling flat in Giants' loss to Red Sox

Webb laments best pitch falling flat in Giants' loss to Red Sox originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Logan Webb generally is the beacon of stability in the Giants' rotation, offering an invaluable sense of confidence whenever he takes the mound every fifth day.

San Francisco's ace has been among the best pitchers in baseball during the month of April, logging a 4-1 record with a 2.20 ERA in 32.2 innings pitched in five starts before taking the bump on Tuesday night in Boston, where we quickly were reminded -- Webb included -- that he is human after all.

Webb exited the Giants' 4-0 loss to the Red Sox on Tuesday at Fenway Park after just 3 2/3 innings, allowing four runs and nine hits while taking just his second loss of the 2024 MLB season. Perhaps the most jarring statistic from Webb's line were the three walks he surrendered, an anomoly for San Francisco's ace who had only walked seven batters all season before Tuesday's start.

After throwing first-pitch strikes to 70 percent of the batters he faced in his previous start, Webb only threw a first-pitch strike to 40 percent of the 22 Red Sox hitters he faced on Tuesday.

"I think I was 1-0 or 2-0 to pretty much every single hitter tonight," Webb told reporters after Tuesday's loss. "That's not a very good recipe for success, like I said I tip my cap to those guys. I thought they were going to be aggressive; they were aggresive in the first, then they weren't very aggressive after that. It's my fault for not knowing that and not seeing that. Just bad execution all over the place."

Webb struggled particularly with his changeup -- one of the most effective pitches in baseball when it's on -- allowing seven hits while recording just five outs when he threw his signature pitch on Tuesday night at Fenway Park.

The Giants' ace offered a blunt self-assessment of his changeup after the game, acknowledging it just was an outing where he wasn't able to establish a rhythm while throwing it.

"I thought the changeup was pretty bad," Webb said. "It was either up for a strike where they could sit on it and go the the other way, or it was a non-competitive pitch. One of those nights where it wasn't very good."

Despite a rough outing in Boston , Webb still boasts a sub-3.00 ERA (2.98) during the 2024 season due to how dominant he has been to open this campaign. The Giants ace allowed just three earned runs over his previous 29 innings of work, a sample size that is much more indicative of what his value to this ballclub is and where he stands among the elite arms in the majors.

While San Francisco would have liked to start its road trip strong with its ace on the mound, Tuesday's outing was nothing more than a mere hiccup -- dare we say a needed reminder -- that even Webb is capable of experiencing the highs and lows that come with a 162-game season.

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