SAN FRANCISCO — The elements of a pitcher’s duel have been in place. The starters have been Logan Webb and Hunter Greene, a pair of All-Stars who met on Opening Day. The venue was Oracle Park, a pitcher’s paradise. The climate was crisp, chilly.
Webb was wonderful; Greene was masterful.
Webb threw seven shutout innings with 10 strikeouts and no walks, however Greene countered by tossing 8 2/3 shutout innings with seven strikeouts, a masterful efficiency that snapped the Giants’ (8-2) seven-game successful streak as San Francisco misplaced to Cincinnati, 2-0, in a battle of aces.
“I think Hunter’s one of the best pitchers in baseball,” Webb mentioned. “Speaking of last year, if he stays healthy, he has a good chance of probably winning the Cy Young. You see his stuff. He’s throwing 101 (mph) on pitch 100. He’s one of the best pitchers in baseball.”
Webb is among the finest pitchers in baseball in his personal proper, one who simply recorded his third profession sport the place he struck out at the very least 10 batters and walked none. However as soon as Webb exited, the Reds capitalized on Camilo Doval’s shaky command.
A day faraway from blowing a save, Doval endured one other brutal outing. Supervisor Bob Melvin known as upon Doval on account of Tyler Rogers being unavailable, and Doval started his outing by gifting the Reds (4-7) two free baserunners by way of stroll and hit by pitch. These runners superior a base on a sacrifice bunt and Doval was faraway from the sport, met with a smattering of jeers.
Erik Miller was known as upon with one out and runners on second and third, however after strolling the primary batter he confronted, Miller allowed a two-run double to Blake Dunn that gave Cincinnati a 2-0 lead. Doval opened his season with three good innings, however has since allowed six runs (three earned) over his final three outings with three walks to at least one strikeout.
“We all have faith and trust in Camilo. He’s an All-Star. He’s one of the better relievers in baseball,” Webb mentioned. “Every time he goes out there, we have faith that he’s going to do well. Today’s just a hiccup. It’s baseball. It’s nothing we’re worried about.”
For Greene, these two runs seemed to be a lot. The Giants’ finest swing of the night time off Greene was from Jung Hoo Lee, whose 384-foot fly out within the backside of the sixth would’ve been a house run in 19 of 30 ballparks. Within the ninth, San Francisco lastly planed the seeds of a rally.
Greene retired the primary two batters he confronted and flirted with a Maddux, however the Giants chased Greene from the sport as Jung Hoo Lee singled and Matt Chapman drew a stroll. The Reds known as on Tony Santillan to close the door, however in contrast to Opening Day, there wouldn’t be one other dramatic three-run, game-altering homer. Heliot Ramos despatched a low line drive to left discipline, one which clocked in at 106.7 mph, however the Reds’ Jacob Hurtubise tracked it down and awkwardly dove to corral the ball and finish the sport.
“More than anything, I think it was the slider today was even better today than the last time we saw it,” Melvin mentioned of Greene. “It was more of a strike breaking ball the last time. Now, it was strike-to-ball. When you’re throwing that hard, it’s tough to lay off that pitch, too. He’s had good stuff before in the past. I think it was about as good as stuff as he’s ever had.”
Like Greene, Webb, too, was cooking with the great things. Webb’s typically at his best when his changeup is dancing, and the Reds’ lack of offense attests that Webb’s signature pitch was in peak kind.
Half of Webb’s 12 whiffs have been with the changeup. Half of Webb’s 10 strikeouts have been with the changeup too. Webb’s changeup was elite in ’23 however merely common in ’24, and after tweaking the pitch previous to the season, he’s proud of how the pitch is at the moment enjoying. He’ll take that 1.89 ERA by three video games that comes with it, too.
“It’s probably the most excited I’ve been about my changeup in a long time,” Webb mentioned.
Lee helped out Webb’s trigger with a pair of slick, sliding catches within the first and fifth innings, his early protection being invaluable for a group whose heart fielders completed final in defensive runs saved (-24) final 12 months. Lee’s efforts delighted the “Hoo Lee Gans”, a bunch of followers within the higher degree sporting caps that seemed like hearth. The middle fielder’s deep fly ball within the sixth inning could have fallen just a few ft brief, however Lee’s ninth-inning single prolonged his hitting streak to eight video games.
As for the Hoo Lee Gans? He’ll be looking out for them going ahead.
“I can feel that the love from the fans is amazing right now,” Lee mentioned by group interpreter Justin Han.
Initially Printed: April 7, 2025 at 8:56 PM PDT
