Webb reaches 200 strikeouts, SF Giants slug 5 dwelling runs in rout of D-backs

SAN FRANCISCO — With a smack of his glove and a swift stride again to the dugout, Logan Webb celebrated a brand new profession milestone.

“I told (catcher Patrick Bailey) before the game,” Webb mentioned, “I’m only six away. But I’m not counting.”

The Giants ace wasn’t his best, nor his handiest, towards the Diamondbacks on Monday evening. However, like he has all season, Webb reached into his again pocket and located a weapon when he wanted it most.

4 runs have been already on his pitching line and a possible fifth was standing on third with two outs within the fifth, as Arizona’s No. 5 hitter, Adrian Del Castillo, stepped into the field. The depend ran full, and Webb fired a changeup on the surface nook that darted away from the left-handed batter.

Castillo provided and got here up empty. Strike three, the two hundredth of the season for the ground-ball savant turned strikeout artist. A congratulatory message flashed throughout the jumbotron, the 26,699 readily available rose to their toes and Webb made his approach off the mound, providing little acknowledgment of the feat.

However he knew. Webb added another punchout to complete with seven, requiring 110 pitches to finish six innings, and earned the win in an 11-5 trouncing to open their sequence towards Arizona.

“Obviously I knew about it,” Webb mentioned. “But the goal is to win everyday and try to win every game we can. I’m just happy we were able to do that.”

Webb walked off the mound because the Nationwide League chief in strikeouts — 201 whole — and the primary Giants pitcher to succeed in the spherical quantity since Carlos Rodón did it in 2022. By the tip of the month, he’ll all however actually develop into the primary within the franchise since Madison Bumgarner to take action whereas additionally pitching 200 innings.

“I’m super fired up for him, super proud,” Bailey mentioned. “He works his butt off. He goes out there every fifth day, no matter how he feels, and gives us all he’s got. To be able to accomplish that goal for him, it’s really special.”

San Francisco Giants' Willy Adames (2) tries to throw out...

San Francisco Giants’ Willy Adames (2) tries to throw out Arizona Diamondbacks’ Ildemaro Vargas (6) at first base within the ninth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. Vargas was protected. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)

Arizona Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll (7) steals second base towards San Francisco Giants’ Christian Koss (50) within the fifth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. Carroll would advance to 3rd base. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)

San Francisco Giants’ Heliot Ramos (17) hits a two-run dwelling run towards the Arizona Diamondbacks within the sixth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)

San Francisco Giants’ Heliot Ramos (17) celebrates his two-run dwelling run towards the Arizona Diamondbacks within the sixth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)

San Francisco Giants’ Matt Chapman (26) makes it safely to first base towards Arizona Diamondbacks’ Ildemaro Vargas (6) within the sixth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)

San Francisco Giants’ Jung Hoo Lee (51) makes a catch for an out in centerfield on a ball hit by Arizona Diamondbacks’ Ildemaro Vargas (6) within the sixth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)

San Francisco Giants’ Christian Koss (50) celebrates his two-run double towards the Arizona Diamondbacks within the sixth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)

San Francisco Giants’ Heliot Ramos (17) celebrates his two-run dwelling run with San Francisco Giants’ Christian Koss (50) towards the Arizona Diamondbacks within the sixth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)

San Francisco Giants’ Dominic Smith (7) celebrates hist two-run dwelling run with San Francisco Giants’ Matt Chapman (26) towards the Arizona Diamondbacks within the third inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)

San Francisco Giants’ Jung Hoo Lee (51) celebrates his two-run dwelling run towards the Arizona Diamondbacks within the second inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)

San Francisco Giants’ Jung Hoo Lee (51) hits a two-run dwelling run towards the Arizona Diamondbacks within the second inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)

San Francisco Giants’ Heliot Ramos (17) makes a catch in left area for an out on a ball hit by Arizona Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll (7) within the first inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)

San Francisco Giants’ Patrick Bailey (14) heads to the dugout after hitting a solo dwelling run towards the Arizona Diamondbacks within the eighth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)

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When he walked off the mound, Webb wasn’t in line for the win. However that modified in a rush, because the Giants loaded the bases to start the underside of the sixth and hung a five-spot on the scoreboard by the point it was over, handing a commanding lead over to the bullpen.

Paired with the Mets’ 1-0 loss to the Phillies, the win pulled the Giants (73-71) inside three video games of the ultimate wild card spot. They’d been 7½ video games again as just lately as August 22 earlier than occurring to win 12 of their previous 15 video games.

“I think we’re trying to stay away from actually focusing too much on that and just trying to continue to play well,” mentioned supervisor Bob Melvin. “It’s a little different strategy than before. We were in a really good position and all of a sudden we’re completely out of it. It didn’t look like there was much on the horizon for us, and then all of a sudden you go on a run like this and you put yourself back in position.”

Christian Koss doubled in a pair to start the scoring within the fifth, and Heliot Ramos put an exclamation level on the rally with a 435-foot tank that landed halfway up the bleachers in left-center area. Ramos’ homer, his seventeenth of the season, was the Giants’ third of the sport, including on to a pair of souvenirs Jung Hoo Lee and Dominic Smith supplied to followers atop the arcade in proper area.

Lee, within the second, and Smith, within the third, answered for Arizona’s runs within the prime half of every inning, earlier than the Giants broke it open within the sixth. Matt Chapman added on with a solo shot within the seventh, and Bailey joined the ability social gathering within the eighth.

The Giants’ 5 dwelling runs set a season-high, their most in a sport at Oracle Park since 2021. It was additionally the third time this season they’ve slugged 4 in a single sport — all occurring previously two weeks.

Requested to sum up their sudden energy surge, all Bailey may say was, “They say hitting’s contagious, and you’re kind of seeing it right now.”

“It’s really fun to watch,” added Webb, for whom the run assist is a welcome change of tempo. “The guys are feeding off each other. … We had a rough stretch for a while in every facet of what we were doing — pitching, hitting, defense — it wasn’t the way we wanted to play baseball. Now we’re playing it the right way.”

Webb breezed by the primary inning on 9 pitches however wanted 31 to finish the second, issuing a pair of walks that each got here round to attain after Koss flubbed a tough chopper up the center that will have been the third out. Arizona added one other two-out run after Webb allowed a leadoff single to Ketel Marte to start out the third and couldn’t put away Blaze Alexander, who snuck a nubber previous a diving Smith at first base with two down.

The occasional piece of sentimental contact sneaking by the infield is a built-in a part of Webb’s sport as a sinkerballer who coaxes floor balls at one of many highest charges within the league. The power to show to the strikeout to recuperate from these is a brand new wrinkle Webb added this season.

“I think it’s just the execution,” Bailey mentioned of the explanation behind Webb’s uptick in whiffs. “I feel like this year he’s been really dialed in about locating the pitches. The four-seam has been really big with two strikes. It takes some pressure off the changeup. The sweeper’s been really good, too, to both sides.”

The most important key, Bailey mentioned, was depend leverage. Webb’s 69.5% first-pitch strike fee trails solely the Tigers’ Tarik Skubal.

“You strike more guys out when you give them some strikes,” Bailey mentioned. “He does a really good job of that.”

Beforehand, essentially the most batters Webb had fanned in a season was 194 in 2023, however these got here in a major-league-leading 216 innings. He was sitting on that quantity coming into his begin Monday evening, at solely 178⅔ innings. He has shouldered the majors’ largest workload every of the previous two seasons and is doing so once more this yr, at a league-leading 184⅔ frames, however now finds himself atop a brand new leaderboard.

“(He’s) getting better, pitch-mix wise,” Melvin marveled earlier than the sport. “Look at how his pitches work now, all the different ones, that’s why you’re seeing all these strikeouts now. … That really wasn’t him before. Now, he can get strikeouts when he needs to, ground balls when he needs to. He’s just a better pitcher now and continues to get better.”

Initially Revealed: September 8, 2025 at 9:05 PM PDT