Webb shows off new pitch mix vs. Astros as Giants keep rolling

Webb shows off new pitch mix vs. Astros as Giants keep rolling originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

HOUSTON — It’s not unusual for a player to return to his locker after a game and find a baseball in a glass case. It’s the move for any milestone, from a first hit (which Christian Koss is chasing) to a 100th (Tyler Fitzgerald is one away). It’s a way to commemorate big homers, big wins or your 200th double, but the Giants are putting a twist on the tradition this season.

Logan Webb had a glass case in his locker after Tuesday’s 3-1 win, but if the Giants come out on top again on Wednesday, it won’t belong to him anymore. Willy Adames had one, too, but he might not be the owner for long, either.

The Giants are celebrating wins by choosing a Player of the Game and a Pitcher of the Game, and their names are written on the two baseballs by bench coach Ryan Christenson, who might have the best calligraphy in the game. The hope is that everyone is involved, and that the balls make their way around the clubhouse. 

Webb was disappointed by his performance in the opener last Thursday, but he looked like his old self Tuesday, and he smiled as he looked up at the baseball in his locker. In a win over the Houston Astros that clinched a winning road trip, Webb threw seven innings and showed his evolution as a pitcher. 

The face of the franchise has always been known for two things: Piling up innings and dominating hitters with a sinker-changeup combination down in the zone. But on Tuesday, Webb was a four-pitch guy, and he bordered on five pitches. He has full faith in his cutter, developed last season and sharpened this spring, and he’ll mix in the occasional four-seamer to give him a third fastball he can elevate. 

“I’m just trying to mix it up, I’m trying not to be a one-dimensional guy,” Webb said. “That fastball up, whether it’s the two-seam, four-seam or cutter, it can be kind of a game changer.”

Yordan Alvarez learned that the hard way in his first at-bat. The Astros superstar swung through a cutter that was up and outside, one of six strikeouts for Webb. In the seventh, with a runner on first and a two-run lead, Webb threw him a slider down and in. Alvarez again struck out.

The two strikeouts showed why Webb is so excited about his cutter in particular. He’s now comfortable elevating on some of the best hitters in the game, and once that’s in their head, he can attack every part of the strike zone. 

“It’s just a different look for me, and being able to do that and trying to mix things up to certain hitters that maybe I don’t match up the best with, I think those are situations where I can throw something like that,” Webb said. 

The previous version of Webb would have had his name on the Pitcher of the Game ball often. He’s been one of the game’s best since his breakout 2021 MLB season, but at the age of 28, he’s hoping to evolve. Hitters taught him some lessons last year. Now it’s time to return the favor. 

“You saw some of the takes and some of the swings — it’s different now,” manager Bob Melvin said. “Alvarez [got] a couple in, a cutter in, he’s never seen that one from him before. With the sweeper and changeup, it’s really a four-pitch mix and it’s both sides of the plate, which is going to make him better. He needed all that tonight.”

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