What we learned as Webb dominates in Giants' shutout loss to Reds

Logan Webb was dominant in the San Francisco Giants' 2-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night at Oracle Park.

admin admin
Apr 7, 2025 - 22:15
0 1
What we learned as Webb dominates in Giants' shutout loss to Reds

What we learned as Webb dominates in Giants' shutout loss to Reds originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO — Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.

The red-hot Giants, winners of seven straight and sitting atop the star-studded NL West, were riding high entering Monday night’s game against the Cincinnati Reds at Oracle Park.

Pretty much everything has clicked for San Francisco early on this season, and typically a dominant outing by Logan Webb would not fall by the wayside, but that wasn’t the case on Monday night as the Giants fell 2-0.

Here are three takeaways from the Giants’ (8-2) loss to the Reds (4-7):

Home Cookin’

Monday’s outing was Webb’s first at Oracle Park this season, and it went just about as expected.

The Giants ace posted a 2.83 ERA in 15 home starts last season, and his 2.83 ERA at Oracle Park since 2021 is tied with Miami Marlins’ Sandy Alcántara for the best in MLB over that span (minimum 250 IP).

Seven scoreless innings was impressive enough, but Webb (ND, 7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10K) struck out 10 batters for good measure, two shy of his career-high of 12 set on Opening Day in 2023.

One personal goal that has escaped Webb in recent years has been the 200-strikeout milestone. His career high in a season is 194, set in 2023, and if his stuff this season is as filthy as it was on Monday night, he very well could join the 200-inning/200-strikeout club in 2025.

So Nice Lee Did It Twice

It hasn’t taken Jung Hoo Lee long to remind Giants fans of what he can do at the plate and in the field after missing most of his rookie 2024 MLB season.

Not only is his bat heating up, but his defense has been just about as good as anyone’s on the team so far this season, and that includes Gold Glove third baseman Matt Chapman.

Lee made a nice sliding grab to rob Cincinnati’s TJ Friedl of a hit in the top of the first inning, and then followed it up with a similar sliding catch in the top of the fifth.

After suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in May last season, Lee has shown no hesitation going all out to make plays in the outfield, even up against the center field wall that makes fans hold their breath.

“There’s no fear going back there,” Lee said through interpreter Justin Han on April 5. “The warning track is wide and we have padding. I’ll go [all-out] there at the moment.”

All Good Things Must End

San Francisco’s 8-1 start to the 2025 season was tied with the 2003 team for the second-best start in franchise history since 1901 behind the 1918 Giants’ 9-0 start.

Their success early on this season has been fueled by strong pitching, elite defense and timely hitting. The lineup, collectively, hasn’t put up eye-popping numbers, but they’ve been just about as opportunistic as any team in baseball coming into Monday’s game.

Those clutch two-out hits, like Wilmer Flores’ walk-off in the bottom of the ninth in Sunday’s win, were nowhere to be found Monday. In fact, only two Giants runner reached second base safely (Tyler Fitzgerald in the third, Lee in the ninth) while none reached third.

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast

Read More