Webb earns ‘tip of the hat’ from Ohtani, Trout in spring debut
TEMPE, Ariz. — Leading up to his first Cactus League start last season, Logan Webb’s rising status was highlighted by his budding relationship with his counterpart on the mound that night, All-Star sinkerballer Marcus Stroman. Now, with a full season firmly atop the Giants’ rotation, the mutual respect on display in his first spring start Monday afternoon carried even more weight.
Webb’s first assignment this spring: Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani.
Before facing the Angels’ superstar duo, Webb exchanged greetings with Trout and Ohtani, whom Webb had never met nor faced (and one of whom, Ohtani, is setting up to be one of the hottest free-agent pursuits in history this winter).
“Whenever you get those guys tipping their hat at you, it’s pretty special,” Webb said after his outing in the eventual 8-6 exhibition win.
As for actually having to face them?
“I guess I’ve got to face the two best players in baseball,” Webb sighed. “I just didn’t want to be on SportsCenter.”
While Trout and Ohtani got the best of Webb, with two hardhit singles up the middle, he induced a double-play to erase both from the base paths. It was Luis Rengifo who made Webb pay in his second frame, launching a line-drive, two-run home run over the right field wall.
Webb, whose turn in the rotation now lines up with Opening Day on March 30, completed two innings, allowed four hits and two earned runs, and recorded one strikeout, getting Brett Phillips looking to end his outing.
“I’ll still probably be on SportsCenter,” Webb said, reluctantly.
Dealing with the pitch clock in live action for the first time — no violations from Webb — and some mechanical adjustments he is working on this spring only added another wrinkle. And while he had some arm-side misses and allowed some hard contact, in the words of catcher Austin Wynns, “Logan Webb is Logan Webb.”
“Stuff-wise, his stuff’s there,” Wynns said.
Winn shows off splitter
If you thought Trout and Ohtani were a tough first assignment for an established ace such as Webb, consider who got to (had to?) face them in their second time through the order: 25-year-old Keaton Winn. While Winn, a product of Iowa Western JC, has risen quickly through San Francisco’s systems and garnered high praise through his first bigleague camp, he hasn’t pitched above Double-A.
Yet, there he was in the third inning, standing 60 feet, 6 inches away from Trout and then, a batter later, Ohtani.
“Honestly,” Winn said, “my adrenaline was through the roof.”
Winn, whose best pitch is his splitter, paired with a fastball that reaches the upper 90s, got Trout to ground into a fielder’s choice, before getting deep into a battle with Ohtani. The count reached 3-2, and Ohtani watched one of Winn’s fastballs whistle across the outside corner for strike three.