Webb chosen for NLDS Game 1
Giants name RH the starter for Friday’s opener
SAN FRANCISCO » After pitching the Giants to a National League West title with a stellar performance in the regular season finale, right-hander Logan Webb will start Game 1 of the NLDS on Friday.
Manager Gabe Kapler announced Wednesday that Webb, and not AllStar right-hander Kevin Gausman, will start Game 1 of the NLDS at Oracle Park against the winner of the National League wild card game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Giants will know their opponent by late Wednesday evening as the Dodgers, the second-place finishers in the NL West, are hosting a Cardinals team that rode an unlikely 17-game win streak during September to a playoff berth.
With Webb set to pitch Game 1 of the NLDS, Gausman will take the ball in Game 2 on Saturday with a full week of rest between starts. The first pitch of Game 1 is scheduled for 6:37 p.m. on Friday while the first pitch for Game 2 is set for 6:07 p.m. on Saturday.
Kapler said giving Gausman six days of rest between starts was a primary factor in the team’s decision as he said Webb’s body is “bouncing back” better between outings whereas Gausman has seen an uptick in velocity and command when he has a chance to take an extended breather in between trips to the mound.
The Giants haven’t determined
who will start Game 3 of the NLDS on Monday as right-hander Anthony DeSclafani and lefty Alex Wood are both viewed as strong candidates for the assignment.
Webb, 24, was one of the best pitchers in the National League during the second half of the schedule and capped off the first full season of his major league career with seven-plus innings against the Padres in an 11-4 victory. Webb had allowed just one run before giving up three consecutive singles to open the eighth inning and was ultimately charged with four earned runs.
Webb ended the year with a 3.03 ERA, but posted a 2.71 mark after the All-Star break as the Giants went 14-2 in his second half starts. The righty hasn’t been charged with a loss since May 5, when he gave up a season-high six earned runs in 3 2/3 innings at Coors Field against the Rockies.
Gausman finished the best full season of his MLB career Saturday with seven innings of one-run ball in a 3-2, 10-inning loss to the Padres. The veteran starter was named to his first career All-Star team this season after finishing the first half with a 1.73 ERA in 18 starts, but he struggled with command of his splitter and was inconsistent until his last two starts of the regular season.
Gausman regained the form he showed early in the year on September 26 in Colorado as he tied his career-high by generating 25 swings and misses on just 90 pitches while throwing six innings of one-run ball against the Rockies. With seven more strong innings against the Padres on Saturday, the Giants have every reason to believe Gausman can continue to thrive in the postseason.
This year marks Gausman’s third trip to the playoffs, but his first as a starter as he pitched out of the Orioles bullpen in 2014 before pitching in relief for the Braves during Game 3 of the NLDS in 2018.