GIANTS CATCHER'S FIRST MLB HIT A BRIGHT SPOT IN LOSS
SAN FRANCISCO >> Logan Webb and Patrick Bailey might have given a glimpse of what's to come for the Giants as the right-handed ace and the rookie catcher remained in complete harmony through six impressive innings Saturday against the Miami Marlins.
Webb had seven strikeouts and allowed just four hits in another solid outing as he threw to Bailey, who made his first MLB start and picked up his first hit for the Giants in the eighth inning.
But those were the biggest highlights for San Francisco, which was held to three hits in a 1-0 loss to the Marlins before an announced crowd of 31,993 on a mostly overcast day at Oracle Park.
Marlins starter Braxton Garrett struck out eight over 6 1/3 innings as the Giants had their four-game winning streak halted in their fifth shutout loss of the season.
“With respect to the way we swung the bat, I think we can do a better job than we did collectively as a team today,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “Sometimes a guy comes out and is hitting all of his spots, which (Garrett) was.”
Kapler, though, loved what he saw from Webb and Bailey, who gained plenty of familiarity with one another in spring training — both in the bullpen and in Cactus League games — earlier this year.
“I thought (Bailey) was in perfect sync with Logan Webb,” Kapler said, “and I imagine there's more of that to come.”
Webb threw 91 pitches and used an effective slider to record four strikeouts, using his changeup to record the other three. He was pulled after he felt tightness in his lower back but didn't believe it would be a big issue for him going forward.
Webb and Bailey also took advantage of home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt's propensity for giving the outside strike. Through three innings, Webb successfully used the outer half of the plate to record four of his five strikeouts.
Bailey, of course, did his part to make some of those borderline pitches look good.
“He was awesome,” Webb said of Bailey. “He gave me a lot
of strikes. that's for sure. He's easy to work with. He did really good back there today.”
It's not exactly Bumgarner-to-Posey just yet, but the tandem could become a regular thing with Webb, 26, locked up for five more years and Bailey, who turns 24 on May 29, possibly on the cusp of becoming a full-time big leaguer.
“It was awesome, especially for (Webb) to be I guess the first starter I catch was just really special,” Bailey said. “He was locked in today, having all three pitches going. It was really just a lot of fun to be back there.”
Bailey made his MLB debut Friday as he caught the final three innings of the Giants' 4-3 seriesopening win. His first big league hit was a single to right field in the eighth
inning Saturday that gave the Giants some life.
But after a Bryce Johnson bunt single with two outs moved Bailey to second base, Thairo Estrada grounded out to third to end the brief threat. The Giants went 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position.
Bailey said that playing Friday helped him settle in quicker on Saturday, although he was still a bit nervous, “walking out in the first. Then once everything settled in and surprisingly in my at-bats, my legs weren't shaking. Hopefully, that's a good sign and I can keep it that way.”
Webb has been rolling for over a month. Prior to Saturday over his last five starts, Webb has posted a 2.04 ERA with just eight earned runs allowed in 35 innings. In that time, he allowed 29 hits and eight walks to go with 30 strikeouts.
Kapler didn't have any
concerns about how Webb and Bailey might mesh. The two worked together in spring training, and Kapler said Bailey has had “exposure” to nearly everyone on the Giants' pitching staff.
“And that is by design,” Kapler said before Saturday's game. “We want all of our catchers that we suspect might make an appearance at the major league level to be comfortable with the pitchers when they come up, so we stagger bullpens to get every catcher a chance to catch every pitcher. We try to do the same with game action and spring training.
“That doesn't give you the highest level of familiarity, but it gives you some.”
Bailey figures to get a few more starts going forward after Joey Bart went on the 10-day injured list Friday with a Grade 1 groin strain, an issue that cropped up in the Giants' game against Philadelphia
on Wednesday.
“One reason we were confident in bringing Pat to the big leagues is he does have a pretty strong familiarity with our pitching staff,” Kapler said. “He is ready for this. It's not like he's trying to learn pitchers on the fly, which sometimes happens.”
The Marlins' run came in the eighth inning, as a J.D. Davis error at third base on a ground ball allowed Garrett Hampson to get aboard. After a sacrifice by Xavier Edwards moved Hampson to second, a single to right off Giants reliever Tyler Rogers scored Hampson for the game's only run.
Garrett baffled the Giants, who failed to get a base runner for four straight innings before Davis reached first on a catcher's interference call on Miami's Nick Fortes in the seventh. Mitch Haniger, though, then grounded into a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning.