Personal history could be in the making when San Francisco Giants ace Logan Webb faces the visiting Milwaukee Brewers in the finale of a three-game series on Wednesday afternoon.
The clubs have split the first two games of the set, each getting a solid effort from a starting pitcher, the first by the Giants’ Tyler Mahle in a 3-0 win Monday before Logan Henderson threw 5 2/3 shutout innings in an 8-2 Brewers triumph in the rematch.
Webb will take the mound having gone winless (0-2 with a 7.54 ERA) in his four July starts. The three-time All-Star has never gone winless in any month with five or more starts in his career.
It’s all part of an up-and-down season for Webb, who had an ERA of 7.36 in two March starts, followed by 3.27 in April, 7.56 in May and 0.71 in June. If the pattern holds, August should be a strong month for him.
The encouraging news for Webb (5-7, 3.98 ERA) is that he’s never lost to the Brewers, going 5-0 with a 1.79 ERA in eight lifetime starts. Only Chan Ho Park (7-0 in 16 games/11 starts), Curt Young (7-0 in 13 games/10 starts) and Shelby Miller (5-0 in 12 games/nine starts) have gone at least 5-0 in a minimum of nine career starts against Milwaukee.
Webb, a 29-year-old right-hander, continued his mastery of the Brewers last month when he shut them out on one hit over seven innings in 1-0 win at Milwaukee on June 3.
Webb’s mound rival on Wednesday is scheduled to be left-hander Shane Drohan (5-4, 3.51 ERA), who has alternated wins and losses in his past four starts, going at least six innings in each.
The 27-year-old rookie made his only career appearance against the Giants on June 1, pitching the first four innings of a 16-2 home win, allowing two runs.
Webb will seek to give his team a pick-me-up after news Tuesday that 27-year-old slugger Casey Schmitt had torn the meniscus in his left knee during the win on Monday. He likely will be out for the season after compiling a .271 batting average, 21 homers and 55 RBIs.
“I’ve given him a couple of hugs, just telling him just to keep his head up and be proud of how he played this year and the season he had and position he put himself in,” Webb said in a televised interview before Tuesday’s game. “He put himself on the map. We all knew how good he was before, but now the world knows how good he is. Just be proud of that.”
The Brewers, on the other hand, continue to add talent to the lineup. Infielder Cooper Pratt, a June call-up from the minors, and outfielder Luis Lara, who earned his promotion earlier this month, combined for two hits, three runs and four RBIs in Tuesday’s win.
Webb has never pitched against either of them.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy said Pratt’s solid start — he’ll take a .283 average into the series finale — has helped Lara, his former minor league teammate who is hitting .289.
Both are 21.
“I think one sees the other handling it, and that helps each other,” Murphy observed to the media last week. “They both play defense. They both base run, and offensively, it’ll be a work in progress.”
–Field Level Media
