SEATTLE -- For a while, it looked like the Giants might finally reel off four consecutive wins for the first time this season.
Instead, they ended up falling short in devastating fashion.
The Giants blew a three-run lead after Cole Young hit a two-out, game-tying home run off ace right-hander Logan Webb in the bottom of the seventh and were ultimately walked off by the Mariners, 4-3, in 10 innings on Saturday at T-Mobile Park.
Julio Rodríguez knocked in the winning run with a sacrifice fly off reliever Dylan Smith in the bottom of the 10th inning, leaving the Giants 0-6 when trying to win a fourth straight game this year.
“I feel like I’ve preached that, I’ve talked about it,” Webb said of the Giants’ elusive search for an extended winning streak. “I’m the [guy] that messed it up. We should have won. That should be our fourth win today. It’s a momentum-killer. It just sucks. It’s tough.”
Webb was cruising early on against the Mariners, giving up one hit over his first six innings while throwing only 70 pitches. The Giants handed him a 3-0 lead after Rafael Devers and Willy Adames each launched opposite-field homers off Seattle starter Bryan Woo in the top of the sixth, but the Mariners answered back with their own show of power.
Webb looked like he might have a shot at a shutout when he returned to the mound in the bottom of the seventh, but he fell into trouble after hitting Randy Arozarena with a two-strike changeup and issuing a four-pitch walk to Josh Naylor.
Webb managed to retire Cal Raleigh on a flyout for the second out of the inning, but he couldn’t avoid damage after surrendering a game-tying, three-run homer to Young on a down-and-in sweeper.
“That’s unacceptable,” Webb said. “You hit a guy 0-2. That’s something I try to preach with the younger guys, just being in attack mode, especially if you’re winning the game. I was just trying to do too much, and then I ended up hitting him. And then the four-pitch walk after that is just not OK.”
The next batter, Luke Raley, then hit a potential inning-ending grounder to second base, but it was flubbed by Luis Arraez, forcing Webb from the game after 6 2/3 innings. Webb was charged with three runs on two hits and departed after throwing 100 pitches -- 30 of which came in the fateful seventh inning.
“One bad pitch,” manager Tony Vitello said. “But he gave up two hits. It just so happened to be the one hit was a big blow. … If you just look at the whole thing and not the result of the game for us, it was an outstanding effort.”
Neither team scored over the final two innings, sending the game into extras. Pinch-runner Christian Koss opened the top of the 10th at second base as the automatic runner, but the Giants couldn’t advance him after Seattle left-hander Jose A. Ferrer coaxed a groundout from Arraez and a flyout from Bryce Eldridge.
The Mariners then intentionally walked Casey Schmitt to put a pair of runners on with two outs for Devers. The gamble paid off, as Ferrer proceeded to win the left-on-left matchup by striking out Devers swinging on a slider.
“The team played great today,” Webb said. “This game’s on me. You can’t let that happen. You get three off one of the better pitchers in baseball, and then you're up 3-0 in the seventh inning, you’ve got to find a way to win that game. I put us in a bad spot. It’s hard to score runs against this team to begin with. When you get a lead like that, you’ve got to keep it. Plain and simple, it’s on me. I messed this one up.”