WEST SACRAMENTO -- Some of Logan Webb's most formative baseball memories came at Sutter Health Park.
The Giants right-hander grew up about 25 miles away in Rocklin, Calif., and attended countless River Cats games when the club was a Triple-A affiliate of the A’s. As a kid, he used to sit out in the right-field berm with his family and try to collect as many autographs from players as he could. If he was extra lucky, he’d sometimes find a bullpen pitcher or catcher who was willing to play catch with him from the stands.
It felt fitting, then, that Webb ended up returning to Sutter Health Park for each rung of his baseball journey. He pitched a high school game there as a teenager. He started one Minor League game for Triple-A Sacramento there as a fast-rising pitching prospect for the Giants in 2019. And on Saturday night, he got a chance to make his first start there as a big leaguer.
Webb certainly didn’t disappoint his hometown crowd, giving up two runs over 6 2/3 innings to lead the Giants to a 7-2 win that evened this three-game series with the A’s.
"It was a blast,” Webb said. “I love being here, and I’m happy I was able to get the win here.”
Webb helped set the tone for a key bounceback game for San Francisco, which was blown out, 11-2, in its worst loss of the year on Friday night. The Giants’ lineup had a different feel following the return of third baseman Matt Chapman, who was activated from the injured list on Saturday after missing nearly a month with a right hand sprain.
Chapman went 1-for-3 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch in his first game since June 8, but it was the other half of the left side of the Giants’ infield -- shortstop Willy Adames -- who provided the biggest offensive lift, finishing 3-for-5 with four RBIs.
Heliot Ramos also launched his 14th home run of the year to help back Webb, who appears primed to earn his second consecutive All-Star selection on Sunday after going 8-6 with a 2.62 ERA through his first 19 starts of the year.
"It feels like the energy was different today,” Adames said. “Obviously, we played terrible yesterday, so we had to make an adjustment and play as a team, take team at-bats. I feel like that's what we did throughout the game. We ended up scoring a lot of runs and having a lot of fun.”
No one had a better time than Webb, who said he heard cheers of “Go Rocklin!” and “Go Thunder!” from the minute he stepped out onto the field. The A’s made him work once he took the mound, but he managed to limit the damage with the help of two double plays, including one that got him out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth.
"I thought we had him on the ropes,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “We did have him on the ropes in that inning with the bases loaded. He gets the double play. That’s a No. 1 pitcher right there that makes and executes his pitches."
Webb came out for the bottom of the seventh with his pitch count at 88 and opened the frame with back-to-back strikeouts of Max Muncy and Zack Gelof, but he couldn’t finish the inning after he gave up a double to Denzel Clarke and issued a two-out walk to Lawrence Butler. While he would have preferred to get through seven, Webb’s night still ended on a memorable note, as he walked off to a loud standing ovation from the announced crowd of 12,298.
"That was pretty cool,” said Webb, who departed after throwing 108 pitches. “I wish I gave like a wave or something. It’s always awkward in those moments. I don’t know why. You don’t know whether to wave or do something. But I feel the love from the Sacramento crowd. It was awesome to pitch at home.”
Randy Rodríguez replaced Webb on the mound and coaxed an inning-ending popup from All-Star shortstop Jacob Wilson to leave both runners stranded and preserve the Giants’ five-run lead.
Manager Bob Melvin said Webb should be a “no-brainer” for the NL All-Star team after leading the Majors in innings (120 1/3) and ranking second in the NL in strikeouts (133, behind the Phillies' Zack Wheeler's 136) and fifth in ERA (2.62) this year.
Left-hander Robbie Ray bolstered his case by tossing a complete game against the D-backs on Thursday, though Rodríguez (0.71 ERA) and fellow reliever Tyler Rogers (1.70 ERA) are certainly deserving of consideration, as well.
"Randy has been, I think, the best reliever in baseball,” Webb said. “I really hope he gets it. Ty Rog should have been an All-Star for the past five years.”