SAN FRANCISCO -- Logan Webb’s afternoon appeared to be over when manager Tony Vitello walked out to the mound to seemingly make a pitching change in the top of the eighth inning Sunday.
Webb was at 105 pitches and had just allowed the Cubs to get on the board after Dansby Swanson scored from first on a single and a throwing error by first baseman Casey Schmitt. But the Giants' ace managed to convince Vitello to let him stay in the game and face Michael Busch with a runner on second and two outs.
The move looked like it might backfire when Busch smoked the first pitch he saw from Webb toward the warning track in right field. But outfielder Jung Hoo Lee made sure it worked out, chasing down the 316-foot drive with an incredible running grab before crashing into the wall to rob Busch of extra bases.
Lee’s tumbling catch helped Webb get through eight innings for the second consecutive start and lead the Giants to a 5-1 win that denied the Cubs a three-game sweep in Sunday afternoon’s series finale at Oracle Park.
“No matter how that play goes, it’s a phenomenal outing for Webby,” Vitello said. “But Jung Hoo kind of put an exclamation point on it.”
Webb looked amazed after watching Lee pull off the run-saving play, thrusting his arms in the air while soaking in the impromptu “Jung Hoo Lee!” chants from the crowd.
“It was almost a terrible decision,” Webb said of Vitello’s willingness to leave him in the game. “Thankfully Jungy caught that ball. I always want to stay out there. I’m happy I was able to get out of it.”
Lee sustained a season-ending left shoulder injury when he crashed into the center-field wall while attempting to make a catch during his rookie season in 2024, so he admitted that his body sometimes gets “a little cold” when he needs to make plays up against the fence. Still, he brushed those anxieties aside and went after the ball fearlessly because he was determined to back up Webb.
“I just knew that Webby wanted to finish the inning bad,” Lee said via interpreter Justin Han. “I was out there watching him. I wanted to really help out, so I got that catch out there in the outfield.”
Webb departed after allowing only one unearned run on seven hits in his 106-pitch gem, giving him a 0.66 ERA in four outings since returning from the injured list. He’s lowered his ERA from 5.06 to 3.46 over that span, reasserting himself as the unquestioned leader of the Giants’ pitching staff.
“He goes out there and gives us a chance to win every day, especially now that he’s healthy and he feels good,” said third baseman Matt Chapman, who moved into the leadoff spot for the first time since 2022 on Sunday and blasted a two-run home run that capped a three-run rally in the fifth inning.
“You see what he’s done since he’s come off the IL. He looks like himself. He’s hitting spots, throwing the ball well and keeping guys off balance. He’s a guy that wants to pitch late in every single game and never wants to give the ball up. I’m not surprised that he wanted to keep the ball.”
Webb also completed eight innings in his last start against the Nationals on Monday, but the Giants squandered his effort when Keaton Winn blew a two-run lead in the top of the ninth. Webb was at 99 pitches when he came out of that game and assumed he was done when pitching coach Justin Meccage came over to shake his hand in the dugout.
Vitello checked in with Webb shortly thereafter, but the two-time All-Star had already started shutting it down at that point. That prompted the Giants to hand the ball to Winn, who didn’t look sharp while pitching for the third consecutive day and ultimately landed on the 15-day IL with a right elbow strain.
Did that previous experience compel Webb to be a little more assertive with Vitello on Sunday?
“The whole thing was kind of weird,” Webb said. “I think there was just some miscommunication. A lot of people who have opinions on it don’t really know what’s going on in here. But it’s completely different.”
“For the most part, I feel like [Webb and I] are on the same page about as good as you can get,” Vitello said.
After completing a 2-4 homestand against the Nationals and Cubs, the Giants will head to the East Coast to kick off a six-game road trip against the Braves and Marlins.
“I think the biggest thing to take away from the last six games is we can come back in any situation,” Vitello said. “And then also just to show what we can do when Webby is in full mode.”