San Francisco Giants catcher Curt Casali (2) puts the tag on Chicago White Sox right fielder Gavin Sheets (32) as he tried to advance on a ground ball hit by the Sox AJ Pollock but is called out by plate umpire Chris Guccione (68), in the top of the fourth at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Saturday, July 2, 2022, in San Francisco.

Chicago (AL) (36-39). 5. 8. 0

San Francisco (40-36). 3. 8. 2

Saturday, July 2, 2022

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO-The Giants, in Friday night’s bitter loss to the White Sox, wasted a fine performance by the first half of their Cobb-Webb combo. In this Saturday’s encounter, they pinned their hopes on the second half of that duo, sending Logan Webb (7-2, 3.04 at game time) and his wicked slider to the mound.

But starting pitching hasn’t been San Francisco’s main problem. To stop their slump, they needed to get a jump on the opposition’s mound staff and then hold on to their lead . Saturday it was Dylan Cease, bringing a 6-3, 2.56 record with him, they needed to hit early and often.

The home team did, indeed, get its much needed jump start. LaMonte Wade, Jr. ,leaned into Cease’s second delivery of the game, a 96 mph four seamer, and sent it over the right field wall, 424 feet from home, for his second home run of the year and third career leadoff round tripper.

Joc Pederson followed that with a double to right. But the Chisox starter got them to Cease and desist by retiring Evan Longoria, Brandon Belt, and Tommy LaStella, interspersed by a walk to Mike Yastrzemski to limit San Francisco’s early advantage to just one run.

That lead didn’t hold up, and the final score was 5-3 in favor of the visitors. Webb went six innings and yielded five runs, three of them earned, on six hits, one walk, and a hitter. Two thirds of his 101 pitches were considered strikes.

He took the loss, leaving his record at 7-3, 3.13. Cease lasted five episodes, during which he threw 104 pitches, 62 of which counted as strikes. He struck out four allowed four hits and three walks and hit one batter but he didn’t let San Francisco tack any runs on to its sole, initial tally. That earned him the win, making him 7-3, 2.51).

In the top of the fourth Webb got tangled up in a mess not of his own making. Tim Anderson led off by beating out a grounder to third. Then Andrew Vaughn hit a bouncing ball to the right side that Belt couldn’t handle.

Both runners might have been safe even if he had, but the scorer ruled it an error. Luis Robert’s little nubber in front of the plate moved Anderson and Vaughn up a notch each, and a 3-2 walk to cleanup hitter Abreu loaded the bases with only one out.

That brought up Gavin, who sent a line drive to left. Pederson came in for it, and the ball sailed over his head for a two run double that put Chicago ahead 2-1 and advanced Abreu to third. He crossed the plate on Yoan Moncada’s single to right.

Webb closed the inning with a nice play of his own, tossing Sheets out at home on a soft grounder towards the mound from Pollock’s bat and getting García to ground out to Belt, unassisted. But the damage had been done, and the pale hose were ahead, 3-1, after 4-1/2 innings of play.

Two of those three runs were earned, although Logan pitched well enough to have gotten out of the frame unscathed. He threw the same number of pitches total in that unlucky inning that Cease had in the first, 29.

Things went south again for Webb and the Giants in the top of the sixth. Abreu singled to left center and advanced to third on Sheets’ down the line double to right. Webb plunked Moncada with a pitch, clogging the base paths, and then fanned Pollock.

Disaster struck when Luery García hit what might have been a double play ball to Belt, who threw to second for the force on Moncada. Walton’s throw back to first went wild as Webb stumbled on his way to the base trying to cover.

Two runs scored, one on the error charged to Walton. It now was 5-1. Webb retired Seby Zavala and did not come out to pitch the seventh. He was relieved by Yúnior Marte, who, with a little help from a pitcher´s best friend, kept Chicago off the board.

Jarlín García took over for him in the eighth and allowed just a two out single to Adam Haseley, who had pinch run for Sheets in the fatidic sixth.

Tanner Banks pitched the scoreless sixth and seventh frames for the Chisox, giving way to Joe Kelly for the eighth. He fanned the first two Giants he faced but then walked Mike Yastrzemski on a full count. Yaz stole second with Darin Ruf, who had pinch hit for La Stellla in the sixth at bat.

Ruf rifled a shot down the line in right for a run producing double and shortening Chicago’s lead to 5-2. After Vosler walked, Walton grounded out to the mound.

That’s the way it stood after eight, when Jake McGee took over pitching duties for the orange and black, trying to keep the Sox within striking distance. Wade’s pretty jumping catch of Anderson’s two out fly ball at the right field fence enabled him to do it.

Kendall Graveman entered the game to bury the Giants’ hopes. He got Casali out on a grounder to third. Austin Slater pinch hit for Wade and singled to right and was forced out a second by Pederson’s grounder to García.

With two down, Longoria singled to left center, sending Pederson to third. He scored and Longoria moved to third on Belt´s base knock to center, making it 5-3. Yastrzemski worked a full count before grounding out to second to end a very frustrating loss. Graveman was credited with the save, his fifth in nine opportunities.

The Giants will try to save some face tomorrow at 1:05, when they’ll face Chicago’s Lucas Giolito (4-4, 5,19). Who will pitch for the Giants still is unannounced.