What we learned as Webb leads Giants to another series win

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SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants are undefeated in their City Connect jerseys and they basically never lose when Logan Webb touches the mound these days. That made Tuesday's win a given, even if it got a little hairier than they would have liked in the late innings.

Webb was brilliant for most of the night and the Giants hit two more homers, edging the Mets 3-2. At 78-42, they already have more wins than any Giants team since 2016. 

Webb threw a career-high 7 1/3 innings and extended his streak to 11 consecutive starts of allowing two runs or fewer. He's the fourth pitcher in franchise history to do it, and incredibly, the second this year. Kevin Gausman had a streak of 12 straight such starts early on. 

Webb broke a sweat just once before the eighth, when a near-homer and an infield single put runners on the corners in the fourth inning. During this run, he has been able to pull double-play grounders from thin air whenever he's in a jam, and he did so right away. Jeff McNeil bounced a tight slider up the middle and Brandon Crawford turned a nifty inning-ending double play. 

Webb was at just 78 pitches through seven and Gabe Kapler pushed him. The top of the Mets' lineup made both men pay. With Brandon Nimmo on first, Pete Alonso hit a 107 mph liner into the left field seats to get the Mets within one run and end Webb's night. 

Old friend Kevin Pillar came up with the tying run on second with two outs in the ninth, but Dominic Leone froze him with a breaking ball on the inner half, clinching the win. 

Logan's Run

Entering the night, Webb was one of just five MLB starters with a groundball rate of at least 50 percent and a strikeout rate of at least 25 percent, and that's how he lived on Tuesday. Eleven of the first 12 Mets hitters either struck out or hit a grounder and 21 of Webb's 22 outs came that way.

Webb lowered his season-long ERA to 2.92 and improved to 7-3. He has a 1.64 ERA over his last 11 starts. Not surprisingly, the Giant have won 10 of them. 

Join The Club

Evan Longoria gave Webb some insurance in the bottom of the seventh, crushing a high solo shot to the bleachers. The homer was Longoria's first since May 31 and gave him 10 on the year. 

Longoria became the ninth different Giants hitter to reach double-digits this season, tying a franchise record set by four previous Giants rosters. This is the first time since 2000 that the Giants have nine players with double-digit homers, and they should break the franchise mark. Austin Slater is one homer away from reaching 10 for the first time as a big leaguer. 

RELATED: Picture of Giants', NL West playoff odds is worth 1,000 words

Two-Run Tommy

Since Tommy La Stella returned to the lineup on the last road trip, a lot of the attention has been on the quality of his at-bats -- but the Giants know he's capable of much more than just grinding out pitchers. 

La Stella hit 16 homers in 2019, but has not shown much pop as a Giant. He went dead center in the first inning, though, handing Webb an early lead. After LaMonte Wade Jr.'s leadoff single, La Stella stunned Marcus Stroman with his second homer of the season. The Giants led 2-0 after just eight pitches.

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