SAN FRANCISCO -- It's not often that teams get the better of Milwaukee's late-game relief duo. The Giants picked the perfect time to do it.
Darin Ruf hit a two-out double off Devin Williams, who was named the NL Reliever of the Month for August as he stood on the mound in the eighth, and Thairo Estrada followed with a three-run bomb. The Giants snapped a four-game losing streak with a 5-1 win over the Brewers.
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The win guaranteed that the Giants and Dodgers enter a huge three-game series tied atop the NL West. It also wiped away a lot of frustration at the plate over the previous four games, and even most of Thursday's.
The Giants got an Austin Slater homer on the first pitch they saw, but managed just two more hits off lefty Eric Lauer. Logan Webb matched that every step of the way, though, turning in yet another dominant start. Webb allowed just four hits in seven innings.
Williams got two quick outs in the eighth but then walked Kris Bryant, who took off for second. He was ruled out, but a lengthy review overturned the call. After a walk of Brandon Belt, Ruf got three straight changeups and crushed the third one into the left field corner. Estrada followed with a homer to left, the first all year by a right-hander against Williams, who had allowed four total runs in his 33 previous appearances.
Cannot Be Stopped
Webb retired the first 10 hitters he faced until Luis Urias banged a double off the right field wall. A four-pitch walk of Christian Yelich turned the stress up, but Webb struck out Avisail Garcia. It looked like he would once again escape a jam, but Jace Peterson tied the game with a single to center.
That was just about it for the Brewers. Webb got right back into cruise control, and he was through six innings on just 75 pitches. He struck out the first two in the seventh and got out of the inning when Austin Slater threw big Dan Vogelbach out at second as he tried to stretch a single.
That was it for Webb, who had a 14th consecutive start of two-or-fewer runs and lowered his ERA to 2.56, just behind team leader Kevin Gausman (2.52). Webb tied a career-high with 10 strikeouts and set a new high with 21 swinging strikes. His three best career starts in terms of swings-and-misses have been his last three.
Two-Way Standout
Slater got the Giants going with a leadoff homer, the second of his career. Slater reached a career-high 10 homers with the blast, becoming the 10th different Giant this season to reach double-digits. That's a franchise record. The homer was also the 200th of the season for the Giants, who had hit that mark just five previous times.
Slater also chipped in from right field, gunning Vogelbach down to end the seventh inning and keep Webb from facing a little more stress. His throw was perfect, and Brandon Crawford deserves a hat-tip for calmly hanging in there for the tag as Vogelbach barreled down on him.
Still That Dude
Tyler Rogers has kind of gotten lost in the shuffle lately, but he continues to just absolutely dominate. Rogers took the eighth and struck out Jackie Bradley Jr., Luke Maile and Rowdy Tellez. The three Brewers weren't even particularly close to making good contact.
Rogers has allowed just three runs in his last 21 appearances and has been particularly tough on lefties, who were hitting .142 off him before Bradley and Tellez struck out. His ERA for the season dropped to 1.80.
