SAN FRANCISCO -- Last year, the San Diego Padres twice put 10 hits on Logan Webb's line. The first time he saw them this season, he gave up five runs on nine hits.
Webb is one of the best pitchers in the world and has been since 2021, but the Padres have had his number, which isn't ideal given how often the Giants see them and the likelihood that they might need to edge them in the NL West standings to make the MLB playoffs. There wasn't much to celebrate on Monday night as the Padres won 1-0 at Oracle Park to gain a game in that race, but Webb was at least able to find a few reasons to smile.
The staff ace went eight innings, scattering six hits and breezing through one of the league's best lineups, one that seemingly had figured him out. Afterward, manager Bob Melvin, formerly the Padres manager, said that was probably as well as Webb had pitched against them. Webb smiled and gently pushed back.
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Webb went the distance in his final start of 2023, beating Blake Snell and cementing his place in the top two of Cy Young Award voting. That night was classic Webb; he threw his changeup 57 percent of the time and got 15 outs on the ground, but ever since that win, the Padres have found different ways to bother him. Webb adjusted right back on Monday.
He started his night by leaning heavily on his slider to mess with hitters who had to deal with the usual shadows at 6:45 p.m., and that never slowed down. Webb ended up throwing 41 sliders, his most in a start since 2022. It was just the fifth time in 156 career starts that he threw more than 40 sliders.
"The plan was just to change some things up," Webb said. "We noticed some patterns the last couple of games and it wasn't that we pinpointed a certain pitch, it was kind of how [the Padres] went. It definitely helps when there's some shadows early in the game and I could kind of tell that they were having trouble seeing it, especially early. We just kind of stuck with it throughout the game."
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While the Padres have given Webb fits over the last two seasons, the Kansas City Royals and Padres looked comfortable against him over his previous two starts. He said he met with catcher Patrick Bailey, pitching coach J.P. Martinez, bullpen coach Garvin Alston and baseball operations analyst Mario Ferretti to come up with some fixes.
"It was a really good game plan," Webb said. "I feel like I've kind of struggled against this team probably over the past year, honestly. That's what's so hard but also so fun about this game. Especially in-division, you play a bunch of [good teams] ... I've faced them so many times and you've got to try and mix things up and try different things. We just put our heads together and said, 'We're going to try this.' It worked out."
Webb came away with a no-decision, but he lowered his ERA to 2.55, which ranks fifth in the National League. He leads the league in innings pitched and is third in strikeouts, and at home, he has been even more dominant. Webb has a 1.12 ERA in six starts at Oracle Park, the lowest by a Giant in his first six home starts since Juan Marichal posted a comical 0.31 ERA at Candlestick Park to kick off his 1966 season.
Webb's next start will come at home against a good Atlanta Braves lineup. He seems to have solved whatever bothered him the last couple of weeks, and for now, at least, he has given the Padres a new wrinkle to think about before their next matchup.
"I think that was the best I've ever seen him," Bailey said. "He had all three pitches working, 80-something percent first-pitch strikes. That's the best I've seen him."