SAN FRANCISCO -- For the first time since offseason renovations, the Giants looked poised to have a light show at Oracle Park.
Camilo Doval has been waiting three weeks for a save opportunity at home, but as the closer was warming up in the bottom of the eighth, the lineup chose a hilarious time to finally break out. The Giants scored four runs in the frame, forcing Doval to sit down, but giving Ryan Walker plenty of breathing room in a 5-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
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The light show will have to wait, but the Giants were happy to at least grab some momentum for once.
Looking to win a second straight game for the first time since their third game of the season, the Giants got off to a rocky start. The first two Diamondbacks singled off Webb, but two grounders and a strikeout got him out of the inning. Those proved to be the only two hits against Webb, who had his best start of the season.
Diamondbacks starter Ryne Nelson showed good stuff early on, but a line drive back to the mound struck his pitching elbow in the second inning, forcing the Diamondbacks to turn to their bullpen in the third inning of a four-game series between two teams who figure to be vying for the same playoff spots in late September.
The Giants didn't fare any better against lefty Logan Allen, but Patrick Bailey's leadoff double led to a run in the third inning. That was it until the eighth, when Wilmer Flores drove in two runs with a double and Mike Yastrzemski brought two more home with a single.
San Francisco Giants
Looking Like 2023 Webb
Webb completed seven innings for the third straight start, becoming the first starter in MLB this season to reach 30 overall. Since getting rocked at Dodger Stadium on April 2, Webb has allowed just 18 hits and three earned runs over 21 innings. The latest strong start lowered his ERA to 2.93.
Webb got just one groundball out against the Dodgers, a low number for any starter, but an unfathomable one for a pitcher who led the Majors in groundball rate last season. Since then, he has gotten 15, 14 and 13 outs on the ground in three starts.
Familiar Faces
Nick Ahmed played 10 years and 888 games for the Diamondbacks, so he'll spend plenty of time this weekend catching up with old friends. When Ketel Marte reached second in the first inning, Ahmed jogged over and briefly hugged the man who used to be his double play partner in the middle of the diamond at Chase Field.
Ahmed was 1-for-3 with a double in his first game against the team that traded for him in 2013 and brought him to the big leagues a year later, and made a big impact defensively. With runners on the corners in a long first inning, Eugenio Suarez hit a low liner that short-hopped Ahmed, but he knocked the ball down and calmly made the short throw to second to end the inning.
On the other side, Joc Pederson was 0-for-4. The new Diamondbacks DH hit a 108-mph laser to right in his second at-bat but Mike Yastrzemski was positioned perfectly. As Pederson peeled off for the visiting dugout, he briefly looked back at Webb, who couldn't hide his smile as he checked out a replay on the scoreboard.
Still Streaking
Jung Hoo Lee didn't waste any time extending his hitting streak to 10 games. Lee led off the bottom of the first with a slow roller to short and he reached without a throw.
Lee was 2-for-4 and finished the night at .282. He also continued to show that he's settling in defensively.
Lee misjudged a flyball to center in his first night game at Oracle Park, costing Keaton Winn an out on a night when the right-hander gave up a grand slam in the first inning. But he has looked a lot sharper defensively over the past week, and he went 92 feet to run down a Jake McCarthy fly ball in the sixth and prevent a double.