SAN FRANCISCO -- Logan Webb's response to not making the MLB All-Star team last season was a memorable one. On the final day of the first half, he shut out the Colorado Rockies, picking up the first career complete game that he had been chasing since breaking through in 2021.
His first start after finally being named to the All-Star team ended up being one he'll quickly want to forget.
Webb was charged with seven earned runs, tying a career-high that he first set back as a rookie, and the Giants lost 10-6 to the Toronto Blue Jays. They have for weeks seemed allergic to actually getting back to .500, although this was certainly a shocking way to pick up their 48th loss.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Webb had allowed just 14 total runs in eight previous starts at home this season, and he had recorded at least 18 outs in every start for the past two months. Early on, he looked like he might match last season's performance against the Rockies, but the Blue Jays scored three runs in the fifth and then six in the sixth, with Webb and Sean Hjelle giving up six consecutive hits.
Webb was visibly frustrated after Davis Schneider's single in the fifth, just the second Blue Jays hit of the night. Two batters later, he threw a third straight low changeup to Ernie Clement, who dug it out for a go-ahead three-run homer.
"I got mad after the Schneider base hit and that's never a good thing to do when you're out there," Webb said. "I let it snowball."
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. opened the sixth with a long double to center and the Blue Jays ended up batting around, turning a close game into a blowout. Four of the six runs in that inning went on Webb's line, bumping his ERA to 3.47.
San Francisco Giants
Webb would have been a long shot to start the All-Star Game next Tuesday, although the National League doesn't have a slam dunk choice. Even with Wednesday's rough outing, he has a healthy lead atop the innings leaderboard, and he was seventh in ERA coming into the night. A strong outing could have put him right in the mix with Chris Sale, Ranger Suarez and possibly Paul Skenes, although now he'll likely just be pitching an inning or two in the middle of the game.
Still, it was another strong first half for Webb, who kept the Giants afloat while they patched together the rest of their rotation. No other pitcher on staff is even within 30 innings of Webb.
"This is the one real blip, this game, in his first half," manager Bob Melvin said. "They're going to happen sometimes. I'm proud of the fact he's an All-Star. We'll see where they go with the starting assignment."
Webb was in no mood to think about that after one of the worst starts of his career. He said there was "good and bad" in his first half, adding this was a poor way to end it. Aside from the All-Star Game, Webb won't pitch again until July 19 at the earliest, so he'll finally get an extended break, but on Wednesday he was mostly focused on trying to figure out what went wrong, and how it happened so quickly.
"I was excited," he said of the All-Star Game. "Not as excited right now, to be honest with you. But yeah, it'll be a cool experience."
Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast