HOUSTON -- The value of pitching to contact was on full display Tuesday night at Daikin Park, where Logan Webb was on his game in the Giants’ 3-1 victory over the Astros.
Webb earned his first victory of 2025, allowing five hits while striking out six in seven innings. The right-hander was backed by three double plays that retired three of the five baserunners he allowed. Webb gave up his only run on Jose Altuve’s homer to start the Houston fourth.
“It’s just the way I try to pitch, try to keep it on the ground,” Webb said. “We’ve got a really good infield, so [I] trust them, and they did a great job today. Always looking for a ground ball, especially with a guy on first.”
Asked if other Major League hurlers could learn from Webb, who threw 68 of his 100 pitches for strikes and did not walk a batter, Giants manager Bob Melvin said: “Don’t get me started on that, but yeah, and that’s how you stay in games for a long time.”
Mixing pitches is Webb’s goal, and on Tuesday, he threw 43 sinkers, 24 sweepers, 14 changeups, 12 cutters and seven four-seamers.
“I wish I had a pitch that I could just throw by [hitters] – boom – but I’d rather try and do some other things,” Webb said. “I feel good just kind of mixing it up. I’m going to keep doing it.”
Webb did get a pair of big K’s in the seventh after allowing a leadoff single to Isaac Paredes. A 3-2 sweeper in the dirt fooled Yordan Alvarez into a strikeout, and Christian Walker fanned on a four-seamer that was up in the zone.
“Guys like him, they’re smelling the finish line, so he knows that’s probably going to be it for him, as far as seven innings go, which nowadays is kind of a miracle,” Melvin said. “But he knows where he is, and he knows how to finish games, and he knows he’s got a ground ball any time he needs one.”
The benefit of his expanded arsenal helped Webb escape the seventh largely on his own.
“You saw some of the takes and some of the swings,” Melvin said. “It’s different now. Even kind of [with] Alvarez, a couple in, cutter in – he’s never seen that one from him before. And with the sweep or a changeup, it’s really a four-pitch mix, and it’s both sides of the plate, which is gonna make it better. He needed all that tonight.”
Webb gave catcher Patrick Bailey a lion’s share of credit on the strikeout of Alvarez, who is 1-for-16 to start the season.
“With Yordan coming up with a guy on base, [that] is not a great place to be,” Webb said. “But Patty called a great sequence there. He almost hit one down the line, but all the trust in the world to Patty when I’m pitching. He did a great job. I’m just excited to get through that part of the lineup. Also Melvin having the trust in me to go out there [in the seventh] and face those guys, that’s a positive sign. It’s a confidence booster, for sure.”
Astros starter Hayden Wesneski had trouble finding the zone in the third, walking Bailey and Christian Koss to start the inning. One out later, Willy Adames doubled to left, and the Giants didn’t hesitate to run on the arm of Jose Altuve, now playing the outfield for Houston. Koss, who made his MLB debut, followed Bailey to the plate to score his first Major League run and put the Giants up 2-0.
“It’s amazing,” said Koss, whose wife and daughter were in attendance. “You dream about this, growing up and playing. I finally got in there today and felt comfortable. … Credit to Willy, man. He hit that ball hard.”
With a leadoff homer that put the Giants up 3-0 in the fourth inning, Heliot Ramos extended his season-opening streak of games with an extra-base hit to five. The last Giant to achieve that feat was Willie Mays in 1971. The club record was set by Felipe Alou over the first six games of 1963.
The Giants’ third consecutive victory gives them a 4-1 record heading into the last game of their season-opening trip. They have clinched their fourth consecutive series victory over the Astros dating to 2021.
“Our road record [38-43] wasn’t very good last year,” Melvin said. “To win a series in Cincinnati is huge, and we’ve taken the first two here. It’s about trying to get greedy tomorrow.”
Melvin, who picked up his 1,600th managerial victory Monday night, collected his 100th against the Astros on Tuesday (in 201 games). He’s the seventh skipper with that many wins against Houston, joining Tom Lasorda (165-155), Walter Alston (162-107), Bobby Cox (138-119), Dusty Baker (134-107), Tony La Russa (133-121) and Gene Mauch (111-89).