MLB Playoffs: Logan Webb is youngest Giant ever to start winner-take-all game

By Pedro Moura
FOX Sports MLB Writer

The Giants drafted Logan Webb three months before he turned 18. He was one of the youngest amateur players available in the 2014 class, and he has retained that relative youthfulness at every step of his climb to the majors. 

When he takes the mound against the Dodgers in Thursday’s much-anticipated National League Division Series finale, revved up on his customary three Red Bulls, Webb will do so as one of the most inexperienced aces around. In fact, he'll be the youngest pitcher in Giants franchise history to start a winner-take-all playoff game.

Webb will also take the mound as one of the sport's most successful pitchers this season, having gone 11-3 with a 3.03 ERA. But until this year, no one expected this out of him. He was never a top prospect, and even in 2020, when he established himself in San Francisco’s rotation, hitters had no trouble pounding his pitches.

But then the Giants’ new-age pitching coaches sent Webb off for the winter with an improvement plan, and he abided by it. Mainly, he increased his dependence on a sharp sinker and expanded how often he threw his changeup.

In November, second-year Giants pitching coach Andrew Bailey visited Webb in Tempe, Arizona, where he was working out and throwing at Push Performance. Already it looked like they were onto something. By spring training, when Webb dominated the Cactus League, it was clear. It took only a few more months for the impact to manifest start after start.

"Last year needed to happen for him," said Bailey, who described 2020 as the pitcher’s light-bulb moment. "We needed to struggle together, in terms of usage, mixes, grips, a lot of different things, to maximize what he did on the field."

On Thursday at Oracle Park, Webb will reportedly oppose right-handed reliever Corey Knebel as an opener before the Dodgers most likely follow with left-hander Julio Urías. He's only 99 days older than Webb, but the polar opposite in pedigree. Urías became a top prospect almost eight years ago. He arrived in the majors at age 19 and never struggled, peaking this season with 20 wins and a 2.96 ERA. He has improved in the big leagues, but he was already a polished pitcher upon his arrival. 

Webb, by contrast, has continued to develop at the highest level, especially after last year.

"He did a great job of finding out what his foundation is, and when struggles inevitably happen, he has something to rely on," Bailey said. "I think there's a little bit of a safety net there, whereas last year, it was a little chaotic when you’re searching, struggling. Now, when something goes awry, there’s a couple little cues to get back to the basics."

Webb's consistency comes from the sinker, not an especially hard pitch but one he locates well. And as long as he’s in the vicinity of his target, it almost never results in an extra-base hit.

"When he’s on, he’s got really good command," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "Even when he’s not, the ball moves a lot. He doesn’t give up a whole lot of slug, so to play for the slug is just a bad approach."

The Dodgers played for the slug in Game 1, when Webb struck them out 10 times in 7.2 shutout innings. They chased his sliders and changeups below the zone and tapped his sinkers for outs. Surely he’ll switch up his sequencing some in Game 5, but by and large, it seems he will attempt to repeat the feat.

As new as it is, this season has convincingly demonstrated that the strategy works.

"Experience comes in all different shapes and sizes," Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. "I think he can lean on some of that experience that he's had at this point and definitely trust himself because of the success he's had to date."

Through 21 starts, the only interruption to Webb’s success was a minor June shoulder injury. In 124 innings in that five-month span, including his Game 1 effort against the Dodgers, he has a 2.25 ERA and a FIP (fielding independent pitching) mark to match. There are no signs that this is a fluke. He is striking out hitters, limiting walks and suppressing homers, all at elite rates.

The Giants have won an astonishing 19 of his 21 games. The two losses were each by a single run. Over the past five months, they have outscored their opponents 118-56 in Webb's starts. He knows nothing but success in 2021.

"I think the mindset now is, ‘I've done this now for a really long period of time,’" Kapler said. "The frame of mind is different, mainly because he's got such a high level of confidence right now. I think it stems from having outing after outing of success.

"There's been a few bumps along the way. But for the most part, every time he goes out to the mound, he feels like he's going to give the San Francisco Giants a chance to win that game."

In a must-win Game 5 that will settle this iteration of the classic rivalry, the Giants are betting their season on Webb continuing his astonishing run a little longer.

Pedro Moura is the national baseball writer for FOX Sports. He most recently covered the Dodgers for three seasons for The Athletic. Previously, he spent five years covering the Angels and Dodgers for the Orange County Register and Los Angeles Times. More previously, he covered his alma mater, USC, for ESPNLosAngeles.com. The son of Brazilian immigrants, he grew up in the Southern California suburbs. Follow him on Twitter @pedromoura.