SF Giants ace employs different strategy in dominant outing against Dodgers

Los Angeles Dodgers hitters likely expected SF Giants ace Logan Webb to offer a steady dose of sinkers, sweepers, and changeups. However, he employed a different strategy, mixing in his cutter more than he has all season.

SF Giants ace employs different strategy in dominant outing against Dodgers

Webb has seen an uptick in his strikeout rate this year due in large part to a change in pitch mix. He is using his sweeper more than his changeup, but both pitches are missing bats at a higher than they have in recent seasons.

The Giants' ace uses the sinker to get ground-ball contact, and mixes in the sweeper and changeup to get the strikeout. He added a cutter in the offseason. That has been a popular pitch among the staff with new Giants pitching coach J.P. Martinez now serving in a lead role.

The cutter has been lightly used this season. Webb has only thrown it 8.9 percent of the time, but that rate saw a large increase after Friday night. He threw 98 pitches against the Dodgers across seven innings, with the cutter thrown 28 times. That was more than any other pitch, and the changeup took the back seat to the rest of his pitch mix.

The veteran hurler got Dodgers hitters to swing at the cutter 19 times and whiff six times. That is not an exceptionally high rate, but it was an effective offering. The cutter does give Webb another pitch that has more glove-side movement compared to his sinker, which typically has armside movement.

The overall results were promising, as Webb limited the Dodgers to just two earned runs on three walks and four strikeouts in a 6-2 victory. The strikeout rate was down, and the right-handed hurler dealt with an odd strike zone. That said, he continued to keep the ball on the ground.

Giants pitchers recorded 10 hitless at-bats against Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman. In fact, Teoscar Hernández was the only Dodgers hitter to tally a hit on Friday night.

Webb was the star on the pitching side. In a battle of aces between Webb and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Giants' ace was clearly better on Friday. On the offensive side, Casey Schmitt was the star, as he blasted a go-ahead grand slam in the third inning to give the Giants the lead.