This one got out of hand in a hurry. San Francisco broke through for 3 in the second, then blew it open with 7 more in the sixth and 3 apiece in the seventh and eighth, piling up 17 hits against a Brewers pitching staff that had no answers. Milwaukee's 3 errors didn't help matters, turning a rough day on the mound into a full-on rout.
It's a strange result for a Brewers team that came in 67-40 and sitting atop the NL Central, riding a lineup that's gotten a huge lift from Christian Yelich since he returned from injury. But this Milwaukee roster has real scar tissue on the pitching side — Brandon Woodruff is out for the season after shoulder surgery, Quinn Priester is looking at 8-to-10 months following thoracic outlet surgery, and Kyle Harrison is still working his way back from a forearm issue. Needing a body like Pannone to soak up innings in San Francisco is exactly the kind of game a 27-game division lead is built to withstand.
For the Giants, it's a rare feel-good afternoon in a lost season. San Francisco is stuck at 45-62 and dealing with its own rash of injuries — Matt Chapman and Casey Schmitt both banged up, with Schmitt reportedly facing knee surgery that could end his year, and Harrison Bader adding a scooter accident to his foot troubles. None of that mattered Wednesday with Webb dealing and the offense finally breaking out. It won't move the standings, but it's the kind of game a last-place club can point to when someone asks if this roster still has any life left in it.