Webb takes the ball at Chase Field at 6:40 PM MT on Tuesday, June 30 against a Diamondbacks rotation that has been gutted from top to bottom. Ryne Nelson, Michael Soroka, and Corbin Burnes are all on the injured list — Burnes hasn't thrown a competitive pitch for Arizona all year. The Diamondbacks have been plugging the rotation with callups since mid-June, most recently 22-year-old lefty Mitch Bratt, who made his MLB debut this week and brings a 2.84 ERA from Triple-A Reno into a big league job he wasn't supposed to have yet. Webb, meanwhile, has posted sub-2.00 ERA ball in June with 3 consecutive 8-inning outings. The form gap between these 2 starters is hard to overstate.
The Giants are wasting him. San Francisco signed Rafael Devers, Willy Adames, and Matt Chapman this offseason, spent north of $200 million in payroll, and put together a lineup that ranks near the bottom of MLB in walks, home runs, stolen bases, and runs scored. They have been shut out 7 times and held to 1 run or fewer in more than a third of their games. Casey Schmitt has been the most reliable bat in the lineup — which was not the plan. Webb can throw 8 innings of 1-run ball every 5 days and it still might not matter if this offense stays where it is.
Arizona's 41-40 record looks OK from a distance, but the rotation situation puts the second half in serious jeopardy. On top of the 3 starters already gone, the Diamondbacks placed Jordan Lawlar on the 10-day IL last week with a hamstring strain. The offense has been functional enough to keep them afloat, but if they are running Bratt or Jose Cabrera out there every 5th day through July, this wild card spot gets harder to hold. The Giants are not a threat to run them out of the division — they are just trying to avoid embarrassment — but this is not the series Arizona wants to drop at home.
- 10-Day-ILDaniel Susac C — The Giants placed Susac on the 10-day injured list Friday with a lower-back strain, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.
- 10-Day-ILHeliot Ramos LF — Ramos (quadriceps) went 1-for-5 with a walk and a run scored in Triple-A Sacramento's 9-6 win over Oklahoma City on Wednesday.
- 10-Day-ILHarrison Bader CF — Bader met with Dr. Robert Anderson on June 5 and received a stem-cell injection to address plantar fasciitis in his left foot, MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILKeaton Winn RP — Winn (elbow) began a throwing program Monday, Evan Webeck of the California Post reports.
- 60-Day-ILJason Foley RP — Foley (shoulder) struck out two over a scoreless inning in a rehab appearance with Triple-A Sacramento on Friday.
- 60-Day-ILJoel Peguero RP — The Giants placed Peguero on the 60-day injured list Monday due to a left hamstring strain, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
- 60-Day-ILRowan Wick RP — The Giants placed Wick (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Sunday, Justice delos Santos of The San Jose Mercury News reports.
- 60-Day-ILHayden Birdsong RP — Birdsong underwent successful UCL reconstruction surgery on his right elbow Wednesday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
- Day-To-DayA.J. Vukovich CF — no
- Day-To-DayDerek Law RP — no
- Day-To-DayKyle Amendt RP — Amendt was invited to major-league spring training by the Diamondbacks, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.
- 10-Day-ILJordan Lawlar LF — The Diamondbacks placed Lawlar on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a right hamstring strain.
- 10-Day-ILJames McCann C — McCann (quadriceps) is expected to begin playing in complex league games next week, Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILMichael Soroka SP — The Diamondbacks placed Soroka on the 15-day injured list Saturday due to a strained left glute.
- developmental listJuan Centeno C — The Diamondbacks re-assigned Centeno to minor-league camp Friday.
- 60-Day-ILRyne Nelson SP — The Diamondbacks transferred Nelson (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Thursday.
San Francisco has 10 pitchers on various injured lists right now, including 5 relievers on 60-day stints. The bullpen situation is ugly even by the standards of a team already losing 48 games. If Webb can eat innings deep into Tuesday's game — which he has done 3 times in a row — the Giants can paper over some of that bullpen depth problem. But this is a team that is selling off assets at the deadline, not adding them, and the offseason investment has not paid off in any measurable way. The best thing they have going on Tuesday is the pitcher, and that has been true most of the summer.