SF Giants' Webb pitches gem but Walker blows save in first game of doubleheader

PHILADELPHIA - The Giants’ bullpen has been one of this team’s stronger units to start the season, but Ryan Walker blew his second save by allowing two runs in the bottom of the ninth as San Francisco kicked off Thursday’s split doubleheader with a 3-2 loss against the Philadelphia Phillies.

“The at-bats were competitive, and they did what they needed to do win,” said manager Tony Vitello. “(Walker) obviously could’ve done better, but has done so in the past.”

With the Giants leading 2-1 going into the bottom of the ninth, Philadelphia’s Adolis García began the bottom of the ninth inning with an infield single, then scored on a one-out triple by Bryson Stott. Walker threw the first eight pitches of his at-bat against Stott away, but then left a sinker right down the middle for Stott to barrel.

Walker got the second out when Edmundo Sosa grounded out, but rookie Justin Crawford delivered the walk-off hit by legging out an infield single to score Stott. The Phillies are now 2-0 under new manager Don Mattingly after firing Rob Thomson on Tuesday morning, and the Giants (13-17) are at risk of ending their first full month of the season being swept.

The crossfiring right-hander didn’t exactly mix up his pitches, with 20 of his 21 offerings being sinkers. Walker also didn’t give much attention to García, who took off for second on back-to-back payoff pitches. When Stott tripled into the right-field corner, García was able to score easily since he was running on the pitch.

Game 2 of the doubleheader is at 2:35 p.m. PT.

Logan Webb ended up with the no-decision as he turned in one of his better starts of the season, pitching around seven hits to deliver seven innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts and a season-high 13 whiffs. The lone run that Webb allowed was a solo homer to 2025 NL MVP runner-up Kyle Schwarber, the 350th homer of Schwarber’s career.

Webb was slated to start on Wednesday evening before the game was postponed due to inclement weather, and the right-hander commented that the last-minute change helped “in a weird way.”

“I’d done all my scouting and stuff before, so just show up and do what you were supposed to do the night before, but in the morning now,” Webb said. “I felt like maybe it helped. I didn’t have to think as much. Not the way I wanted to start. … That’s not the pitch you throw to Kyle Schwarber right there right down the middle, but kind of locked in after that.”

This marks Webb’s sixth consecutive start of at least six innings, and his 44 innings are the second-most in the National League behind only the Miami Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara. Despite finishing the year with a dud against the New York Yankees on Opening Night, Webb finishes the calendar month of April with a 3.27 ERA over five starts with 26 strikeouts over 33 innings.

“I want to keep being hard on myself,” said Webb, who 4.30 ERA and 3.44 FIP over seven starts. “I wish I could take back the seven-run outing to start the season, but I can’t. So now I just have to find a way to keep grinding, keep going through it. I definitely think we’re going in the right direction, which is good, but still a lot of work to do. More excited about the last couple than I have been in a while.”

Left fielder Heliot Ramos, hitting leadoff for the first time this season, reached base four times, totaling two singles, a walk and a double. First baseman Rafael Devers’ cold spell continued by going 0-for-4, and shortstop Willy Adames has now gone six straight games without a hit.

All-Star left-hander Cristopher Sánchez, who allowed four runs (two earned) on 11 hits to the Giants on April 7, turned in one of his best starts of the year, allowing two runs over a season-high 6 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts.

The Giants raced out to a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first as Heliot Ramos and Matt Chapman both scored after setting the table with back-to-back doubles. Luis Arraez drove in Ramos with a groundout, while Casey Schmitt pulled a single into left field to score Chapman.

Philadelphia got one of those runs back in the bottom half when Kyle Schwarber hit the 350th home run of his career, a 406-foot solo shot that landed in the second deck of the right-field stands.

From there, Webb and Sánchez traded zeros for the rest of their respective afternoons. The Giants’ only other chance to score against Sánchez was in the fifth when Ramos singled and Chapman walked with one out, but Arraez flied out and Rafael Devers grounded out to end the frame.

“With their lineup, the game’s never going to be over, but a little bit of a killing blow, didn’t have that,” Vitello said. “Some of it was walks and some scattered hits. … We had guys in position, we just weren’t ever again, at that point, with a tight game, I don’t know that killing blow is the right phrase, but at that point, insurance runs would’ve been beneficial.”

Webb had to work out of trouble in the bottom of the fifth after the Phillies put runners on second and third with no outs. After striking out Bryson Stott for the inning’s first out, Webb got an assist from Chapman, who speared Edmundo Sosa’s sharp grounder and fired home for the second out.

“It’s kind of expected at this point,” Webb said. “It’s fun to watch him play every single day. Honestly, the guy hit it so hard I didn’t even see it, and you have that guy over there. It’s nice to have him on our side.”

Worth noting

• Right-hander Adrian Houser will start the second game of the doubleheader, meaning the Giants will likely need to either employ a spot starter or a bullpen game when the San Diego Padres come to Oracle Park next week. San Francisco could’ve started right-hander Trevor McDonald, the Giants’ 27th man for the doubleheader, but McDonald will instead be available out of the bullpen.

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This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 12:24 PM.