SAN FRANCISCO — The Sunday afternoon crowd thinned out by the time the bottom of the 10th inning rolled around at Oracle Park. Whether it was the bleachers or the arcade or the lower bowl, it was hard not to notice hundreds of empty seats despite the Giants still being within striking distance. The announced attendance was 32,200, a low number for such an idyllic San Francisco summer day.
Despite Logan Webb’s eight innings of one-run ball, the Giants lost 3-1 to the Detroit Tigers and fell 20 games below .500 for the first time since 2017. The dog days of summer are here, and with San Francisco sitting at 49-69, there likely won’t be many packed houses the rest of the way.
If the loss wasn’t enough, catcher Daniel Susac underwent an X-ray and was diagnosed with a left knee contusion, per manager Tony Vitello. Susac fouled a pitch right off his left knee in the bottom of the fifth and instantly fell to the ground in pain. The rookie finished the at-bat and remained in the game, but was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the seventh.
“The contusion just shut everything down working around it,” Vitello said. “For him to stay back there was a little bit more his toughness and his stubbornness. And then also, him and Webby kind of hooked up there, but there was no way we could do another at-bat.”
The Giants and Tigers were locked in a scoreless tie until Detroit scored the game’s first run in the top of the sixth. Detroit put runners at the corners on back-to-back singles by Zach McKinstry and Kevin McGonigle, then Gleyber Torres scored McKinstry despite grounding into a double play.
San Francisco scored the equalizer in the bottom of the seventh when Osleivis Basabe reached on a fielder’s choice, stole second base, advanced to third on a bad throw and then scored on Drew Gilbert’s infield single.
That score held until the top of the 10th inning when lefty Sam Hentges allowed a go-ahead single to Hao-Yu Lee, who drove in Riley Greene, the automatic runner. Lee then advanced from first to third on a single by Spencer Torkelson and scored when Max Clark grounded into a force out.
Tigers reliever Tyler Holton struck out Buddy Kennedy, Christian Koss and Bryce Eldridge to seal the game.
The Giants had their chances: Willy Adames was thrown out at the plate trying to score on Gilbert’s flyout in the fourth inning, and San Francisco loaded the bases in the eighth with the game tied, only for Rafael Devers to ground into a double play.
For Webb, who trimmed his ERA to 3.59 this season, this start marks the fourth time this season he has completed at least eight innings. To Vitello, the outing was all the more impressive given that Webb was under the weather. Webb also described being sick when he pitched seven shutout innings against the Atlanta Braves on June 27.
“I thought Sus did a great job calling the game today,” Webb said. “Defense made some really good plays today. It’s a tough lineup. I think they’ve been one of the better teams since the All-Star break.”
Webb had just two strikeouts on the afternoon, tied for his fewest in a start this season, but generated nine groundouts and two double plays. The right-hander is currently striking out a career-low 6.97 batters per nine innings, which comes a season after he set a career-high (9.74).
“Maybe I tricked some people last year, I don’t know what it was. But at the end of the day, as long as you’re putting up zeros and going deep into games, that’s all I really care about,” Webb said. “I don’t enjoy striking out two guys in eight innings. I’m trying to strike people out and get swing-and-miss, but I’ll also take eight innings of one-run baseball.”
Before the top of the second inning, the Giants paid tribute to Tigers starter and future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander, who announced he will retire at the end of the season. Verlander spent just one season with the Giants in 2025 but left a lasting impact on Webb.
“I’m happy I was able to be on the mound. I got to tip my cap to him and clap for him,” Webb said. “I missed about two warmup pitches because I was clapping. He’s one of the greatest pitchers of all time. I was lucky enough to be around him for a year. I wish I could’ve spent 10 years with him as my teammate. I have a friend for life and a mentor for life.”
Up next
Former Giant LaMonte Wade Jr., the 2021 Willie Mac Award winner, and the Houston Astros will visit Oracle Park for a three-game series. Blade Tidwell is scheduled to start on Monday, but Tuesday and Wednesday are listed as TBD.