Giants top Astros 4-2 behind Webb’s strong start

Logan Webb out-dueled Framber Valdez as the Giants beat the Astros 4-2 on Wednesday afternoon at Minute Maid Park, sending them to a second consecutive series loss at home. Webb held the Astros to two runs over 7.2 innings, while Valdez was tagged for two runs over six innings.

Framber Valdez sails until the sixth

Valdez allowed just three Giants to reach base through the game’s first five innings while striking out eight, but his outing, a quest for a third win was derailed in the sixth inning as San Francisco’s lineup turned over for a third time. Joey Bart led off with a line drive single to right field and advanced to second on Lamonte Wade Jr’s bunt. Austin Slater put the Giants on top with an RBI single, and after Thairo Estrada walked, Mitch Haniger’s RBI single put the Giants up 2-0. Valdez induced his third double play of the day from J.D. Davis to end the inning.

The Giants tagged Valdez with his fourth loss in seven starts despite managing just the two runs on five hits over six innings. The Astros left-hander threw 90 pitches, 53 for strikes, and his ERA now sits at 2.60.

Phil Maton took over for Valdez in the seventh and allowed a run on Bart’s double after hitting Michael Conforto. Seth Martinez retired the side in order in the eighth, and Bryan Abreu allowed a solo homer to Wimer Flores in the ninth.

Astros can’t solve Logan Webb

The Astros had a chance to get to the Giants ace in the first inning, but Alex Bregman followed Mauricio Dubón’s leadoff infield single by grounding into a double play. Yordan Alvarez and José Abreu followed with a pair of two-out singles, but Webb wiggled out of trouble by getting Kyle Tucker to ground out to first.

Webb dealt with more traffic in the second inning when Jake Meyers reached on an error, and Martín Maldonado walked, but he struck out Dubón to neutralize the threat. Webb then faced the minimum over the next five innings with David Hensley, who reached on an error, serving as the Astros’ only baserunner, but that changed in the eighth.

Hensley walked and Maldonado singled to get the tying run to the plate, but Dubón grounded into a double play, which hurt even more after Bregman ended Webb’s day by sending a 1-0 changeup into the Crawford Boxes for his fourth home run of the season, first at Minute Maid Park.

Webb lowered his ERA from 4.10 to 3.80 by holding the Astros to just two runs over 7.2 innings. Scott Alexander struck out Yordan Alvarez on three consecutive sliders to end the eighth inning, and Camilo Doval worked around a leadoff walk in the ninth for his fifth save.

News and Notes:

•Former assistant general manager Pete Putila received his World Series ring before the game. Putila was named Giants general manager in October after 12 seasons with the Astros.

•Yordan Alvarez has reached base in all 25 games this season after finishing 1-for-3 on Wednesday.

•The Astros have only won 1-of-6 home series in 2023.

Injury updates:

•Astros manager Dusty Baker said outfielder Chas McCormick (back) could be activated off the IL in time for the team’s series in Anaheim next week. McCormick is 2-for-8 through the first three games of his rehab assignment with Double-A Corpus Christi.

•Astros general Dana Brown told SportsTalk 790 on Wednesday that outfielder Michael Brantley should be activated from the IL by May 9 when the team is in Chicago. Brantley hasn’t appeared in a Major League game since June after undergoing right shoulder surgery in August.

•José Altuve took ground balls for the second straight day but does not have a timetable for when he’ll be able to swing a bat.

Up Next

The Astros will open a nine-game road trip when they visit the Seattle Mariners in the first game of a three-game series on Friday night.