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SAN FRANCISCO — There go the Los Angeles Dodgers, barreling toward the postseason on the heels of securing their seventh straight National League West crown.
There go the San Francisco Giants, reminding Bruce Bochy of why he made his decision to retire in the first place.
In their penultimate meeting of the regular season on Saturday, the Dodgers and left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu silenced the Giants and an underachieving offense in a 2-0 loss for San Francisco.
The Giants had two runners reach base to open the bottom of the ninth against Los Angeles closer Kenley Jansen, but failed to advance them in their 16th shutout loss of the year.
The defeat moved Bochy a game under .500 in his 13-year career with the franchise as he’ll need the Giants to send him out with a victory in Sunday’s farewell game to finish at 1,053-1,053 in orange and black.
A Giants offense having one of the worst statistical months in the organization’s history was blanked over seven innings by Ryu, who outmatched Giants rookie Logan Webb during Saturday’s matinee.
Webb may have taken the loss, but he pitched six innings of two-run ball to wrap up his first full month in the majors with back-to-back quality starts against playoff-bound clubs. After limiting the Atlanta Braves to one run in six innings in his final road outing, Webb showed impressive poise in his last start of the season on Saturday against the Dodgers.
“I thought he ended (the year) really well,” Bochy said. “You look at the two teams he faced and how he pitched. He did a great job today.”
With two outs in the top of the fifth, Webb surrendered a go-ahead single into left field to Ryu, who shot a 107.5-mile per hour line drive through the hole between third base and shortstop to score Dodgers second baseman Gavin Lux.
In the top of the sixth, Dodgers slugger Max Muncy crushed a solo home run onto the right field arcade to extend the Los Angeles lead to 2-0.
Despite giving up a pair of runs, Webb’s outing was a highlight of the weekend for the Giants as the right-hander ended the season as a legitimate candidate to secure a spot in the Giants’ 2020 Opening Day rotation thanks in part to advice received from Jeff Samardzija, Ryan Vogelsong and Matt Cain.
“The main thing they were telling me is ‘Slow it down, let the game come to you, don’t get too frustrated’ ” Webb said. “I know you guys have seen me do that before. But to try to pull it in, use that. Not in a negative way but in a positive way.”
After missing half of the year due to an 80-game PED suspension, Webb did his best to make up for lost time and proved why a former fourth round draft pick entered the season as the club’s highest-ranked pitching prospect.
“There’s some stuff I really felt like I got to use and learn in these last two games that I’m going to carry into the offseason,” Webb said.
It may not be long before Ryu finds himself on the Giants’ radar, too. The left-hander from South Korea is set to become a free agent this offseason and could emerge as a preferred option for Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi.
Zaidi isn’t afraid to sign pitchers with extensive injury histories and while Ryu certainly qualifies, he won’t command the type of contract top starters such as Gerrit Cole and Madison Bumgarner are hoping to secure this winter.
The Giants have no shortage of weaknesses to address this offseason as they close out their third consecutive losing season. The club has found a few building blocks for 2020 in Webb, second baseman Mauricio Dubón and outfielder Mike Yastrzemski, but after bolstering the bottom half of the roster in his first year on the job, Zaidi will be tasked with making more significant improvements to the top of it if he hopes to give Bochy’s replacement a chance to succeed right away.
Bochy tributes continue
San Francisco Mayor London Breed was joined by former mayors Art Agnos, Frank Jordan and Willie Brown during a pregame ceremony on Saturday as she presented Bochy with a key to the city.
Breed said the key was the first she has given out during her tenure as mayor.
The Giants have honored Bochy throughout the month of September with “Thank You Boch” videos from various members of the baseball community who have been close to the manager during his career. Saturday’s tributes came from former managers Jim Leyland, Tony La Russa and Dusty Baker as well as Bill Virdon, who was the Houston Astros manager when Bochy made his major league debut as a player in 1978.
“You look at the scoreboard and Leyland and La Russa are talking,” Bochy said. “Bill Virdon, who I revered so much being my first major league manager. It’s been fun. It’s been cool.”
