Winn wastes Webb's brilliant start as SF Giants fall to Nationals

SAN FRANCISCO – The Giants sent out their best pitcher to face the National League's top offense on a cloudy, drizzly Monday night at Oracle Park.

Something had to give with Logan Webb on the mound going against James Wood and CJ Abrams' powerful Washington bats.

Webb's eight-inning, seven-strikeout gem kept the visitors quiet, but it went to waste as the Giants blew a two-run lead in the ninth to lose 4-3.

Bryce Eldridge drove in Jung Hoo Lee with a double down the left field line to give the Giants a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning, bringing the crowd out of their waterlogged seats. Rookie Jonah Cox provided an insurance run by perfectly executing the suicide squeeze to score Eldridge.

But pitching for the third straight day, Giants reliever Keaton Winn could not protect the two-run lead in the ninth. He gave up a double to Luis Garcia Jr. and hit Curtis Mead to put two on with one out. A passed ball moved them to second and third.

Winn then allowed a bases-clearing double to Abrams to tie the game at 3-3, and Daylen Lile gave the Nationals a lead and chased Winn from the game with a soft single to center that scored the final run.

Thus, as has been the case many times throughout his years as the Giants' ace, Webb's great outing went to waste.

Rafael Devers got on base to start the bottom of the ninth, and a Lee single to right put runners on the corners and set the stage for more Eldridge heroics with two outs. He struck out swinging as the Giants (27-40) opened a six-game homestand with a bitter loss.

Garcia's two-out single in the top of the sixth drove in Wood from second and broke a scoreless tie. The Nationals entered Monday having scored more runs (352) than any team in the National League while ranking in the top fiove in home runs, doubles, OPS, and extra base hits.

The Giants were able to put runners on the corners against relief pitcher Mitchell Parker, and Matt Chapman went up to bat in the bottom of the inning. He delivered with a line drive single to left to tie the game.

Richard Lovelady made it through one inning, stranding two, before the Nationals went with long reliever Miles Mikolas.

It began to rain in the top of the third inning, the downpour sending several fans scurrying up to the concourse, and the rest flipping up whatever hoods or donning whichever hats they might have possessed.

Eldridge appeared destined to drive in his seventh RBI of the season on a fly ball deep to left-center, but Nationals outfielder Dylan Crews went airborne to rob him of a hit.

Lee, who had extended his hitting streak to 16 games the at-bat before, scurried back to first base. The Giants eventually scored, but it was not enough to overcome a weak bullpen.

Lee finished the game going 4-for-5 with two runs scored.

The Giants are expected to start Adrian Houser (2-5, 5.49 ERA) on Tuesday, while the Nationals will start Andrew Alvarez (1-0, 3.54 ERA).

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This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 1:30 AM.