




SAN FRANCISCO — Matt Chapman couldn’t tell off the bat if he got enough. At Oracle Park, it’s hard to tell.
The towering blast hung in the air for about five seconds. Eli White, the Braves’ left fielder, gave chase and scaled the wall. The Saturday afternoon crowd held its breath. Then, catharsis.
The Giants were one out away from wasting another excellent start from Logan Webb. Chapman shifted the vibe. With a two-run, walk-off home run, Chapman delivered a 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves, keeping San Francisco undefeated in four tries since Buster Posey’s roster shakeup in the process.
“It’s funny how things can change super quickly,” Chapman said. “It feels good getting four wins, being able to come back and walk them off two days in a row is huge. I think we’re just looking to keep it going.”
The Giants roster may have undergone a drastic transformation this week, but this team’s propensity to play barn burners hasn’t changed.
San Francisco has now played 27 one-run games this season, tied with, coincidentally, Atlanta for the most in baseball. The Giants’ eighth walk-off win comes less than 24 hours after their seventh when Tyler Fitzgerald scored the winning run on a wild pitch. Their 15 total one-run wins are the most in baseball, and their current stretch of six straight one-run games is their longest since April 2014.
“Torture. It’s torture baseball here,” Webb said with a smile. “But you know, it’s just the way we like it.”
Added manager Bob Melvin: “We’ve seen it many times. We’re used to these type of games. It feels like with as many as we’ve had like this, we’re battle tested all the way to the end. Until there’s the last out, we have a chance.”
Chapman’s walk-off homer not only gave the Giants their fourth straight win but saved Webb from an undeserved loss.
Webb bolstered his case for the All-Star Game, allowing two runs over six innings with 10 strikeouts and no walks. This marks the third time this season Webb has struck out at least 10 batters without issuing a walk, already tied with Carlos Rodón (2022), Kevin Gausman (2021) and Madison Bumgarner (2012, 2016) for the most such games in a season.
The right-hander doesn’t consider himself a strikeout pitcher, but Webb’s 101 strikeouts were tied with Boston’s Garrett Crochett for the third-most in all of baseball. Along with the punchouts, Webb is posting a 2.58 ERA and 2.12 FIP over 87 1/3 innings, the most in the majors.
“Other guys joke around with me because I’ve always said that I’m not a strikeout guy,” Webb said. “I think this year, just mixing things up and trying to do different things and trying to have a really good game plan has kind of elevated that. A lot of games left. I feel like I’m always due for a one strikeout game or two strikeout game. But, hopefully, I can keep that trend up. It makes things a little bit easier.”
For as well as Webb pitched, he was outdueled by the Braves’ Bryce Elder. The right-hander entered play with a 4.56 ERA but struck out a career-high 12 batters over eight innings, his lone mistake being Wilmer Flores’ home run in the fourth inning for a 1-0 Giants lead.
Atlanta got that run back in the top of the fifth when Michael Harris II homered off Webb, then took a 2-1 lead when Marcell Ozuna legged out a potential inning-ending double play in the sixth to give the Braves a 2-1 lead. That score held until Chapman came to the plate in the ninth inning.
Heliot Ramos singled with one out in the ninth to represent the tying run. Following Flores’ pop out, Chapman called ballgame against the Braves’ Pierce Johnson.
“I wouldn’t love to play (close games) every single day, but it’s going to serve us because we know how to play those games,” Chapman said. “We know what it takes to come out on top. When the pressure is on, you have to make a play or take a good at-bat. Everything is heightened in those moments, so I think it’s good for us to get that experience, but it seems like we’ve played for three weeks straight one-run games every single day.”
Worth noting
Catcher Sam Huff cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento.
Jung Hoo Lee didn’t start due to a little bit of back tightness but pinch hit in the bottom of the eighth, striking out looking.