SAN FRANCISCO >> The components of a pitcher’s duel were in place. The starters were Logan Webb and Hunter Greene, a pair of All-Stars who met on Opening Day. The venue was Oracle Park, a pitcher’s paradise. The weather was crisp, cold.

Webb was excellent; Greene was masterful.

Webb threw seven shutout innings with 10 strikeouts and no walks, but Greene countered by pitching 8 2/3 shutout innings with seven strikeouts, a masterful performance that snapped the Giants’ (8-2) seven-game winning streak as San Francisco lost to Cincinnati, 2-0, in a battle of aces.“I think Hunter’s one of the best pitchers in baseball,” Webb said. “Speaking of last year, if he stays healthy, he has a good chance of probably winning the Cy Young. You see his stuff. He’s throwing 101 (mph) on pitch 100. He’s one of the best pitchers in baseball.”

Webb is one of the best pitchers in baseball in his own right, one who just recorded his third career game where he struck out at least 10 batters and walked none. But once Webb exited, the Reds capitalized on Camilo Doval’s shaky command.

A day removed from blowing a save, Doval endured another brutal outing. Manager Bob Melvin called upon Doval because Tyler Rogers was unavailable, and Doval began his outing by gifting the Reds (4-7) two free baserunners via walk and hit by pitch. Those runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt and Doval was removed from the game, met with a smattering of jeers.

Erik Miller was called upon with one out and runners on second and third, but after walking the first batter he faced, Miller allowed a two-run double to Blake Dunn that gave Cincinnati a 2-0 lead. Doval opened his season with three perfect innings, but has since allowed six runs (three earned) over his last three outings with three walks to one strikeout.

“We all have faith and trust in Camilo. He’s an All-Star. He’s one of the better relievers in baseball,” Webb said. “Every time he goes out there, we have faith that he’s going to do well. Today’s just a hiccup. It’s baseball. It’s nothing we’re worried about.”

For Greene, those two runs appeared to be plenty. The Giants’ best swing of the night off Greene was from Jung Hoo Lee, whose 384-foot fly out in the bottom of the sixth would’ve been a home run in 19 of 30 ballparks. In the ninth, San Francisco finally planted the seeds of a rally.

Greene retired the first two batters he faced and flirted with a complete game in under 100 pitches, but the Giants chased Greene as Lee singled and Matt Chapman drew a walk. The Reds called on Tony Santillan to shut the door, but unlike Opening Day, there wouldn’t be another dramatic three-run, game-altering homer. Heliot Ramos sent a low line drive to left field that clocked in at 106.7 mph, but the Reds’ Jacob Hurtubise tracked it down and awkwardly dove to corral the ball and end the game.

“More than anything, I think it was the slider today was even better today than the last time we saw it,” Melvin said of Greene. “It was more of a strike breaking ball the last time. Now, it was strike-to-ball. When you’re throwing that hard, it’s tough to lay off that pitch, too. He’s had good stuff before in the past. I think it was about as good as stuff as he’s ever had.”

Like Greene, Webb was cooking with the good stuff. Webb’s often at his most effective when his changeup is dancing, and the Reds’ lack of offense attests that Webb’s signature pitch was in peak form.

Half of Webb’s 12 whiffs were with the changeup. Half of Webb’s 10 strikeouts were with the changeup, too. Webb’s changeup was elite in ’23 but merely average in ’24, and after tweaking the pitch prior to the season, he’s happy with how the pitch is currently playing. He’ll take that 1.89 ERA through three games that comes with it, too.

“It’s probably the most excited I’ve been about my changeup in a long time,” Webb said.

Lee helped out Webb’s cause with a pair of slick, sliding catches in the first and fifth innings, invaulable defense for a team whose center fielders finished last in defensive runs saved (-24) last year. Lee’s efforts delighted the “Hoo Lee Gans”, a group of fans in the upper level wearing caps that looked like fire. The center fielder’s deep fly ball in the sixth inning may have fallen a few feet short, but Lee’s ninth-inning single extended his hitting streak to eight games.

As for the Hoo Lee Gans? He’ll be on the lookout for them going forward.

“I can feel that the love from the fans is amazing right now,” Lee said through team interpreter Justin Han.