Ninth-inning bullpen meltdown ruins another great Webb outing

Logan Webb held the White Sox to two runs in 8 innings, but Spencer Bivens got shelled in the 9th in a 6-2 loss

The Chicago White Sox are the worst team in baseball this season. Before Wednesday, they had the worst winning percentage in baseball history since the 1899 Cleveland Spiders. But their relentless losing was no match for the San Francisco Giants’ inability to hit Wednesday, as Logan Webb’s eight-inning gem was wasted when a bullpen meltdown led to a 6-2 loss. Now, the White Sox are only the worst team since the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics!

Webb went eight innings, allowing two runs and five hits while striking out six and walking none. Chicago’s runs came on a groundout and two consecutive flyouts, and the Sox never had more than one runner on base at the same time. When Luis Robert managed a single in the 6th and stole second, Curt Casali threw him out trying to take third.

But in the 9th, manager Bob Melvin got cute with his bullpen, and the White Sox got plenty of baserunners. He went with Erik Miller (3-4) to start the ninth, who walked Luis Robert and Andrew Benintendi with one out. Tyler Fitzgerald made a great play to keep Andrew Vaughn’s single on the infield to save a run, and when Miller struck out Gavin Sheets, it looked like the Giants might escape.

After the lefty-lefty matchup, who would Melvin go with? Closer Ryan Walker, who threw 11 pitches last night, but has a day off tomorrow? Not Tyler Rogers, who’d thrown three days in a row, but perhaps Jordan Hicks, who had a day off Tuesday?

Melvin went with 30-year-old rookie Spencer Bivens, who promptly gave up a two-run single to Korey Lee. Bivens also failed to back up third on Grant McCray’s attempt to nail pinch-runner Corey Julks, allowing Lee to reach second, where he scored on Lenyn Sosa’s single. Using Bivens felt like an attempt to steal a game, not just win a game.

While Ramos led off the ninth with a double against the Giants’ old friend John Brebbia, they couldn’t get him any further and the Giants failed to get the sweep, going down 6-2.

The White Sox got on the board first, and second on Wednesday afternoon at Oracle Park. Nicky Lopez led off the game with a triple to center field, just his second of the season. Lopez came around to score on Benintendi’s one-out groundout. Tyler Fitzgerald

The Sox got another run in the 4th when Robert doubled to right field, went to second on Benintendi’s fly to right, then scored on a sacrifice fly from Vaughn, while Heliot Ramos’ throw to the plate nearly went into the stands. Webb got out of the inning after nice defensive play from Matt Chapman, which is getting hard not to take for granted after five months.

That’s when the Giants struck back. Mark Canha hit a ground-rule double off White Sox starter Garret Crochet, then Ramos hit one 401 feet off the wall in center. But Canha had to hold at second when Robert almost corralled the deep ball, so he only made it to third, a disappointing result for a ball that was six inches away from being a two-run homer.

But Jerar Encarnacion got Canha home with a groundout, then Thairo Estrada delivered an RBI single to plate Ramos. It looked encouraging that the big inning also chased Crochet, who was pulled after 57 pitches out of an abundance of caution in his first season as a starter. Also, the Sox were eliminated from the playoffs around Memorial Day, so why take any chances?

But the Giants couldn’t do anything against the White Sox beleaguered pen. In five innings against four Sox relievers, including winning pitcher Fraser Ellard (1-1), the Giants managed just two hits, while striking out eight times. They didn’t draw a single walk. In fact, there was only one walk through the first eight innings, before two free passes kicked off the disastrous ninth.

The Giants only had six hits overall, including two each by Canha and Ramos. Aside from Estrada’s single, designated hitter Casey Schmitt added a leadoff double in the third inning, but never advanced past second.

It was a longshot for the Giants to make the playoffs before Wednesday, but whatever playoff push they had in them really needed to include a home sweep of a historically-bad baseball team, especially when Webb is pitching so lights-out. The Giants will play again Friday in Seattle. Hey, at least the bullpen will be rested.