The Giants know what’s at stake, which makes losing to the Dodgers even more painful

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For four hours and 54 minutes, the Giants were tied for the final wild-card spot, a significant accomplishment considering their long journey from the depths of the National League standings.

Until further notice, however, they’re on the outside looking in again.

The Giants had a chance to move ahead of the Mets and assume sole possession of the final playoff spot with another win over the Dodgers Saturday night. But an anticipated pitchers’ duel between Logan Webb and Clayton Kershaw turned into a marathon of runs, and the Giants were out-offensed by the Dodgers 13-7.

The Giants returned to a half-game back of the Mets, who have done their best to fuel San Francisco’s playoff drive. New York has lost eight straight and 11 of 14 and, thanks in part to old friend Tyler Rogers, blew a 2-0, eighth-inning lead Saturday to Bruce Bochy’s Rangers, who have American League wild-card aspirations of their own with six straight wins.

“I kind of let the team down today,” Webb said after giving up six runs on 10 hits.

From the time the Mets’ game ended in New York at 4:26 p.m. PT to the time Casey Schmitt made the final out at Oracle Park at 9:20 p.m., a nearly five-hour window, the Giants were tied for the final playoff spot, which hardly anyone anticipated several weeks ago when their season seemed lost.

In the wake of Friday’s dramatic 5-1 win featuring Patrick Bailey’s walk-off grand slam, the Giants had 14 wins in 18 games – the opposite direction of the Mets. The Giants knew what was at stake Saturday. They had their hitters’ meeting just as the Mets’ game was finishing up, and the obvious strategy was winning and overtaking the Mets, who own the tiebreaker over the Giants.

The Giants, who before the game reinstated Jerar Encarnacíon from the injured list and put Dom Smith (strained right hamstring) on the 10-day IL, scored four runs in the first inning, but the Dodgers answered all night with a 17-hit onslaught.

“Obviously, it’s hard to hide from it,” Webb said of where the Giants stand in the playoff race. “Everyone knows what’s going on.”

The previous time Webb faced the Dodgers, July 11 in L.A., he also coughed up six runs. This time, he tried a different game plan and mostly stayed clear of his sinker, a pitch that brought him to prominence. Of his 97 pitches, he threw just eight sinkers, by far his fewest of the season – 22 was his previous 2025 low – and fewest since Sept. 2, 2020.

Three of the sinkers he threw resulted in hits, two by Shohei Ohtani including a majestic 454-foot home run to center field in the third inning, the furthest distance of Ohtani’s 49 homers this season.

“The fifth inning came around, it seemed I was trying to be cute with everything and threw six cutters to a right-handed hitter,” said Webb, referring to the leadoff walk he issued to Mookie Betts. “I don’t do that. Just overall not good.”

That was the beginning of the end. Webb gave up a single to Freddie Freeman and walked Max Muncy, and manager Bob Melvin pulled him. Webb exited with a 4-2 lead, but José Buttó permitted all three inherited runners to score and was charged with three more runs of his own.

“I’ve faced these guys so many at-bats,” Webb said. “I probably over-thought it a little bit today.”

As for the sinker that Ohtani hit over the wall, Webb said, “I beat him with that pitch multiple times. You go to the well enough times, you’re probably going to be beat by it. Especially a guy like that.”

It was an unusually ineffective outing for Webb, who leads the league in strikeouts (206) and innings (188 ⅔) and undoubtedly will get some love on the five-person Cy Young Award ballots. However, he missed on too many pitches and expressed second thoughts about his game plan. His ERA grew from 3.12 to 3.34.

Webb’s next start will be against the Dodgers again, next Thursday in the series opener in L.A.

“He just didn’t have his great stuff today,” Melvin said. “Some ground balls found some holes, and they hit some balls hard in the gaps. Next thing you know, he’s out of there.”

Kershaw struggled, too, and didn’t even make it to the fourth. But by evening’s end, his side was doing the celebrating.