Giants beat A’s in Webb’s homecoming. Severino struggles: ‘I need to be better’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Logan Webb pitched 6 2/3 strong innings as the Giants beat the A's 7-2 Saturday.
- A's ace Luis Severino allowed at least five runs for a third straight start.
- A sixth inning rally for the A's fell short after an untimely double play.
San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Chapman, also a former All-Star for the A’s, was ready to go when he walked into Sutter Health Park, which was technically his home field just the day before.
After just one rehab start for the Giants Triple-A affiliate Sacramento River Cats — who share the West Sacramento ballpark with the A’s amid their three-year stint in the city before a planned move to Las Vegas — the two-time Platinum Glover was ready to make an impact in the first inning Saturday, Game 2 of the newly renamed “Highway 80 Series” in California’s capital region.
“I don’t like watching,” Chapman said pregame, according to MLB.com. The Giants activated Chapman from the injured list earlier Saturday after he missed almost a month with a hand injury.
While Chapman had never played a home game at the West Sacramento field at the MLB level, he may have still had more of a home-field advantage than the pitcher opposite of him, Luis Severino, who has consistently expressed his frustration with pitching at Sutter Health Park.
Severino’s frustrations continued Saturday, as Giants hitters got the better of him in taking down the A’s, 7-2.
Tough start for Severino
The A’s starting pitcher was off to another rough start at home after surrendering a lead-off walk and a hit-by-pitch on an errant sinker that hit the hands of Heliot Ramos.
After getting the former A’s third baseman down 1-2, Severino went back to the sinker inside and got the same result, nearly getting Chapman in the head with the nearly 98-mph pitch.
It was, perhaps, not the start to the game either of the players, who both looked visibly upset after the second HBP of the inning, were looking for.
Severino, who according to the Athletic said in late June that pitching at Sutter Health Park is like pitching in spring training, has often noted the mound as one of his biggest gripes with the field, causing his control to falter.
“He came out and didn’t have command, the four-seamer wasn’t a pitch he could utilize and that really cost him,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “We’re going to continue to dive into this, continue to talk to Sevy and figure out a plan that works, and then we can get him back in the zone and strike guys out.”
Severino has one of the most polarizing home-away splits in the league, pitching to an 0-7 record and a 6.79 ERA in 10 starts in West Sacramento while holding a solid 3.04 ERA in eight road starts this season.
After Giants shortstop Willy Adames plated two runs on a two-out single in that first inning rally and repeated his heroics in the third after Severino surrendered back-to-back-to-back singles with two outs, it didn’t look like the rough stretch for the starter was coming to a close anytime soon.
‘I need to be better’
A Ramos home run to lead off the fifth concluded the scoring against Severino, giving the Giants a 5-1 lead. He finished with 4 1/3 innings pitched, allowing five runs on five hits plus two walks and the two hit batters. It marked his third straight game surrendering five or more runs, including two road matchups to close June.
“There’s been nothing I could put my finger on,” Severino said when asked what he can do to improve on his recent stretch. “I need to be better. I need to be able to go out there and give a quality start for my team up there. … I just need to keep working on some stuff.”
A few offensive rallies, led by rookie first baseman Nick Kurtz who notched two doubles off Giants starter Logan Webb, were not enough to overcome Severino’s start as the A’s fell, 7-2.
After the A’s (37-54) thumped the Giants (48-42) 11-2 in the series opener on Friday, they will still have a chance to take the three-game series when the teams face off again at 7:05 p.m. Sunday back at Sutter Health Park.
Outside of the mound, which Severino said was “way better” after his last home start on June 18, he has mentioned the stadium’s atmosphere as another key difference from other ballparks.
While Sutter Health Park’s capacity is much lower than most MLB stadium’s, Saturday’s 12,298 attendance for the rivalry, a sellout according to the A’s, was as close to a big-game feeling as possible in West Sacramento.
After expressing his frustrations with the ballpark, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that the A’s were open to trading Severino. In response, Severino said he was not the only one on the team who felt that way and would continue to do his best to contribute to the team.
“If they trade me or not, I’m going to keep grinding, trying to be my best self,” Severino said on June 29, according to the Athletic. “If you ask me how I like pitching at home, I’m not going to lie.”
Battle of the aces?
On paper, the matchup between Severino — who became the A’s player with the largest guaranteed payout in team history after signing his historic three-year, $67 million contract this offseason — and the Giants ace should have been a great one.
Especially at Sutter Health Park, which is only about 25 miles away from Webb’s hometown of Rocklin. Webb has also started two games for the River Cats in his career: one in 2019 before his big league debut and the other ahead of his breakout 2021 campaign that solidified his place in the Giants rotation.
But on Saturday, it was all Webb, who added to his stellar year thus far by going 6 2/3 innings and only surrendering two runs. Severino’s 5.09 ERA this season is only slightly less than double Webb’s 2.61.
A rough third inning for Severino, who struggled with efficiency all night, saw him throw 33 pitches. By the time Webb finished work in the bottom half of the frame, he had made just 31 total for the game.
“He’s one of my favorite guys to watch pitch. There’s an old school approach to him, the way he handles the game,” Kotsay said of Webb pregame. “It’s enjoyable to watch him pitch. It’s not enjoyable, on our end, to have to go compete against him.”
Offense battled against Webb
Outside of another solid performance from Kurtz, who was announced as the American League’s June Rookie of the Month on Thursday, Denzel Clarke, Max Muncy and Lawrence Butler all added doubles.
Catcher Shea Langeliers, who has been on a 5-for-15 tear including two doubles and two home runs in five games since returning from the injury list, notched one RBI on a second-inning single while Clarke’s double scored the team’s other run.
While he acknowledged the strong performances, particularly that of Kurtz, Kotsay keyed in on a sixth-inning rally that had the bases loaded with one out before Tyler Soderstrom grounded into a momentum-crushing double play.
“We had him on the ropes,” Kotsay said of Webb. “That’s a No. 1 pitcher right there that makes and executes pitches, gets the ground ball double play to get out of that inning. There’s a lot of momentum on our side if you push it another run or two.”
Webb ‘excited’ for Kings newcomers
Before the game, Kings draft picks Nique Clifford and Maxime Raynaud threw out simultaneous first pitches. Despite the pitches crossing paths with each other and one hitting the other’s supposed catcher, the crowd as well as the aforementioned Giants ace paused what they were doing to watch.
“I watched. I stopped warming up and I watched,” Webb said. “I’m always excited (for the Kings).”
Sacramento selected Clifford, 23, out of Colorado State after acquiring the 24th overall pick in the draft in a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Kings selected Raynaud, 22, out of Stanford with the 42nd overall pick.
This story was originally published July 5, 2025 at 11:21 PM.
