Giants waste Logan Webbs gem, swept by Marlins to fall 15 games below .500

MIAMI — In a series where hardly anything has gone right, the Giants still had to feel good about their chances Sunday with their ace, Logan Webb, on the mound.The odds were even more in their favor given the Marlins countered with Ryan Gusto, a 27-year-old from Santa Rosa with a 5.85 ERA in 32 career big-league games.Webb held up his end of the bargain.But the Giants’ hitters showed no gusto against Gusto.They struck out six times in 4 ⅓ innings against the Marlins’ meager starter, cracked him for just one run and fared no better once Miami went to the bullpen in a 2-1 loss.The defeat completed a sweep at the hands of the Marlins and sent San Francisco 15 games below .500, matching their low point of the season previously set last weekend, when they fell to 28-43.They responded by reeling off three consecutive wins against the Cubs and Braves.But, just like that, another three losses followed.No fault of Webb, who only made a couple of mistakes in an otherwise flawless outing.

Webb limited Miami to two runs on five hits, completing eight innings for his third consecutive start.There were probably only two at-bats he wished he could have back, and they both came against Kyle Stowers.The Marlins’ cleanup hitter punished a first-pitch sinker that didn’t quite get low enough for a home run that put Miami ahead 1-0 in the second inning and, in his next time up, worked a two-out walk that allowed Otto Lopez to double him in to make it 2-1.The Giants advanced just two runners into scoring position, both in the third inning, when Luis Arraez sliced a two-out double into the left-field corner and Casey Schmitt singled him home.Bryce Eldridge, who reached on a walk, made it to third but was stranded there.From the fourth inning on, the Giants mustered only four base runners and failed to advance any of them beyond first base.

With closer Pete Fairbanks unavailable having saved the last two games, the Marlins brought in Lake Bachar, who faced zero resistance in ...