SAN FRANCISCO — Ace pitcher Logan Webb took the brunt of the punishment Wednesday as the Giants fell 8-4 to the Kansas City Royals to conclude a nine-game homestand.
The Royals (28-23) took two of three in the series, with the Giants (29-21) missing a chance to go 10 games over .500 before going on a nine-game eastern swing to Washington, Detroit and Miami.
The Giants had solo home runs from Matt Chapman in the third inning, his ninth of the season, and Patrick Bailey in the fourth, his first, before a home crowd of 29,064. Heliot Ramos hit a two-run home run in the ninth, his ninth of the season, to account for the last two runs.
Longtime catcher Salvador Perez, playing first base for the Royals, hit a two-run home run in a three-run fourth inning that chased Webb.
Webb gave up 10 hits in the first four innings, his highest total of the season, with his record falling to 5-4. The first eight were singles, then in the fourth a run-scoring double by Bobby Witt Jr. and a two-run opposite field homer by first baseman Salvador Perez. At that point, the Giants trailed 6-1.
It was Webb’s shortest outing of the season — he went five inning three times — and it came on a day when the bullpen was depleted and manager Bob Melvin had to be hoping for at least seven innings. In Webb’s three previous starts he went seven innings twice and eight innings against the Athletics.
Kansas City’s hit parade started immediately with a ground single by Maikel Garcia, another ground single by Witt and a run-scoring single by Vinnie Pasquantino before Webb recovered to strike out the next three hitters.
Michael Massey got things started in the second with a one-out single, followed by another by No. 9 hitter Kyle Isbel. Garcia’s second single drove in the second run, with Witt lining to right for a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0.
Webb righted himself with an 11-pitch scoreless third — even though he gave up two more singles — before the lead expanded in the fourth.
First baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. mishandled the ball on a grounder to first by Isbel to lead off the inning, followed by a bit of confusion on a would-be double play when Webb fielded a comebacker. With both Willy Adames at short and Tyler Fitzgerald converging on second, Webb hesitated, then threw to first for the sure out.
Pasquantino struck out before Perez homered to right for a 6-1 lead. All three runs were unearned due to the inning-opening error.
The Royals, after roughing up Webb, didn’t let up when Spencer Bivins entered to start the fifth. Drew Waters doubled to open the inning, Freddy Fermin singled and Massey singled in a run. Following a sacrifice, Garcia hit a sacrifice fly to make the score 8-2.
Bivens threw two more scoreless innings, with Jordan Hicks pitching the eighth and Erik Miller the ninth.
It was a bullpen game for the Royals , who opened with Daniel Lynch IV (1 1/3 innings), followed by, Jonathan Bowlan (1 1/3), Steve Cruz (two), Taylor Clarke (two), Angel Zerpa (one) and Lucas Erceg (one). Bowlan (1-0) was credited with the win.