MLB Game Preview - San Francisco at Oakland

Sun Aug 25, 2019 4:07 PM EDT

Northern California native Logan Webb will take center stage in his introduction to the Bay Bridge Series on Sunday afternoon when he pitches for the San Francisco Giants against the host Oakland Athletics in the finale of the rivals' two-game series.

The Giants took the upper hand in the set -- as well as the season series -- with an eight-run eighth inning Saturday night that rallied them to a 10-5 victory.

The Giants also won the first of two games played in San Francisco last week, and thus hold a 2-1 edge entering Sunday's 2019 finale.

Webb (1-0, 1.80 ERA), who grew up in the Sacramento suburb of Rocklin, made a splashy Giants debut last Saturday at Arizona, pitching the first five innings of an 11-6 win over the Diamondbacks. The 22-year-old right-hander allowed just one earned run and five hits, striking out seven.

Webb will be facing an A's team that has won six of eight on their nine-game homestand.

The first batter he will likely face will be another former Northern California high school standout, A's shortstop Marcus Semien, who raised his average to .275 with a pair of hits Saturday.

The San Francisco native is on a career-best batting pace despite being asked to adjust to hitting leadoff full-time this season.

"This is a self-made guy," A's manager Bob Melvin said before Saturday's game. "His understanding of what he needs to do and how he can get better is unlike anybody I've ever been around."

The Giants were able to come up big at the end of a long day Saturday, one in which they found out clubhouse favorite Pablo Sandoval would be lost for the season in order to undergo Tommy John surgery.

Sandoval, who was hitting .269 in a comeback year, is eligible to be a free agent at season's end. But the 12-year veteran, who turned 33 earlier this month, assured anyone who would listen Saturday that he plans to be back with the Giants next year, if they'll have him.

"I want to keep playing, especially right now; we're in this race," he told reporters Saturday. "At the same time, things happen for a reason. This is not the end of my career. I'm going to come back stronger."

The task of getting the A's even in the season series falls upon left-hander Brett Anderson (10-9, 4.06), who draws the rookie Webb this time around after having had to deal with Giants ace Madison Bumgarner in San Francisco last week.

Anderson took the 3-2 loss that night despite allowing just two runs in six innings. He has gone 2-5 with a 4.58 ERA in 11 career starts against the Giants.

Kevin Pillar got the big hit off Anderson in the earlier head-to-head, a tie-breaking double in the sixth inning.

Pillar did it again Saturday night to A's reliever Lou Trivino, breaking a 4-4 tie with a two-run double during the Giants' eight-run eighth inning.

Former A's catcher Stephen Vogt disappointed his old fans with a three-run homer that capped the big inning.

--Field Level Media