The Giants ace is opening the season against baseball’s best hitter, and their past matchups dictate how he should approach their showdowns Wednesday night.
on Wednesday night in the 2026 MLB season opener, he better not leave a pitch in the center lane of the strike zone. The Giants righthander knows too well what his WBC teammate and Yankees slugger does with those pitches.
Judge is 3-for-7 against Webb. All three hits are extra-base hits—a double and two home runs. All three hits resulted from center-lane strikes by Webb, two on sinkers and one on a changeup. You could throw a coffee can over the location of those pitches:You might think those pitches appear to be good pitches for Webb, a groundball pitcher who throws 57% sinkers and changeups. They are not.the strike zone, not just above its bottom rail. Batters last year hit .299 and slugged .441 against his low strikes . Both rates ranked 58th among starting pitchers. Secondly, any in-zone fastball thrown to Judge is asking for trouble. Judge destroys fastballs over the plate. Last year, Judge recorded the highest slugging percentage against in-zone heaters by any player in any year over the past 16 seasons with a minimum of 2,000 pitches faced. He also has the second highest such slug and the third highest over that span.That slug last year for Judge against fastballs in the zone is absurd. The average MLB hitter slugs .467 on those pitches. Judge’s slug was more than double the MLB average. So how should Webb approach Judge? Play keep-away; changeups and sweepers in the bottom far corner of the strike zone. Here are the pitch locations of the four times Webb retired Judge—three times on strikeouts.I highlighted the tiny box in that bottom far corner of the strike zone that pitchers must pierce to keep Judge in the park. Anywhere else? Well, just look at the risk in trying any other spot in the strike zone against Judge:Tom Verducci is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated who has covered Major League Baseball since 1981. He also serves as an analyst for FOX Sports and the MLB Network; is a New York Times best-selling author; and cohosts The Book of Joe podcast with Joe Maddon. A five-time Emmy Award winner across three categories and nominated in a fourth , he is a three-time National Sportswriter of the Year winner, two-time National Magazine Award finalist, and a Penn State Distinguished Alumnus Award recipient. Verducci is a member of the National Sports Media Hall of Fame, Baseball Writers Association of America and a Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 1993. He also is the only writer to be a game analyst for World Series telecasts. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, with whom he has two children.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Also Falling Down – Fences in Logan CircleWelcome to the beautiful life
Read more »
March Madness Second Chance Bracket Picks: Jason Logan Expects Top-Seed Clash in FinaleGet the latest 2026 March Madness second-chance bracket picks from NCAA expert Jason Logan, who expects Arizona to beat Duke in the National Championship Game.
Read more »
Logan Paul Issues Apology to Tom Brady After Unexpected CollaborationAfter a weekend filled with big names and viral plays, Logan Paul managed to keep the momentum going with a post-event message aimed directly at Tom Brady.
Read more »
Avalanche forward Logan O’Connor will make his season debut against PenguinsLogan O’Connor and Ross Colton will return to the lineup Tuesday night for the Colorado Avalanche against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.
Read more »
9 Years After Wolverine's Death, The MCU Officially Reveals Its Version Of LoganStaff Writer at Screen Rant by day, horror enthusiast by night.
Read more »
’13 Going on 30′ Movie Reboot to Star Emily Bader, Logan Lerman for NetflixBrett Haley helms the new take on the Jennifer Garner-led 2004 comedy.
Read more »