To say Kyle Harrison's introduction to the home crowd in Oracle Park was electric might be the understatement of the decade. As Bill King would say, Holy Toledo! I am pretty sure you have to go all the way to Juan Marichal for something comparable. OK, maybe John "The Count" Montefusco, but you get the picture. The Giants offense cobbled together 4 runs and 3 other Giants pitchers appeared in the game but there is really only one story to this game, one people may be telling their kids and grandkids about for years to come. Key Lines:
Kyle Harrison LHP- 6.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 11 K. ERA= 1.86. Electric indeed. Harrison's FB wasn't just 96-97 MPH. It was delivered out of a short arm tight circle making it tough for hitters to time and then was hopping at home plate with late movement. He threw almost all fastballs through the first 3 innings then deftly changed it up to mix in sliders, curveballs and changeups to keep the Reds lineup completely off balance. Kap almost spoiled the party by letting him come out for the 7'th inning but a tremendous throw from Luis Matos in RF and tag by Patrick Bailey at the plate preserved his scoreless start. The Kyle Harrison Era dawns and a new star is born!
IDK where this win leaves the Giants in the standings. I really don't care!
Alex Cobb RHP tries to keep the winning going tomorrow evening against Brandon Williamson LHP.
with the way mason black is pitching in sacramento, i would love to see him get an opportunity to start with the giants in september as one of the two call ups. have a stable starting rotation going into the offseason would be a huge boost.
ReplyDeleteGiants are in sole possession on the top non playoff team in the NL
ReplyDeleteAn outstanding performance! May there be many follow-ups to come. The only word of caution I would give would be that home plate umpire, HP: Roberto Ortiz, had a very generous strike zone. Some of the strikes Harrison threw looked to be 6 inches off the plate. After getting those strikes on them, The reds hitters had to chase similar pitches. Go Giants with Cobb and Webb to pitch the next two games.
ReplyDeleteDeJong did continue his hitless streak with 3 Ks in 3 "official" ABs, but he drove in an important run with a sac-fly at a time when the Giants have had a lot of trouble getting runners home from 3rd with less than 2 outs.
ReplyDeleteHe is 0 for his last 15 ABs with 1 RBI and 8 Ks.
Free Fitzgerald!
Now, Tyler Fitzgerald is a guy who is not on the 40-man roster who teams could take in the Rule 5 Draft who might have a chance to stick on an active roster all season.
DeletePerhaps the Giants thought Carmargo and then DeJong might "solve" their SS situation and so opened up a spot on the 40-man roster: that spot could be available again should DeJong continue what has plagued him since 2019: Good Field, No Hit.
DeleteThis year Fitzgerald has played not only the 3 non-1B infield positions, but he also has 15 games in CF (33 PO, 2 A, 0 E) for the River Cats.
With Harrison and Beck and perhaps Walker joining Webb and Cobb, the Giants appear to have 5 "startable" pitchers.
ReplyDeleteOf Walker's 11 starts, the Giants have won 8. His longest outing, though, was only 3 scoreless innings in relief in a game the Giants lost.
mason black is also making a legitimate case to join harrison, webb, cobb and beck in september. we could finish the season with a legitimate starting rotation for 2024.
DeleteRyan Walker appears to be a two pitch guy-- does he have experience as a starter? I'd almost say that the Giants should "trust" one of the many veteran guys that have starter experience: Manaea or Wood appear healthy still but Stripling has injury issues.
DeleteSlater might have just saved his CF job, of course that didn't help Mike Tauchman
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