Kyle Harrison electrifies Oracle Park in SF Giants 4-1 victory over Reds
The SF Giants defeated the Cincinnati Reds 4-1 on Monday night, pulling within a game of the Dbacks in the National League Wild Card standings. In a matchup between two exciting rookie left-handed starting pitchers, Kyle Harrison (Giants Top 4 Prospect) and Andrew Abbott, Harrison stole the show in his first big-league appearance at Oracle Park. It's hard to understate how high expectations have been for Harrison. Yet, he managed to exceed them all in a historic outing.
SF Giants P Kyle Harrison throws a pitch against the Reds on August 28, 2023.
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Harrison's sizable contingent of family and friends could be heard throughout the game, with a smattering of Harrison jerseys throughout the ballpark. The Bay Area native gave them plenty to cheer for. Across 6.1 shutout innings pitched, Harrison racked up 11 strikeouts and allowed just three hits and two walks.
There are only a handful of pitchers who can captivate a crowd the way an overpowering strikeout pitcher can. Former Giants ace Carlos Rodón was a great example.
But it's not hard to think of another former Giants pitcher who dazzled fans with massive strikeout totals as a 22-year-old rookie 16 years ago.
His name was Tim Lincecum.
It seems absurd to compare Harrison to "The Freak", but there aren't many pitchers who ever do what he just did in the major leagues. He did it in his second big-league start against an above .500 team.
Entering the season, we wrote that Harrison "absolutely has all of the pieces to become a bonafide ace." He looked like exactly that on Monday.
In the top of the first inning, Harrison needed to go to a full count against each of the first two hitters he faced but still managed to strike out the side on 15 pitches.
Despite facing another talented rookie left-hander, the Giants offense quickly gave Harrison some run support. Austin Slater singled against Abbott to lead off the game, advancing to second on a walk by Thairo Estrada before scoring on an RBI double by Wilmer Flores.
Abbott struck out J.D. Davis, walked Patrick Bailey, and struck out recent addition Paul DeJong to bring Heliot Ramos (Giants Top 30 Prospect) to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. With a chance to extend the lead, Ramos struck out swinging on a 2-2 changeup outside the strike zone.
Harrison returned to the mound in the second inning and struck out the first two batters of the inning before putting TJ Friedl in an 0-2 hole. Harrison thought he had struck out the side on a fastball just off the outside corner, but it was (rightfully) called a ball. On the next pitch, Friedl managed to put a ball in play but had to settle for an infield pop-out to Davis.
Harrison had not thrown more than 65 pitches in an outing since June, which led everyone to expect him to be pulled somewhere in the 70s. He stumbled a bit in the fifth, giving up a pair of deep flyouts, a walk, and a single. But after striking out TJ Hopkins to end the inning, manager Gabe Kapler let him return to the field in the sixth. He struck out a pair across a perfect inning of work.
Then, Kapler continued to buck expectations and let Harrison jog onto the mound in the seventh. Harrison allowed a ground out, double, and walk before he was replaced by Ryan Walker. He walked off the field to a standing ovation.
It was exciting. It was also the first time Harrison had thrown at least 90 pitches in an outing (his pitch count was 91 on Monday) in more than a year. It was a dramatic deviation from how the Giants have handled Harrison and all their young arms this season.
Walker allowed a base hit, but right fielder Luis Matos uncorked a 97.7 mph throw to nail Christian Encarnacion-Strand at the plate. The rookie's impressive defensive play kept any runs from being charged to Harrison.
One run may have been enough for Harrison, but the Giants padded their lead against Abbott in the third inning. Estrada and Davis singled in the top of the third inning. Then Bailey lined an RBI double off the right-field wall. With runners on second and third, DeJong did not waste another opportunity with runners in scoring position, hitting a sacrifice fly to give San Francisco a 3-0 lead.
Joc Pederson led off the bottom of the sixth with a single and advanced into scoring position with two outs for rookie Wade Meckler (Giants Top 22 Prospect). Meckler continued to look like he belongs in the big leagues, singling home Pederson. He had already walked earlier in the game when he entered as a pinch-hitter for Austin Slater.
With a 4-0 lead in the eighth inning, Kapler did not hesitate to call upon his top setup arm Tyler Rogers. Rogers allowed a two-out single to Nick Senzel, and then Elly De La Cruz hit another ground ball into the outfield. It probably should have been a single, but De La Cruz's speed, alongside Pederson's limited range in left field, turned it into an RBI double. Nevertheless, Rogers struck out Spencer Steer to strand De La Cruz in scoring position.
Giants closer Camilo Doval entered with a 4-1 lead in the ninth inning. For the second consecutive day, Doval looked like the dominant closer he had been up until a recent skid. He retired the Reds in order with six pitches, recorded his 35th save of the season, and secured Kyle Harrison's first-career MLB win.
The SF Giants improved to 68-63 on the season and will look to extend their winning streak to three games on Tuesday. All-Star veteran starter Alex Cobb will look to bounce back from some rough outings. He is set to face Reds southpaw Brandon Williamson. First pitch at Oracle Park is scheduled for 6:45 PM Pacific.
