Matt 'Tugboat' Wilkinson Steams Through Two Scoreless Innings in Giants Debut

The San Francisco Giants' season may be lost at sea, as they are nowhere near being a postseason contender as we approach September. However, they got rescued a bit by a steamship on Wednesday.

Left-handed pitcher Matt Wilkinson, affectionately known as 'Tugboat' because of his 'well-rounded' physique, made his debut against his former club, the Cleveland Guardians.

Wilkinson tossed two scoreless innings, allowing only one hit with no strikeouts or walks, which aided in the Giants' 1-0 win over the Guardians. During his appearance, Wilkinson showed poise on the pitcher's mound at Progressive Field.

Wilkinson was acquired in the May trade that sent Gold Glove catcher to Cleveland. After joining the San Francisco organization, he was assigned to the Triple-ASacramento River Cats, where he posted a 5.15 ERA with 43 strikeouts. He was called up to the big club on Tuesday, following the team's blowout 8-1 loss to the guys from the Cuyahoga Valley.

And while Wilkinson certainly is a breath of fresh air for the club this season, San Fran skipper Tony Vitello sees a long-term future for the southpaw in a Giants uniform. He believes that Tugboat can be a big part of the coming turnaround by the Bay.

“I think it’ll help provide a little bit of help left-handed-wise,” Vitello said about Wilkinson, according to a recent MLB.com story. “But he’s also an exciting prospect for a lot of reasons -- one being, he’s not scared. He gets a chance to prove that at the ultimate level, or the level that, if you are scared, you’re going to get exposed.”

Where the Nickname 'Tugboat' Originated

Tugboat World Baseball Classic — Wilkinson, pitching for Team Canada | Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Wilkinson was adorned with the nickname Tugboat' as a12-year-old. It was an endearing moniker that his father's best friend and Canadian baseball representative, Phil McNeil, gave him when he pitched in the Little League World Series. It was due to the youngster's hydrant-like shape, and in Wilkinson's own words: "{because] I wasn't moving too fast around the bases growing up."

“I love it,” Wilkinson said of his famous nickname. “It’s been around forever, since the Little League World Series. I’ve embraced it ever since.”

Though he may not look like the prototypical player of the day, Wilkinson is a competitor and a winner at every level. He's established a mixed bag of pitches, including his mysterious 'invisi-ball', which is unique to his repertoire. Whatever he has to do to take down a hitter, Tugboat has shown the innate ability to throw the right pitch at the right time — even if he doesn't have blowaway stuff. That's a valuable commodity to have in hand, as the Giants look to move back to respectability.

Add us as a preferred source on Google