Kyle Harrison has created quite the conundrum for the Giants.
Harrison turned in a fine start Friday night as San Francisco beat the Miami Marlins at LoanDepot Park, 2-0, tossing five scoreless innings with five strikeouts and allowing one lone hit. The command was a tad shaky, evidenced by three walks, but his four-seam fastball exhibited great life. Camilo Doval, pitching in front of his mother, Rosa, for the first time as a professional, recorded his first save as San Francisco’s re-minted closer.
The Giants envision that Harrison will be a starter for years to come. His last two starts validated that he is plenty capable. But with Justin Verlander on the mend, Harrison is likely headed right back to the bullpen.
“Today felt really good, especially with the low pitch count about a week ago, trying to build that slowly,” Harrison told reporters in Miami. “But I’m feeling great. So, I’m going to go out there, do what they need, do what I need to do for these guys and I’ll be ready for the next one.”
Verlander, who was placed on the 15-day injured list with right pectoral soreness on May 22 (retroactive to May 19), threw a bullpen around 40 pitches when the Giants played the Detroit Tigers. If Verlander is healthy, he would be eligible to be activated when San Francisco returns home to play the San Diego Padres.
Harrison, 23, cannot control his role. What he can control is how he performs when his name is called. So far, he’s performed well in both roles. As a reliever, he’s allowed two runs over 5 1/3 innings (3.38 ERA). As a starter, he has a crisp 2.00. Against the Marlins, he affirmed why he’s deserving of more starts.
As he is wont to do, Harrison heavily relied on his four-seam fastball. Harrison generated 10 whiffs with his heater, one shy of his career-high of 11. Those whiffs were likely a product of his rediscovered velocity.
Harrison’s average four-seam fastball clocked in at 95.3 mph against the Marlins, the highest average velocity he’s ever had with his fastball in a start in his major-league career. This comes after Harrison averaged 94.7 mph with his four-seam fastball against the Washington Nationals, which becomes the second-highest average velocity in a single start.
“His last couple starts in Triple-A were great, and he’s been really good, whether it’s in the bullpen or starting with us,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said.
Harrison departed with a 2-0 lead thanks to Wilmer Flores’ RBI single, one that capped off an 11-pitch plate appearance against Cal Quantrill, and Matt Chapman’s solo homer. That left the bullpen with four innings to cover, and San Francisco’s relievers got themselves into and out of trouble.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Marlins put runners on first and second with two outs against Tristan Beck, but recently-demoted closer Ryan Walker put out the fire by generating a first-pitch groundout by Dane Meyers.
The following inning, Miami put runners on second and third with two outs against left-hander Erik Miller, prompting Melvin to summon Tyler Rogers. The submariner maintained the Giants’ lead by striking out Agustín Ramírez looking with a perfectly-placed sinker on the outside corner.
Related Articles
Kurtenbach: The SF Giants desperately need offense. Buster Posey should look at these four trade-deadline targets
SF Giants take 3-0 lead, but can’t hold it and are swept by Tigers
Bob Melvin ejected, Logan Webb hit around in SF Giants’ loss to Tigers
SF Giants’ Willy Adames kills rallies in 3-1 series-opening loss in Detroit
SF Giants take series in D.C. as Ray continues excellent stretch
The eighth inning featured yet another fire that needed to be extinguised. With Miller, Rogers and Walker having already been used, Melvin gave the eighth inning to Spencer Bivens, who typically pitches in lower leverage situations.
Bivens, like Beck and Miller before him, got two outs but departed with runners on first and second. Doval, back in the closer role, bailed out Bivens by getting Connor Norby to fly out and end the eighth inning, then recorded his sixth save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning.
“It’s something that I dreamed about,” Doval said through team interpreter Erwin Higueros. “That’s very important for me, and I’m just very happy.”
Doval, whose ERA on the season is now 1.09, has now gone 20 consecutive appearances without allowing an earned run.