Harrison thrives under pressure in Giants win over Pirates

Harrison thrives under pressure in Giants win over Pirates originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – Kyle Harrison felt much more comfortable trusting his slider again, but it was his ability to get in and out of trouble that stood out most to the 22-year-old lefty in Giants win 3-0 over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday at Oracle Park

Harrison dodged traffic in four of the six scoreless innings he worked against Pittsburgh on Friday night, looking much like the No. 1 prospect he was when San Francisco took him to the big leagues last season.

Harrison allowed six runners to reach base via five hits and a fielder’s choice groundout. Three of those runners reached second base and two reached third.

None crossed home plate.

“At this point, it’s all about execution,” Harrison said. “You’re not doing very well, the previous pitches you get hurt on them, and you kind of get down and see what you can get. Competition mode, we call it.”

Harrison acknowledged that he gets a jolt of energy when he manages to escape traffic jams while limiting damage. It’s the game within the game for Harrison. Do what you can, and if you get into trouble, hang in there and find a way out of it.

“Early in the game, his velo dropped a little bit and all of a sudden he found 93 mph, 94 mph,” said coach Bob Melvin. “They were getting some decent hits on him in the first innings and then after that, no. He improved as the game went on. I think it ended up being a really good game for him.”

It was definitely an encouraging outing for Harrison, but one he became very familiar with. It was his third no-decision in his last four starts, although it helped him shave nearly a point off his earned runs average.

Harrison, who grew up in the East Bay, about 45 minutes from San Francisco, had a 5.00 ERA in his first five starts of the 2024 MLB season, but cut it to 4.09 after his solid effort in Friday’s win. -day about the Pirates.

Harrison relied primarily on his four-seam fastball, but got plenty of positive results with his slider. The young pitcher threw 10 times for called strikes and had two hits on the same pitch.

“That was something I worked on a lot in my last pen, just trying to get back to the normal version of myself,” Harrison said. “I love the fastball, but I definitely want to mix it up. I felt like today there were a lot of counts where I could be thrown, especially when I felt like I was able to execute a little more at the top of the zone.

Giants catcher Patrick Bailey said Harrison was excellent throughout his game, especially when the Pirates got guys on base.

“He’s a fantastic competitor,” Bailey said. “That’s probably the best I’ve seen him this year. He played the breaking ball very well, the changeup was good, the fastball played well.

“There’s not much you need to say to him to move on. I feel like that’s when he’s at his best, when the runners are active.”

Harrison was in the Giants clubhouse watching the game on television when Bailey threw the game-winning hit.

“We saw it go over the fence and we were all excited there,” Harrison said. “Patty is the man.”

More outings like this and fans will say the same thing about Harrison.

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