SF Giants collapse to Phillies in Kyle Harrison's highly anticipated debut

At long last, Kyle Harrison started an MLB game for the SF Giants. He showcased his potential against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The SF Giants suffered a 4-3 collapse in the later innings to the Philadelphia Phillies on arguably the most exciting day of the season. The organization obviously hopes that higher highs await the team later this year in the playoffs, but the Northern California native's highly anticipated debut was one of the best days for the fanbase.

SF Giants LHP Kyle Harrison throws a pitch against the Phillies on August 22, 2023 / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Before Harrison took the mound, the Giants managed to give him a lead. Phillies starter Taijuan Walker committed a fielding error to start the game, allowing LaMonte Wade Jr. to reach base. Wade advanced to third base on a single by Thairo Estrada. With runners on the corners, Wilmer Flores lined a ground ball up the middle, where a shifting Bryson Stott fielded it to record an out at second base, but the Giants still took a 1-0 lead on the play.

In his first big-league inning, Harrison ran the gauntlet of highs and lows. He showed off his potential, generating several whiffs en route to three strikeouts, but he also hung a breaking ball to Bryce Harper that turned into a two-run homer.

quickly approaching 300 #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/xlKc5STGZM

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 22, 2023

Anyone expecting Harrison to step into the Giants' rotation and dominate was misunderstanding the circumstances. Harrison has the potential to be one of the best starting pitchers in MLB but lacks the command of his secondary offerings to do that. What he is, is a potential spark for a team that has been desperately needed for more than a month. He won't work deep into games. He will give up home runs. But he will rack up strikeouts.

Harrison did not allow another run to score across his outing, finishing his big-league debut with five strikeouts across 3.1 innings pitched. He allowed two runs on five hits, a hit batter, and a walk. He relied heavily on his fastball, throwing it 73.8% of the time while utilizing just 15 breaking balls and two changeups. Despite his heavy fastball usage, Phillies hitters whiffed on 11 of their 23 swings against his heater. His fastball may be the only aspect of his profile that is genuinely MLB-ready, but it could be elite enough to carry him to effectiveness.

Southpaw SLINGIN' 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/UoUhtJJZxK

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) August 22, 2023

The Giants cashed in against Walker in the fifth when Joc Pederson laced a two-out, two-run double that clanked off the glove of the diving Johan Rojas in center field and rolled to the wall to give San Francisco the lead.

Go down and get it, @yungjoc650 🏌️‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/ZKFnLmHXQv

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) August 23, 2023

Following Harrison's departure, the Giants bullpen was excellent, combing for 4 2/3 scoreless innings with Ryan Walker, Luke Jackson, Tyler Rogers, and Taylor Rogers only allowing two hits among the four of them. 

Camilo Doval was called on to face the bottom of the Philadelphia order in the ninth. Trying to protect a tight lead, the flame-throwing righty plunked Stott to lead off the frame and yielded a single to Brandon Marsh two hitters later to put runners at the corners with only one out. After Marsh swiped second, the Giants intentionally walked Kyle Schwarber to fill up the bases.

Hitting with a chance to win the game, Trea Turner did so by smoking a 2-2 fastball that trickled off Doval's glove and into center field for a walk-off single. Doval is now 33-for-39 in save attempts.

Following the los, the SF Giants will look to avoid the sweep against the Phillies on Wednesday afternoon. Veteran starting pitchers Alex Cobb and Michael Lorenzen will square off in the final game of the series. First pitch in Philadelphia is scheduled for 1:05 PM Pacific.