SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants left-handed pitcher Kyle Harrison has tripled his previous career-high MLB inning count this season, but the young southpaw remains in good spirits about his ability to finish 2024 strong.
Harrison threw five innings in San Francisco's 4-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night at Oracle Park, allowing six hits, three earned runs and two walks to go with five strikeouts.
While the Giants suffered their third consecutive one-run loss in as many games, Harrison completed five innings for the first time since July 26, offering an encouraging bounce-back after allowing eight earned runs in 8 1/3 innings over his previous two starts.
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Harrison detailed that an alteration to his routine has allowed him to turn the corner physically, offering optimism he can finish the season strong as San Francisco pursues an MLB playoff berth.
"I think I went through kind of a stretch where I was feeling not the best, but cleaned some stuff in my routine, body has been feeling great," Harrison said. "Today I felt good, and yeah, I'm going to build on it. Still of season left, so got to put the head down and go."
After Tuesday's outing, Harrison is just two innings shy of eclipsing his professional career-high mark of 113, which he set while pitching in the minors for Eugene and Richmond during the 2022 season.
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With the Giants sitting 3 1/2 games back of the National League's final wild-card spot in an packed MLB playoff race, Harrison's ability to be available every fifth day will be crucial if San Francisco has any chance of making a run at the postseason.
As of now, there is optimism the young lefty will be able to do so, but unless the Giants' bats wake up, it won't matter what Harrison and the rest of the pitching staff do moving forward.
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