SAN FRANCISCO -- At the start of camp in February, it would not have been hard to imagine Hayden Birdsong and Kyle Harrison pitching on consecutive days for six months. But Landen Roupp was the surprise winner of the Giants' competition for the fifth spot in the rotation, and up until last week, the four veterans ahead of the three youngsters had been throwing just well enough -- and had stayed healthy enough -- to keep Bob Melvin from any moves.
That changed when Jordan Hicks pitched himself out of the rotation, and as Melvin addressed the media Tuesday, there still was some question about whether Justin Verlander's pec discomfort will dissipate in time for him to make his next start. The Giants know that at some point they'll need their youth to get where they want to go, and it was there for them in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Kansas City Royals.
Birdsong pitched five solid innings in his return to the rotation and Harrison looked comfortable in a new role, serving as a setup man on a night when the bullpen was a bit short. More than the results, though, was the way it looked.
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SIGN UP HERE Birdsong's command was spotty at times, but he hit 98.4 mph while striking out Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. and continued to get strikes with a new kick-change that has become a weapon. Harrison was charged with a run in his 1 1/3 innings, but he breezed through the seventh while pitching in that situation for the first time, striking out a pair and filling the zone with 96 mph fastballs.
This is not at all how either expected the first two months to go, but on Tuesday, both looked capable of helping to lead the way for the next four months.
"There were some misses from [Birdsong] today that were kind of big, but when he needs to make a pitch he does. His velo was up, the breaking stuff was good -- I thought he pitched well," Melvin said. "[Harrison was] really good. He was [warming] up and then he had sit down and wait another inning after we got Randy [Rodriguez] up. That, to me, was most impressive and he kept the velo up. With the workload, we needed him to pitch an inning, maybe two. That's what we were looking at. I thought he handled it really well."
When the staff decided to remove Hicks from the rotation, there wasn't any conversation about who was up next. Birdsong had been waiting for his shot, and in his first start of his sophomore year, he scattered five hits, walked none and struck out four. The only run was unearned, coming after he threw away a pickoff and then threw a wild pitch.
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Birdsong said he was "antsy" in the morning, but excited.
"It felt good," he said. "I had more energy in the fourth, fifth than I thought I would. Obviously you're still ramping up and they're probably going to keep me somewhat at a pitch count for now and try to build me up again."
The Giants tried hard over the first month-plus to keep Birdsong stretched out, knowing he was the next man up. When Hicks couldn't make it out of the third last week, Birdsong threw 65 pitches in relief. He had a count in the 75-80 range Tuesday, and the next time out, he should be back to normal.
For Harrison, things might get tricky. He was fully stretched out when he was called up to be the second lefty earlier this month, and he has thrown so well that it's easy to imagine the Giants keeping him in that role short-term. They have just one other left-handed reliever -- Erik Miller -- and Melvin has been careful with his workload.
Since returning, Harrison thrown 5 1/3 innings across four outings. The velocity uptick that started to return in late April has remained, and he looks like he can be a weapon out of the bullpen. It will be more difficult to keep him stretched out if this is his role, though.
That's a problem for down the line. Right now, the Giants are going game by game, and on Tuesday, Melvin planned to get as much as he could out of his two young pitchers. He is learning more about Harrison with every relief outing, and there's no doubt in his mind about what's ahead for Birdsong.
"He showed last year what he's capable of doing," Melvin said. "We feel like he's going to be a starter for the Giants for a long time."
That's exactly what Birdsong wants to hear. He was disappointed to miss out on a spot coming out of camp, but he thrived in a long and then short relief role, and on Tuesday, he looked like someone who won't let this opportunity slip away.
"I plan on it," he said when asked about remaining in the rotation. "I'll do what the team needs, but I plan on starting."