Wilkinson Guides Giants to Victory in MLB Debut

The one and only Matt "Tugboat" Wilkinson made his MLB debut on Wednesday, Aug. 19, and it was a successful one, to say the least.

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Manager Tony Vitello used Wilkinson as an opener, so he only pitched two innings, meaning he wasn't eligible to pick up the win.

The San Francisco Giants ended up winning this pitcher's duel, 1-0, setting up a winner-take-all series finale against the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday afternoon.

Adrian Houser picked up his fourth victory of the year, one that saw him throw five scoreless innings. In the end, it was Dylan Smith who picked up his third save of the year in a two-inning appearance.

Breaking down Wilkinson's debut

The 23-year-old may not have gone as deep as fans would've wanted in his debut, but Vitello is playing the long game with his new lefty.

Wilkinson allowed just one hit, and it's worth noting that only one of the seven balls the Guardians put in play was 90+ mph.

There's no doubt he'll continue to rack up innings as the season progresses, but Wilkinson, and the rest of this organization, simply couldn't have asked for a better debut.

Wilkinson needed only 25 pitches to get through those two innings. He threw 14 strikes, but only threw three first-pitch strikes to the seven batters he faced. In the end, he set the tone for what would be a shutout for this Giants squad, their first since Friday, July 17.

Victor Bericoto drove in game's only run

After three scoreless innings, the Giants began to get some traffic on the basepaths in the fourth inning.

Rafael Devers' leadoff double didn't seem to be going anywhere as Willy Adames and Bryce Eldridge both flew out, but finally, Victor Bericoto answered the call.

Bericoto drove in his 11th run of the year as an infield single was all that was needed to score Devers, who advanced to third base earlier on a wild pitch.

Jung Hoo Lee would double put him at second and advance Bericoto to third, but both were left stranded by Oslevis Basabe.

In total, the Giants left six runners on base. Bericoto provided the team's only hit with a runner in scoring position. As a team, San Francisco was just 1-for-4 in that department.

Cleveland stranded eight runners on base and were much worse with runners in scoring position as the now 61-66 Guardians went 0-for-7 on the night.

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