I love major league debuts. As a fan, it's a little bit like the feeling of buying a lottery ticket.
You know it's not going to work out as well as you hope. But what if it does?
What if Hayden Birdsong is Pedro Martinez? Or, more likely, what if he's not?
We don't know, and we probably won't for a while. But this in between period is equal parts fun and frustrating as you try to figure out what a guy is and isn't. That's where we're at with Kyle Harrison. And it's certainly where we're at with Birdsong, who's already in the Baseball Names Hall of Fame.
He missed big on a lot of pitches but painted just enough of them to dance out of danger. Four days from now we'll pull the slot machine again and decide if he's heading to Cooperstown or back to Sacramento.
Up next: The Giants send Jordan Hicks (4-4, 3.24 ERA) to the mound as they go for the four-game sweep. They’ll have to beat one of baseball’s best pitchers to do it: Shota Imanaga (7-2, 2.96 ERA). First pitch at 12:45 p.m.