The San Francisco Giants were backed into a corner on Monday night. Hosting the Pittsburgh Pirates — a team bursting with former members of the orange and black — the Giants were playing their second straight game absent an established starter. With Hayden Birdsong back in the Minors and Landen Roupp landing on the IL, the Giants had to patch things up.
On Sunday, the answer was boring, basic, and a betrayal: the dreaded bullpen game. But on Monday? Exciting, electric, and enticing: the debut of Carson Whisenhunt, the consensus top pitching prospect in the system.