SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants left-hander Carson Whisenhunt looked like he might not be long for the game after needing 55 pitches to get through his first two innings against the Astros on Tuesday night.
But the rookie starter managed to find a way to right the ship.
Whisenhunt limited damage early on and ended up pitching into the sixth inning, helping the Giants snap a three-game skid with a 4-1 victory at Oracle Park.
Whisenhunt earned the win after giving up one run on four hits over 5 2/3 innings, matching the longest start of his career.
It was an impressive turnaround considering Whisenhunt entered Tuesday 0-3 with a 10.80 ERA over his last three starts. He didn’t look especially sharp at the beginning of his outing against the Astros, falling into bases-loaded jams in each of the first two innings, but he pitched around traffic and allowed only one run to score on a sacrifice fly by Yordan Alvarez in the second.
Whisenhunt settled in after that, needing 12 pitches to get through the third, five to get through the fourth and 12 to get through the fifth. He returned to the mound in the sixth and retired the first two batters he faced, though he was pulled after issuing a two-out walk to Daulton Varsho on his 96th pitch of the night.
The 25-year-old southpaw now has a 6.11 ERA over six starts this year, but he’s expected to get an extended look in the Giants’ starting rotation over the final six weeks of the regular season.
San Francisco tied the game in the bottom of the second, when Rafael Devers drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on an opposite-field RBI single from Drew Gilbert.
Drew Cavanaugh, who is expected to take over as the Giants’ starting catcher now that Daniel Susac is on the injured list with a left knee patella fracture, later put San Francisco ahead with a two-out, go-ahead single in the bottom of the fourth. The Giants tacked on a pair of insurance runs via Bryce Eldridge’s solo shot to left-center field in the fifth and Christian Koss’ RBI double to left field in the sixth.