Chris Heston Bounces Back in a Big Way
If you were told before the 2015 season that, more than a month into the year, Chris Heston would be one of the best pitchers on the San Francisco Giants‘ staff, you would have laughed, or cried, depending on which way you look at it.
Either Heston would be so good that his name on the lineup card inspired confidence, or the pitching staff would be so bad that Heston wouldn’t have to be that impressive to be considered one of the best. Luckily for the team, the former is true.
On Tuesday night, Heston propelled the Giants back over the .500 mark to 17-16 by pitching the best game of his young career, which is pretty impressive considering some of the great outings he’s had so far.
Facing the high-powered Houston Astros’ offense, the same one that leads the American League in home runs, Heston tossed an absolute gem. He held the powerful offense to just two hits, although one did leave the park, and struck out a career-high 10 batters in his first career complete game. He became the first Giants’ rookie with double-digit strikeouts since Tim Lincecum in 2007.
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Despite the big strikeout total, Heston threw just 107 pitches. He recorded seven outs within the first two pitches of an at-bat. The low pitch count allowed Heston to become the first Giants’ pitcher to throw a complete game this year, and the first since Yusmeiro Petit on September 9th of last year.
Heston cruised through the first game of a two-game set, and threw to only three Houston hitters out of the stretch. After Jake Marisnick opened the game with a single, Heston got Jose Altuve to pop out to right field on the first pitch, struck out Luis Valbuena on three pitches, and worked a groundout out of Evan Gattis‘ bat on another three pitches. Those seven pitches were the only ones that Heston threw while not in the windup.
With two outs in the second inning, Heston gave up his only blemish, a solo home run off the bat of Jason Castro, who got a small measure of revenge for being the final out in Matt Cain‘s perfect game on June 13th, 2012. Heston got his own revenge by retiring the final 22 Houston hitters of the game.
This was exactly the type of outing that Heston needed after being roughed up in two of his past three starts. In Coors Field against the Colorado Rockies, Heston allowed 11 hits and six runs in 5.1 innings, and took the loss. He followed that up with a solid start, allowing just a run on five hits over 6.1 innings against the Los Angeles Angels.
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In his most recent start, Heston was really beaten up in his home park, allowing 11 hits, tying his highest career total from the Coors game, and five runs in five innings. He also allowed a career-high three walks, very uncharacteristic of the normally control-oriented Heston. His control failed him in that game, as he continually left balls up in the zone, minimizing the pitch movement, and maximizing the opposing offense.
After allowing all those negative career highs, Heston set some more positive ones on Tuesday. Along with the career-high nine innings and 10 strikeouts, the two hits are the least he’s allowed in a start, and he didn’t walk anyone in a start for the first time in his big league career.
Heston’s record now stands at 3-3, leaving him tied for the lead among starters in wins with Madison Bumgarner (Santiago Casilla has four out of the bullpen). His 2.91 ERA is second to Lincecum’s 2.00 (another great success story to start the season). His WHIP (1.187), strikeouts total (39), and strikeouts-per-walk number (3.5) are second in the rotation, all only to Bumgarner, who isn’t really a bad guy to be trailing.
Heston was also the beneficiary of an offensive breakout, as the Giants’ lineup, using the designated hitter for the first time, exploded for a season-high eight runs. In his first six starts, Heston received just 14 runs, 2.3 per game, in support.
With the offense firing like it was, Heston didn’t need to be on his A+ game. That didn’t phase him though, as he totally shut down Houston. That’s nothing new for Heston, as he has quickly become the stopper for the Giants, taking the ball in big games and nailing it down seemingly every time.
With all the injuries the Giants have gone through among their starters, as Cain and Jake Peavy are both still on the shelf, Heston was forced into a spot that many thought he wasn’t ready for. Heston has proved to everyone that he’s more than ready, and that he definitely belongs.