Adrian Houser terrific in victory over Tigers

Perhaps it’s only fitting that Houser would turn in one of his strongest starts of the year against the club that made him a second-round pick back in 2011. The 33-year-old veteran allowed just two hits and one walk, but was forced to settle for a no-decision after San Francisco’s bullpen coughed up the lead following his departure. He’s operated in a swingman-type role for the Giants over the last few weeks and made his first traditional start in nearly two months. He’s under contract through next season, so it makes sense for San Francisco to keep rolling him out there over the final six weeks. He’ll get the ball for his next outing against the Guardians on Wednesday.

Brubaker has been a long reliever this year so he could deliver more than an inning here. It appears likely that the 33-year-old with a 3.17 ERA will be a bridge to Adrian Houser.

Mahle, who is on a one-year, $10 million deal, is 3-9 with a 5.13 ERA for the season, but he has been solid of late, amassing a 3.79 ERA in his last seven turns. Molina is a fringe 40-man roster guy, so this is mostly a salary dump for the Giants. The Giants still figure to trade Robbie Ray, too, and they just lost Trevor McDonald for the rest of the season, so things could get ugly with their rotation the rest of the way. Most likely, Adrian Houser will slide back in as a starter, assuming that no other team wants to take on his contract.

Houser has really struggled through his first 14 starts on the season, posting a 5.73 ERA, 1.58 WHIP and a 48/25 K/BB ratio over 66 innings. Any fringe fantasy value that he may have had in deeper mixed leagues or NL-only formats evaporates on this news. That means that Trevor McDonald will remain in the Giants’ rotation going forward.

Houser’s 29-pitch first inning saw him give up a long homer to Drake Baldwin and another run on a Mauricio Dubón hit. Because it was such a short outing, the Giants could try putting Houser back into the pitching mix in a couple of days, if they see the need. If they stay with the current rotation, he’d pitch Sunday in Miami.

It’ll be resumed on Wednesday afternoon in the second inning. The rain kept falling throughout the early stages of this contest at Truist Park and both teams waited through a nearly two-hour rain delay before the plug was finally pulled. Giants starter Adrian Houser allowed two runs in his lone inning of work while Atlanta’s Grant Holmes was charged with three runs over two innings. It’s also worth noting that Drake Baldwin launched a legendary 473-foot homer in his return from the injured list prior to the delay.

Houser surrendered a two-run homer to Luis García Jr. in the first inning. He settled in for three scoreless frames, then gave up a triple with one out in the fifth. That would be it for Houser at 77 pitches. The inherited runner would come in to score. He struck out six. The 33-year-old right-hander will take a 5.54 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, and a 46/24 K/BB ratio across 65 innings into a start against the Braves in Atlanta next Tuesday.

Houser allowed one run in four innings before giving up a double, a homer and another double with one out in the fifth. The Giants didn’t trust him to get through the inning at that point, denying him a chance to qualify for the win. It’s the third straight outing in which Houser has failed to complete five innings, and he remains 2-5 with a 5.49 ERA overall. He’s due to make his next start Tuesday against the Nationals.

Houser surrendered eight hits even though only five of the 15 balls in play against him were hit hard, and his average EV against was 83.4 mph. He dropped to 2-5 with a 5.59 ERA. The velocity gain Houser experienced last year has held up in 2026, but he’s giving up harder contact anyway, and the Giants defense hasn’t done him many favors. He might wind up in middle relief at some point, but he’ll likely start again Thursday against his old friends in Milwaukee.

Houser had scattered three hits over four scoreless innings before running into trouble in the fifth. The White Sox started the fifth with three straight hits and a groundout to bring in two runs. Miguel Vargas followed with a double to drive in one more, and that would do it for Houser. He exited the game with two outs at 79 pitches. He struck out five. The 33-year-old right-hander holds a 5.30 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, and a 31/19 K/BB ratio across 52 2/3 innings. He’s lined up for a start against the Rockies in Colorado on Friday.