{"id":436025,"date":"2026-08-18T06:34:38","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T06:34:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/436025\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T06:34:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T06:34:38","slug":"san-francisco-giants-promote-23-year-old-pitcher-after-rockies-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/436025\/","title":{"rendered":"San Francisco Giants Promote 23-Year-Old Pitcher After Rockies Loss"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<img width=\"780\" height=\"520\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2266398153.jpg\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" alt=\"Giants Matt &quot;Tugboat Wilkinson\"   decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>San Francisco Giants promote Matt &#8220;Tugboat&#8221; Wilkinson<\/p>\n<p>The <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"San Francisco Giants\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/san-francisco-giants\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"401008\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">San Francisco Giants<\/a> recently concluded a three-game series with the <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/colorado-rockies\/\" title=\"Colorado Rockies\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"401331\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Colorado Rockies<\/a> on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>The <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/san-francisco-giants\/\" title=\"Giants\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"401332\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Giants<\/a>\u2018 pitching staff allowed 10 walks in an embarrassing 13-7 loss at home. <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/susanslusser\/status\/2089135019801649361\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">Manager Tony Vitello shared a blunt comment<\/a> after the game.<\/p>\n<p>Vitello compared the performance to a \u201clower-level game. A JuCo game.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vitello compares today\u2019s game to \u201ca lower level game. A JuCo game.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter Sunday\u2019s loss, the Giants lost the season series to the Rockies for the first time in a full season since 2018,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/PavlovicNBCS\/status\/2089128770091598054\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">according to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area<\/a>. \u201cThe two teams are now separated by just one game in the standings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>San Francisco has an off-day on Monday. They will play a three-game road series against the <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"Cleveland Guardians\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/cleveland-guardians\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"401009\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cleveland Guardians<\/a> on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6264732\" class=\"size-inline wp-image-6264732\" data-lazy-load=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026-world-baseball-classic-quarterfinals-united-states-v-canada-houston-1.jpg\" alt=\"2026 World Baseball Classic - Quarterfinals - United States v Canada\" width=\"782\" height=\"521\"  \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6264732\" class=\"size-inline wp-image-6264732\" data-lazy-load=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026-world-baseball-classic-quarterfinals-united-states-v-canada-houston-1.jpg\" alt=\"2026 World Baseball Classic - Quarterfinals - United States v Canada\" width=\"782\" height=\"521\"  \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-6264732\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">GettyHOUSTON, TEXAS \u2013 MARCH 13: Matt Wilkinson #35 of Team Canada pitches against Team United States during the eighth inning at Daikin Park on March 13, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Kenneth Richmond\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>Giants Promote Matt \u201cTugboat\u201d Wilkinson<\/p>\n<p>The San Francisco Giants are calling up 23-year-old left-handed pitcher Matt \u201cTugboat\u201d Wilkinson on Monday, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JeffPassan\/status\/2089382906179318106\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">according to ESPN\u2019s Jeff Passan<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The San Francisco Giants are calling up left-hander Matt \u201cTugboat\u201d Wilkinson, sources tell ESPN. Wilkinson, acquired in the Patrick Bailey trade, was a 10th-round pick out of junior college and has allowed just 59 hits in 90 innings this season while striking out 96.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWilkinson, acquired in the <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/mlb\/player\/patrick-bailey\/\" title=\"Patrick Bailey\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"401330\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Patrick Bailey<\/a> trade, was a 10th-round pick out of junior college and has allowed just 59 hits in 90 innings this season while striking out 96,\u201d Passan writes.<\/p>\n<p>The 23-year-old stands 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighs 250 pounds.<\/p>\n<p>Wilkinson started in Double-A Richmond after he was acquired in the Patrick Bailey trade.<\/p>\n<p>He started 3 games, posting a 2-0 record with a 2.40 ERA before being promoted to Triple-A Sacramento.<\/p>\n<p>Wilkinson started 10 games in Sacramento. He posted a 3-4 record and 5.15. The left-handed starting pitcher has tallied 43 strikeouts in 43 2\/3 innings pitched.<\/p>\n<p>Tugboat could make his first <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"MLB\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"401010\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MLB<\/a> appearance against the team that traded him.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6063398\" class=\"wp-image-6063398 size-inline\" data-lazy-load=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2278135603.jpg\" alt=\"Patrick Bailey\" width=\"782\" height=\"521\"  \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6063398\" class=\"wp-image-6063398 size-inline\" data-lazy-load=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2278135603.jpg\" alt=\"Patrick Bailey\" width=\"782\" height=\"521\"  \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-6063398\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">GettyFormer San Francisco Giants catcher Patrick Bailey.<\/p>\n<p>Social Media Reactions To Matt \u201cTugboat\u201d Wilkinson\u2019s Promotion<\/p>\n<p>Wilkinson carries one of the best nicknames in baseball. Fans took to social media after the roster move.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TJStats\/status\/2089383749934788911\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">@TJStats:<\/a> Matt Wilkinson gets the call! Wilkinson is a soft-tossing lefty with a distinct side-arm release that has helped him register strong strikeout rates throughout his pro career. He is one of the more interesting pitching prospects in MiLB and now will make his MLB debut. Congrats!\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WNearyCC\/status\/2089383729814728831\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">Will Neary:<\/a> \u201cDid I just flash back to 1920 what\u2019s going on here we\u2019ve got Tugboat Wilkinson in the league? Teaming up with Pretzel Pezzulo I presume?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/sportsin_cle\/status\/2089383117496754453\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">Cleveland Sports Yapper:<\/a> \u201cWe better play Patrick Bailey in all three games and he better bat 1.000.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BradyH_216\/status\/2089384355890102779\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">Brady Hamilton:<\/a> \u201cMatt Wilkinson making his first career MLB start at Progressive Field this week would be something else\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/kylehar\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kyle Har<\/a> is a sports reporter focused on the MLB and NFL, covering the San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 49ers for Heavy.com. He has four years of experience as a sports radio producer at KNBR in San Francisco and works as a co-host for their Warriors postgame show, &#8220;Dubs OT,&#8221; and weekly Warriors talk show &#8220;Just Dubs.&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/kylehar\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">More about Kyle Har<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty San Francisco Giants promote Matt &#8220;Tugboat&#8221; Wilkinson The San Francisco Giants recently concluded a three-game series with&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":436026,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[101,103,102,104,106,105],"class_list":["post-436025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=436025"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436025\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/436026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=436025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=436025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=436025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}