Houston Astros at San Francisco Giants

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. “I think it showed a tremendous amount of composure to do what he did,” manager Tony Vitello said. “I think once he bought into what he was capable of doing, he seemed to get in a little groove there confidence-wise.” 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. “I was just trying to do too much,” Whisenhunt said. “Not trusting myself as much as I should. They’re good hitters, but it doesn’t matter. Hitting is one of the hardest things to do. It’s just attack the zone and make them get themselves out.” Whisenhunt settled in after that, partly because he went back to a lower arm slot that helped him command his pitches more consistently. He needed 12 pitches to get through the third, five to get through the fourth and 12 to get through the fifth, allowing him to get his pitch count back under control. Whisenhunt 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. Whisenhunt has struggled to develop a third pitch to pair with his elite changeup and four-seam fastball throughout his career, but he found success by incorporating more of his sinker against the Astros. He threw the pitch 12% of the time on Tuesday, up from his season average of 2.8%. “It was really good,” Whisenhunt said. “Obviously, I'm trying to use it more. The more I throw it, the better I’ll get a feel for it and the better it’ll be. But tonight it felt really good.” 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