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Giants Young Pitcher Matches Unwanted Franchise History With Brutal Recent Outing

Originally posted on San Francisco Giants on SI
By Kenneth Teape | Last updated Aug 14, 2025 3:30 PM ET

The San Francisco Giants are searching for answers in every facet of the game right now, leaving manager Bob Melvin considering every option as his team struggles mightily on the field.

Even their pitching staff, which was a strength earlier in the year, is starting to show signs of slowing down. Injuries and ineffectiveness have decimated their depth behind Logan Webb and Robbie Ray, who continue to anchor the staff.

With Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks traded to the Boston Red Sox as part of the Rafael Devers blockbuster, finding help on the mound has been difficult. Making that task even harder is Landen Roupp being injured, Hayden Birdsong’s struggles leading to a demotion and the team becoming sellers at the MLB trade deadline.

Buster Posey saw the writing on the wall and smartly pivoted from being aggressive buyers to moving players with value. The bullpen took a hit with Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval both being moved.

With so much of the pitching staff being shaken up, the Giants have turned to some youngsters to eat innings at the Major League level. One of their top prospects, Carson Whisenhunt, is now part of the Big League rotation and they have turned to Kai-Wei Teng for length as well.

Kai-Wei Teng makes brutal Giants franchise history

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Both pitchers have struggled through their first three outings of the campaign. Whisenhunt has a 5.02 ERA across 14.1 innings with 12 strikeouts. He has fared much better than Teng, who has sandwiched one incredible outing as bulk inning reliever with two brutal starts.

His most recent outing, against the red-hot San Diego Padres, franchise history was made but for all the wrong reasons. Teng pitched 1.2 innings, giving up seven hits and issuing four walks that resulted in seven runs being scored, six of which were earned, without striking out a single batter.

That makes him the third pitcher in San Francisco history, according to nugget chef on X, to have a game with 7+ runs, 4+ walks issued and zero strikeouts in fewer than two innings pitched, joining Kirk Reuter on 2001 and Jumbo Brown in 1939.

Kai-Wei Teng is the 3rd pitcher in Giants franchise history to have a game with at least 7 runs, 4 BB but 0 K in fewer than 2 IP, joining Kirk Rueter (2001) and Jumbo Brown (1939).
— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) August 14, 2025

It will be interesting to see if Melvin turns to Teng again as a starter, given how much he has struggled in that role. In his two Major League starts, he has thrown five innings, giving up 12 runs, 11 earned, on eight hits and seven walks with four strikeouts.

But, in his one outing as a bulk inning pitcher behind an opener, he was excellent. He threw five shutout innings against the Washington Nationals, allowing only three hits with one walk to go along with four strikeouts.

Opponent could have certainly played a part, with the New York Mets and Padres featuring much more prolific offenses than the Nationals. But coming out of the bullpen could be more comfortable for him and something Melvin needs to consider doing again.