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The Houston Astros setup man, presumed future closer, Ken Giles looked exactly like the pitcher the team paid so much this offseason. Giles recorded his first 1-2-3 inning as a member of the Astros bullpen against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday at Miller Park.
In the eighth inning, Giles came out and faced the heart of the Brewers order: Ryan Braun, Jonathan Lucroy and Chris Carter. He retired them in order with a groundout, flyout, and a strikeout respectively.
The flame-throwing reliever used his pitches very effectively, changed speeds and levels seamlessly. All three outs were recorded on his slider.
Hinch on Giles: "That was a real inning for him. It was good to get him against the middle of the order, and he came in with power stuff."
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) April 10, 2016
In the opening series against the New York Yankees, Giles had two rough outings giving up two home runs. On Opening Day, the first batter Giles faced, Didi Gregorius, touched him up Giles for a solo home run. Mark Teixeira hit a two-run home run off Giles in his second appearance.
A clean inning of work will only help Giles confidence going forward, and everyone can exhale a bit.