Houser (3-7) allowed one run on six hits and a walk while striking out four over five innings to earn the win over the Tigers on Friday.
Houser continues to pitch out of the bullpen, but he has covered five or more innings in three of nine appearances since he was bumped from the rotation. The right-hander put in a strong showing Friday, throwing 57 of 86 pitches for strikes to pick up his first win since May 17 versus the Athletics. Houser has allowed just seven runs over 31 innings across nine innings since his move to the bullpen. Overall, he has a 4.55 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 65:31 K:BB through 97 innings over 23 games (14 starts) this year. The Giants' rotation is depleted after Robbie Ray was dealt to the Padres and Trevor McDonald (elbow) was shut down ahead of UCL reconstruction surgery, so Houser could continue to see regular usage moving forward. He's tentatively projected to make his next appearance at home versus the Astros.