SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants reliever Mark Melancon made his long-awaited 2018 debut Sunday at AT&T Park and struck out the side against Philadelphia on 14 pitches.
The 33-year-old Melancon replaced starter Dereck Rodriguez and swiftly worked through the seventh to maintain San Francisco's four-run lead en route to their 6-1 win.
"This is what he's going to be doing, the sixth or seventh inning, helping out," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "At that point, before he came in, it was a one-run ballgame. I thought he showed good command. Really had his pitches going. That's always good to see, too. Pretty nice debut on his comeback."
Sidelined since Spring Training with a right elbow flexor strain, Melancon spent the first two months on the disabled list before being activated after Friday night's game.
Melancon, the one-time closer who has 179 career saves, is having to adjust to the role of setup man in the Giants bullpen. Hunter Strickland replaced Melancon as San Francisco's closer and has 12 saves this season.