Winn's magical debut numbing feeling for small-town kid

Keaton Winn made his major league debut in front of an emotional group of friends and family who didn't have to travel far to experience the special moment in the Giants' 11-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday at Busch Stadium.

Giants starter Alex Cobb departed after four innings, giving way to reliever Luke Jackson for the fifth. Winn took it the rest of the way (4 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K), shutting the door on the Cardinals to secure San Francisco's third straight win.

In speaking with NBC Sports Bay Area's Laura Britt, Carlos Ramirez and Randy Winn on "Giants Postgame Live," the 25-year-old right-hander was asked to describe his emotions from the big night.

"I can't even describe it," Winn said. "I have my whole family here, closest stadium to town, I can't even describe it."

Winn was called up prior to Monday's game but didn't pitch. The Iowa native finally debuted in front of friends and family and even pitched to rookie catcher Patrick Bailey, whom he played with last season in High-A Eugene.

"I thought yesterday was going to be the day, but it turned out not to be," Winn added. "Today I just tried to stay as locked in as I could. I've thrown to Pat since I was in High-A last year. I love throwing to him; he knows what he's doing, he knows me."

Winn grew up in Ollie -- a town of about 200 in Southeast Iowa. Prior to his arrival at Busch Stadium on Monday, the 25-year-old had never stepped foot inside a major league stadium. Just 24 hours later, Winn secured the win for the Giants.

Prior to his last-minute trip to St. Louis, Winn was sitting inside the clubhouse in Triple-A Sacramento, where he was stewing in frustration and uncertainty after having his scheduled start with the River Cats pushed back on consecutive days.

"I was just in our Sacramento chow room, I was in there and our pitching coach came up to me and he said [manager Dave Brundage] wants to talk to you and I was kind of mad I got pushed back from the day before so I was pushed back two days in a row," Winn explained. "I was like 'Oh man, they're going to tell me the same thing they told me yesterday.' I come in and they tell me I'm going to the show and it was awesome."

Winn admitted that he was so caught up in the game that he wasn't able to process his emotions during his outing and joked he couldn't feel his legs.

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Giants manager Gabe Kapler was pleased with Winn's outing but believes there's even more left in the tank.

"It's super exciting for Keaton and his family," Kapler said. "It obviously was huge for us to cover that portion of the game and save all the other bullpen arms. He's going to be good. He's got a chance to be even better than he was tonight. Pitched well, can pitch better. A little bit erratic with his control and his command. We've seen him be an excellent strike-thrower, so I don't have any long-term concerns about that. Good, positive debut for Keaton and our club, but I think there's even an elevated level of performance from him as well."

Winn's outing was an important one that the Giants needed and certainly a moment the small-town kid never will forget.

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