Giants place LHP Kyle Harrison on 15-day IL with ankle injury

San Francisco Giants left-hander Kyle Harrison was scratched from his start Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers and placed on the 15-day injured list with a right ankle sprain, retroactive to Thursday.

Harrison rolled his ankle working out in the weight room Saturday and was unable to pitch. Manager Bob Melvin had no timeline for his return.

"He's down for sure," Melvin said. "Sometimes these things just happen. Could happen anywhere. But working, getting ready for your start, to have it happen like that is very disappointing."

Reliever Erik Miller was set to start for San Francisco in the series finale in place of Harrison as the Giants opted for a bullpen day in hopes of avoiding a three-game sweep. Miller made his fifth start of the season but pitched less than two innings in his first four.

With Harrison out, the Giants selected right-hander Spencer Bivens from Triple-A Sacramento and released right-hander Nick Avila.

Harrison's injury is the latest to hinder the Giants' rotation. San Francisco recently placed lefty Blake Snell on the injured list with a groin strain and has been without starters Robbie Ray, Alex Cobb and Tristan Beck all season.

"You can never have too much starting pitching," Melvin said. "We do have some guys coming back. That's probably going to take a little while. Kyle's been really consistent for us so in the meantime we'll try to figure another way around it. You'll probably see a little bit more bullpen."

Harrison, 22, is 4-3 with a 3.96 ERA in 14 starts. The Giants' third-round pick in 2020 is 5-4 with a 4.02 ERA in 21 starts since making his major league debut last season.

Bivens, 29, signed with the Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2022 and has yet to pitch in the major leagues.

This season at Triple-A, Bivens is 4-0 with a 2.81 ERA in 21 relief appearances, and he was named Pacific Coast League pitcher of the month in May. In three seasons in the minors, he is 15-6 with a 3.54 ERA in 81 games (four starts). Bivens could make his debut as soon as Sunday.

"There are great stories and you always feel good about someone making their major league debut," Melvin said. "But if you know the travails and everything that he's been through, this is a real special one. ... For him to finally make it to the big leagues, it really gives you goosebumps."

Avila, 26, was a 26th-round pick of the Giants in 2019 and made his debut this season, going 1-0 with an 8.49 ERA over eight relief appearances.

The Associated Press and Field Level Media contributed to this story.