strikeouts, leading the Class A Giants to the California League championship. Promoted to Double-A Shreveport in 1999, he pitched in only two games before being promoted to the parent club in 1999. San Francisco Giants (1999–2003) Nathan was promoted to the San Francisco Giants on April 20, 1999, taking the roster spot of superstar slugger Barry Bonds, who went on the disabled list after left elbow surgery. He made his major league debut the next day, pitching seven shutout innings and winning his first major league decision against the Florida Marlins, 4–0. He then divided the rest of the season between the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies and the Giants. With the Grizzlies, he was 6–4 with a 4.43 ERA in 13 starts. In the majors, Nathan was 7–4 with one save and a 4.18 ERA in 19 games (14 starts) with the Giants. He earned his first career save on May 16 against the Houston Astros. After a short stint in the minors in 2000, Nathan spent most of the season in the majors, finishing 5–2 with a 5.21 ERA in 20 games (15 starts), and even hitting two home runs. However, he struggled with his control, walking 63 batters in 93 innings. He was on the disabled list twice: from May 17 to June 6 for right shoulder tendinitis and from July 14 to August 18 for an inflamed right shoulder, necessitating arthroscopic surgery on the afflicted shoulder at the end of the season. Nathan divided 2001 between Triple-A Fresno and Double-A Shreveport both starting and relieving, finishing with a disappointing combined 3–11 record and an ERA of 7.29 in 31 games (17 starts). Nathan improved slightly in 2002 to 6–12 with a 5.60 ERA in 31 games (25 starts) with Fresno, but finally overcame his postsurgical struggles to return to the Giants in September with 3 scoreless innings in relief. Nathan spent all of 2003 with the Giants in the bullpen after marrying Lisa Lemoncelli, his girlfriend of five years, in November 2002. This was a breakout year for Nathan, as he began the season with 23 scoreless innings. He finished the season with a 12–4 record and a 2.96 ERA in 78 relief appearances. His 78 appearances put him high on the list of most-used pitchers for the season as one of the best setup men in the NL, allowing no runs in 15 appearances from July 18