ATLANTA (MLB/WAND) -- Less than a week after making his Major League debut, Giants rookie Hayden Birdsong got to check off another big career milestone: his first win.
Birdsong is a graduate from Mattoon High school, where he was selected to the Apollo Conference First Team in 2019, and helped the team win the conference championship. He then went to pitch for Eastern Illinois University where he quickly cemented himself as an effective arm, throwing a team best 3.35 ERA in 2022.
Last night, Birdsong gave up two runs over a career-high five innings, and Jorge Soler, LaMonte Wade Jr. and Heliot Ramos each homered as the Giants defeated the Braves, 5-3, in Tuesday night’s series opener at Truist Park.
“It’s very special,” Birdsong said. “It’ll set in later, I’m sure. Now I would say I’m in the books. I can’t thank this team enough for being behind me and playing as hard as they can behind me. It’s been awesome.”
Birdsong, the Giants’ No. 4 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, came within an out of qualifying for the win in his first start against the Cubs on Wednesday, but he ended up surrendering a game-tying solo home run to Seiya Suzuki that ended his night after 4 2/3 innings.
The 22-year-old right-hander managed to get through five in his first career start on the road, permitting only back-to-back homers to Austin Riley and Sean Murphy in the second. Adam Duvall nearly made it three in a row with another deep drive to center field, but it ended up hitting off the top of the wall for a one-out double.
Still, Birdsong managed to keep his composure following a mound visit from pitching coach Bryan Price, recovering to induce a pair of flyouts from Forrest Wall and Zack Short to end the inning.
“I just told myself to keep filling up the zone,” Birdsong said. “Obviously, I kept doing that. Things are going to work out. I just had to execute a little bit better. I kind of got better as I went and found where I needed to miss and where I couldn’t miss. It worked out.”
The Braves also threatened in the fifth after Duvall reached on an 11-pitch leadoff walk and Wall legged out a bunt single, but Birdsong retired Short on a sacrifice bunt, struck out Jarred Kelenic swinging on a nasty changeup and then coaxed a flyout from Ozzie Albies to leave both runners stranded and preserve a 2-2 tie.
“I was like, ‘I’m finishing my inning. I’m not coming out after 4 2/3 [innings] again,’” Birdsong said. “I was like, ‘I’ve got to finish this.’ Obviously, it worked out. I had less pitches. I was throwing a little better and around the zone a little more, so it worked out.”
“Trying to get through five, trying to get a win and had to pitch out of a jam,” manager Bob Melvin said. “I think that’s when we kind of found out the most about his night tonight.”
Birdsong departed after striking out five and walking two in the 87-pitch effort, showing off a four-pitch mix that included a four-seam fastball that topped out at 97.7 mph and a slider that induced four of his 11 swinging strikes. The Giants celebrated his first win by sticking him in a laundry cart and giving him a traditional beer shower after the game.
