As part of a Giants rotation that includes a two-time Cy Young Award winner and a young promising MLB All-Star who already has established himself as one of the top pitchers in baseball, Hayden Birdsong is emerging as maybe the best of them all.
At least right now he is.
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Making only the fifth start of his young career Sunday, the 22-year-old phenom didn’t flinch once while pitching in the hitter-friendly confines at Coors Field. Relying a lot on his breaking stuff, Birdsong set a career-high with 12 strikeouts while mesmerizing the Rockies’ lineup for six strong innings in the Giants' 3-2 win.
“He’s a very talented kid,” Giants manager Bob Melvin told reporters in Colorado. “This is a tough place to pitch. To lose two games puts a little bit more pressure on you. Didn’t look like there was pressure on him at all. Pitched really well. His breaking stuff’s tough to track. Just a fantastic outing for him for a lot of different reasons.”
Words alone can’t do justice to how well Birdsong pitched, although a few stats might help.
Birdsong is the first opposing pitcher to fan 12 at Coors Field, breaking the previous mark of 11 set by former Giants pitcher Kevin Gausman in 2021. The 12 K's also are the most by a Giants rookie since Tim Lincecum whiffed 12 against the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 1, 2007.
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Birdsong also is the youngest Giants pitcher with 12 strikeouts in a game since Madison Bumgarner had 12 as a 22-year-old in 2012, his third season in the majors.
Additionally, the 27 swing-and-misses that Birdsong generated are the most by a Giants pitcher since tracking started in 2008. Lincecum had 31 whiffs in Game 1 of the 2010 National League Division Series and 29 in a 2013 start.
“That’s a cool little token, but can’t compare myself to those guys,” Birdsong said. “I just got to keep doing my thing, having fun and keep it rolling after today.”
Birdsong retired seven of the final eight batters he faced after giving up a two-run home run to Brendan Rodgers in the fourth.
“Fantastic,” Melvin said. “He was rolling. Really only the one pitch to Rodgers. It’s a close game, it’s a tough ballpark to pitch in, but I think we showed a lot of faith in him letting him go back out there for that sixth and getting over the hump. Not only going out there for the sixth, but finishing it.”
Having tamed the beast that is Coors Field, the future definitely is looking bright for Birdsong.
Whether that future for the rest of this season will be in San Francisco or back in the minors has yet to be determined.
The Giants are expected to get Alex Cobb and Robbie Ray back within the next few weeks, which would get the starting rotation back to full strength for the first time this season.
Birdsong has been reticent to talk about whether he’s done enough to stick around when they do get back. Melvin addressed the topic and noted that Birdsong’s pitching has made the decision a little more difficult.
“I think it’s a conversation going forward,” Melvin said. “We’ll see where we go with it, but he’s pitched really well. Originally, not sure how long he’d be here. To still be here pitching and pitching at that clip is pretty impressive.”
Birdsong was so locked in that he didn’t realize that Melvin had been ejected before the game started. The young pitcher found out when he went to the Giants' clubhouse after being removed and saw Melvin sitting in his office.
“It ended up being a win. Might have helped, you never know,” Birdsong said.
According to BaseballSavant, the Rockies had only three hard-hit balls off Birdsong, including the two-run home run by Rodgers in the fourth.
While he was steady with his fastball, Birdsong did a lot of damage with his off-speed pitches. He got 14 called strikes from his curveball and slider. Those two pitches were also responsible for 22 of the 27 swing-and-misses by Colorado hitters.
“I was landing curveballs over and over again, and the slider was there today,” Birdsong said. “ Felt good. Didn’t know I had it but it worked out. It was cool to see and it helps my confidence a little bit, just knowing my stuff plays up here and I can kind of work off that.”
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