Fastball

San Francisco Giants Pitcher Joins Franchise Legends in Historic Sunday Outing

The San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies on Sunday afternoon as righty Hayden Birdsong put together a historic performance on the mound.

Brady Farkas

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Hayden Birdsong (60) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on July 7.
San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Hayden Birdsong (60) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on July 7. / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

The San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies 3-2 on Sunday afternoon to stay within striking distance of a playoff berth in the hotly-contested National League.

At 48-52, San Francisco is just 3.0 games back of the third and final wild card spot. They are trying to do enough to be buyers at the trade deadline - or at least do enough to keep their current team together.

In the win on Sunday, rookie pitcher Hayden Birdsong put together a historic outing not seen since 1960 for the organization.

Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com on social media:

most strikeouts in a game within first 5 career outings, Giants since 1901:

4/25/37 Cliff Melton: 13
Today Hayden Birdsong: 12
7/19/60 Juan Marichal: 12

Birdsong went 6.0 innings to get those 12 strikeouts, surrendering just two hits, two walks and two earned runs along the way. Through his first five career starts, he's now 2-0 with a 3.55 ERA. He has 30 strikeouts in 25.1 innings.

He's currently the No. 4 prospect in the Giants system, per MLB.com. The following comes from a portion of his MLB.com prospect profile:

After working with a low-90s fastball in college, Birdsong now operates at 93-96 mph and touches 98 with armside run and carry. His upper-70s curveball has gotten a tick harder as well and gives him a second plus pitch, and its quality depth helps him neutralize left-handers. He employs a solid 82-85 mph slider with shorter break against right-handers and also flashes a decent mid-80s changeup with some fade. 

With a strong 6-foot-4 frame and a clean delivery, Birdsong can maintain his stuff deep into games and throughout a full season.

The Giants will take on the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night with first pitch coming at 10:10 p.m. ET.

Follow Fastball on FanNation on social media

Continue to follow our Fastball on FanNation coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN.

Published
Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

Home/History