San Francisco Giants Rookie Shares Thoughts After First Career Win

Giants rookie Hayden Birdsong earned his first win on Tuesday and gave his thoughts on the milestone after the game.

Jul 2, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Hayden Birdsong (60) throws against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning at Truist Park. Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco Giants called up Hayden Birdsong on June 26 to make his major league debut after posting a 2.51 ERA in 13 minor league starts to begin the year. His debut was about what you would expect from a rookie: 4.2 innings, three earned runs allowed and five strikeouts. It ended in a no-decision, but his second start against the vaunted Braves offense would earn him that coveted win.

In five innings in Atlanta, Birdsong allowed two runs on four hits, walking two and striking out five. Following the game, Birdsong spoke to the media about his outing and what it meant to him.

After falling just shy of five innings in his first start, Birdsong had one big goal: get through five.

"I was like, 'I'm finishing my inning.' Im not coming out in 4.2 again. Obviously, it worked out, I had less pitches," the rookie said.

Birdsong threw ten less pitches in his outing, which allowed him to work with some more wiggle room to reach that five inning mark. In doing that, he was allowed to reflect on what his two big league starts have taught him about himself.

"I've learned that I can compete at this level and these guys around me are more than willing to play behind me and I love that. They're very welcoming to me and I'm very grateful for that," Birdsong remarked.

Not only do his teammates suport him, but his family made the trip to Atlanta to see him pitch.

"I can't describe it. It's great. Honestly, I had more people here than I had in San Fran last week, a lot more of my friends, a lot more of my buddies," he said of the support. "Very thankful they could make it down, it's a lot closer, obviously. They don't have to drive 25, 30 hours whatever it is from home."

The Illinois native had his friends and family there for his first big league win, which is very special. The only thing that comes close is the gatorade shower you traditionally get after such a big accomplishment, but Birdsong had some different thoughts on his.

"At first, I was kind of freaking out cause I have my one pair of contacts that I have in my eyes right now. I'll get more tomorrow, but I was like 'Oh god,' they started to burn and I was like 'please don't mess my contact up,'" he joked. "But it was great. I loved it."

The Giants have been in desperate need of pitching with so many injuries, and the team needed a player like Birdsong to come up and make quality starts. As one of their top prospects, he is doing so and rightly got to celebrate on Tuesday. Now, it's back to the Wild Card chase.