Hayden Birdsong had the best start of his young career with a 12-strikeout performance in the San Francisco Giants 3-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies Sunday afternoon. It was only Birdsong’s fifth career start, but he dominated the Rockies lineup. SF had lost the first two games in the series so they needed a big performance from Birdsong. He delivered.
Birdsong went six innings, giving up just two runs on two hits and two walks. The 12 strikeouts he racked up were the most by a Giants rookie since Tim Lincecum in 2007. Lincecum was a 2-time Cy Young Award winner with San Francisco.
Birdsong is a 22-year-old who was called up to the big league squad on June 26. While it is still early on, he has gotten better every single start. This is very promising for a team that has been hampered by injuries to their starting pitching staff all season long.
Birdsong Dominant Versus Rockies
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Hayden Birdsong only had four starts under his belt coming into Sunday’s matchup in Colorado against the Rockies. In each of his four previous starts, he went 4-5 innings, giving up 2-3 runs. For a 22-year-old just called up, that is very solid. Today’s outing was outstanding. He got through six innings only giving up two runs and striking out 12. Jorge Soler, Tyler Fitzgerald, and Matt Chapman delivered all the offense he would need. He picked up the win to make him 2-0 in his young career.
The 12 strikeouts were the most from a Giant rookie since Tim Lincecum in 2007. Another interesting stat is he had more swing-and-miss pitches in a game than any other Giants pitcher since Lincecum over a decade ago. All of the talk this season was about another San Francisco young starting pitcher, Kyle Harrison. Birdsong is now making a real name for himself.
Giants Need Starting Pitching To Step Up
San Francisco’s pitching staff looked lethal coming into the season. They brought back all-star Logan Webb and the up-and-coming Kyle Harrison while adding the reigning Cy Young award winner Blake Snell. They also added Jordan Hicks and Robbie Ray.
Logan Webb has struggled as of late, Harrison has been hot and cold, Snell has been placed on the IL twice, Hicks has worn down after a hot start, and Ray has not yet recovered from off-season surgery. It has been a disaster.
Somehow SF is only three games back of the final NL Wild Card spot as of July 21 with a record of 48-52. If they want to make a legitimate push for the playoffs, their starting pitching is going to have to be more consistent. This starts with their two highest-paid pitchers Webb and Snell.
Rivalry Series Looming
SF will go from Colorado to Los Angeles on Monday for a four-game series with the NL West-leading Dodgers. The Dodgers are running away with the National League West division as they so often do. However, in the Dodgers-Giants rivalry, you can throw out the records. Historically, this is one of the most even matchups in all of sports.
For San Francisco, Blake Snell is scheduled to start on Monday night at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers still have not announced who will be starting the series opener. Like the Giants, the Dodgers have also been hit hard by injuries to their starting pitching. Luckily for them, they have MVP-caliber players throughout their batting lineup to pick up some of the slack. That is a luxury the Giants don’t have.
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