ATLANTA — Thanks in part to the All-Star break, Hayden Birdsong went roughly two weeks in between starts. The layoff gave him time to find a solution to the command issues that suddenly plagued him in recent starts.
Instead, Birdsong hit his nadir Monday. He faced six batters and recorded no outs. He threw 25 pitches but landed only six strikes. He surrendered one hit but allowed five runs due to four walks and a hit batsman.
Birdsong’s imperfect outing set the stage for the Giants’ 9-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Monday night at Truist Park, extending the team’s season-high losing streak to six games.
Including Monday’s outing, there have now been 33 instances since 2000 of an MLB starting pitcher facing at least six batters and recording no outs. The last Giant to do so was Zack Littell on June 15, 2021, a game San Francisco still won as Mike Yastrzemski hit a go-ahead grand slam. The list of rough starts includes former Giant and current roving pitching instructor Ryan Vogelsong, who was in attendance in Atlanta, coincidentally.
The 23-year-old’s inability to command his pitches has seemingly come out of nowhere. In Birdsong’s first 17 appearances (six starts), he walked 20 batters over 52 2/3 innings and posted a 3.25 ERA. Over his last four starts, by contrast, Birdsong has walked 17 batters over 13 innings with an 11.08 ERA.
As poorly as Birdsong pitched, the Giants didn’t turn in their finest night on defense either. Along with a pair of throwing errors from reliever Matt Gage and left fielder Heliot Ramos, center fielder Jung Hoo Lee had a pair of miscues that directly led to runs.
In the fourth, Ronald Acuña Jr. scored from first base when Lee lobbed a throw back to the infield. In the sixth, Lee didn’t take command of a routine fly ball to left-center field, resulting in the ball dropping and a run scoring.
Willy Adames represented one of San Francisco’s lone bright spots, recording his first four-hit game as a Giant and mashing his 15th home run of the season.
Birdsong began his outing by walking Jurickson Profar on seven pitches, getting into a full count before throwing a 3-2 slider in the dirt. From there, Birdsong lost the zone entirely. He walked Matt Olson on four pitches, then walked Acuña on four more pitches. After Birdsong loaded the bases, Drake Baldwin cleared them with a three-run double.
The 23-year-old’s night would not last much longer. Following Baldwin’s double, Birdsong walked Ozzie Albies on five pitches, then plunked Sean Murphy on an errant fastball. With that, manager Bob Melvin pulled the plug on Birdsong’s night.
Six batters. No outs.
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Gage entered the ballgame with no outs, the bases loaded and San Francisco already trailing Atlanta 3-1. All things considered, Gage provided the Giants with much-needed equanimity. Gage allowed a two-run single to ex-A’s shortstop Nick Allen that expanded the Braves’ lead to 5-1, but he recorded three outs and got San Francisco back into the dugout following a lengthy first inning.
Still, with Birdsong failing to record a single out, San Francisco’s bullpen needed to cover seven innings at the minimum. That task would be even more difficult with left-hander Joey Lucchesi tossing two innings of relief in Sunday’s 9-4 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Gage’s outing lasted two innings before Melvin called upon another arm. Spencer Bivens then allowed three runs over 1 2/3 innings, then Tristan Beck followed up by retiring all four batters he faced. Ryan Walker handled the sixth and seventh innings, then Camilo Doval rounded out the night by pitching the eighth in his first appearance of the second half.
Giants announce signings 17 of 18 draft picks
The Giants announced prior to Monday night’s game that they’ve signed 17 of the 18 players they selected in the 2025 MLB draft. The list includes first-rounder Gavin Kilen out of the University of Tennessee. Additionally, San Francisco also signed three undrafted free agents: infielder Hayden Jatczak (Kent State), catcher Daniel Rogers (Iowa) and right-hander Dylan Carter (Arkansas).
Elijah McNeal, who starred at Dublin High School, did not sign with the Giants after being selected by the team in the draft’s 20th and final round. McNeal is committed to play at UC Davis.