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Hayden Birdsong delivers the performance he desperately needed in Giants' tough loss – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

SAN FRANCISCO – Rookie starter Hayden Birdsong got the start he desperately needed in the Giants’ disappointing 3-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday night at Oracle Park.

The right-hander collected four strikeouts in five scoreless innings and allowed only two hits and one walk.

Birdsong made up for his last start against the Brewers, in which he allowed five earned runs in a 6-0 loss to the Giants on August 29. San Francisco manager Bob Melvin was happy to see his 23-year-old take some time to catch up.

“Yeah, that was great. I mean, he really needed that,” Melvin said after the game. “You could see from the first pitch that he was hitting his fastball way out, in the zone, with good speed. As time went on, he gained even more confidence. So it was a big accomplishment for him to give us five like that.”

Thursday's loss was Birdsong's third goalless appearance of his career.

He looked confident from the first pitch at 6:45 p.m. PT, needing an efficient 68 pitches to lower his initial ERA from 5.19 to 4.74.

Birdsong also dominated the game, despite scoring no runs and only minimal hits in his 12th career game.

“It was nice to be on point from the first pitch to the last,” Birdsong said of his evening. “Of course I had a walk, but that didn't bother me at the time because I was on point the whole game, and that's all I really wanted.”

“I want to keep doing this and just keep showing that I can throw to five and beyond. I was really happy today… got to keep it up.”

Birdsong, who is still 3-5 in the 2024 MLB season, improved his WHIP to 1.42 and achieved 68 strikeouts.

Birdsong attacked 31 times (46 percent) with his fastball – a goal he achieved time and time again – but the rookie was in control and he knew it.

“That always helps a lot,” Birdsong said of his success with his fastball. “I haven't had my heater a lot since I've been here, so it was nice to have it and I was able to just throw it whenever I wanted today. Hopefully we can just keep that going.”

The Giants, 72-75, would love to see Birdsong continue like this.

Ultimately, there's no reason Birdsong can't remain special. He has what it takes to compete with the best — as he did against the Brewers, who were in first place in the NL Central — and he knows he belongs in the major leagues.

But baseball, more than any other sport, is a mental game. Fortunately, Birdsong is a pro among pros.

“Not really. It's my own brain that gets in the way,” Birdsong said of mechanical adjustments. “That's usually how it is [and] that's how most pitchers are. Of course there are little things I can tweak, but we're in the middle of the season, I throw every day for five or six days, no matter how long.

“It's difficult to optimize one thing and then something else goes wrong. So it's a kind of adjustment on the fly.”

With 15 games left on San Francisco's schedule, it will be difficult for Birdsong to change anything.

However, the Giants are almost out of the running for the NL playoffs, so don't be surprised if Birdsong ends up experimenting.

Regardless, Birdsong proved in his rematch against the Brewers that he is on the up.

Now the right-hander has to finish the year strong.

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