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Rotation Shake Up Pays Huge Dividends for Giants During Important Win
May 2, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants catcher Sam Huff (23) celebrates with starting pitcher Hayden Birdsong (60) after the game against the Colorado Rockies at Oracle Park Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

Rotation Shake Up Pays Huge Dividends for Giants During Important Win

Originally posted on San Francisco Giants on SI
By Dalton Rice  |  Last updated May 21, 2025 11:00 AM ET

Hayden Birdsong showed the San Francisco Giants brass why he belongs in the starting rotation in their 3-2 win over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night.

In his first start since being announced as Jordan Hicks' replacement in the rotation after the former St. Louis Cardinals and Toronto Blue Jays reliever started the season with a 6.55 ERA, Birdsong completed five innings and allowed only one earned run while striking out four batters.

The Giants' sixth-round pick from 2022 has seen a velocity increase out of the bullpen, raising his average fastball from 95.8 mph last year to 96.2 mph through 12 appearances this season. His hardest thrown pitch tonight, a 98.4 mph fastball that fanned Bobby Witt Jr., nearly matched his career-high of 98.8 which came during spring training.

Birdsong finished 2024 with a 4.75 ERA over 16 starts, striking out 88 batters in only 72.1 innings pitched. His 11 strikeouts-per-nine innings was only behind the eventual NL Cy Young Award winner, Chris Sale, albeit in a much smaller sample.

Birdsong's 29 strikeouts over 28.1 innings this season shows some regression in terms of swing-and-miss stuff, but he has also allowed more balls in play at a 3.5 mph lower average exit velocity.

It has not been announced whether or not Birdsong will get another round in the rotation, but Hicks has already made an appearance out of the bullpen where he allowed three baserunners and an earned runner in just one inning of work in the series opener against the Royals.

San Francisco and Kansas City play in their series finale on Wednesday before both teams get a rest day on Thursday.

Logan Webb (5-3, 2.42 ERA) is projected to make the start for the Giants while the Royals have yet to name their starter at the time of writing.

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This article first appeared on San Francisco Giants on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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