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Giants 3, Rangers 2
IP H R ER BB K
Birdsong 3.0 3 0 0 0 5
Boy, do I love me a multi-inning relief pitcher. Hayden Birdsong, who lost out in the battle for the Giants’ fifth-starter spot to Landon Roupp, has instead become an absolute weapon out of the pen. He’s made seven relief appearances: three of three innings, three of two innings, just one that went one inning. He’s posted a 1.13 ERA and a 2.93 FIP, and in his last two outings has gone six innings while striking out nine of 23 batters faced. It’s all leverage work, too; in his last two appearances he started the sixth inning with the game ties, and his shutout innings led directly to Giants wins.
Birdsong has ditched his curve in making the move to the pen, picking up a half-tick on his fastball and more than two on his slider. His most effective weapon, though, has been a changeup that he uses to both lefties and righties, and that he’s been going out of the zone with more for whiffs -- a 50% swing-and-miss rate on the pitch. It’s the new hotness, a kick change that, per Eno Sarris, he throws with a rare grip.
We’ve seen Bob Melvin have success doing this with a pitcher before, getting the best work of Yusmeiro Petit’s long career in 2018 and 2019. Petit was 33 in 2018, though, while Birdsong is 23. The catch with a pitcher in this role is that it’s neither fish nor fowl, and as important as it can be to a team, it’s not one from which Birdsong is going to become rich or famous. The Giants haven’t had to go off rotation yet, but whether it’s a Justin Verlander injury, a Jordan Hicks spate of wildness, or Landon Roupp losing effectiveness, they will need a sixth starter, and Birdsong will probably be first up. It’s a shame, because the three-and-free reliever can be a critical player in the era of five-and-fly starters.
As an aside, this was a very good, tight, entertaining series that ended on one of the worst plays you’ll see all season.
