Hayden Birdsong’s first big-league win came in a big-time road debut Tuesday night.
Sure, the rookie right-hander gave up back-to-back solo home runs, but the Giants matched that feat against the majors’ ERA leader in Reynoldo López, then they pulled away for a 5-3 win at Atlanta’s Truist Park to open a six-game road trip.
Another Giants’ solo home run — Heliot Ramos’ opposite-field shot over the right-corner wall in the ninth — secured the Giants’ sixth win in eight games, after they had lost five straight away from Oracle Park.
Perhaps more impressive, Ramos made a diving catch and landed hard on his right shoulder to record the first out for closer Camilo Doval, who struck out the Braves’ next two batters for his 15th save.
Birdsong, pulled after 4 2/3 innings in last Wednesday’s impressive debut against the Cubs, just barely made it through the five innings necessary to earn a decision. With runners at second and third, the Braves sent up the top of their order, and Birdsong courageously countered by recording his fifth strikeout and a rally-killing flyout to preserve the 2-2 tie.
The Giants promptly put him in position for a win, when pinch-hitter Luis Matos’ grounder ricocheted off third baseman Austin Riley’s glove and brought in Michael Conforto for a 3-2 lead. Conforto had led off the sixth with a double down the right-field line.
Another Giants’ double, by Brett Wisely, led to another run, as he scored in the eighth on Nick Ahmed’s flyout for a 4-2 lead. But the Braves got that run back when Tyler Rogers allowed a Jarred Kelenic double and an Ozzie Albies RBI single; Rogers responded by striking out No. 3 hitter Marcell Ozuna and getting Matt Olson to ground out.
As was the case in Birdsong’s debut last Wednesday at Oracle Park, the Giants’ offense produced back-to-back home runs. Jorge Soler and LaMonte Wade Jr. opened Tuesday’s fifth inning with solo shots, canceling out the Braves’ own back-to-back bombs in the second inning. López entered with a MLB-best 1.70 ERA and a 6-2 record, and he certainly labored before exiting after his 101st pitch struck out Ramos.
Soler entered this game 12-for-19 with three home runs against López, and after striking out his first two at-bats Tuesday, Soler blasted an 0-2 fastball 394 feet, reminiscent of his heroics that made him the 2021 Atlanta Braves’ World Series MVP. With a launching pad officially ajar, Wade followed with a 442-foot on a full-count slider to tie the score at 2-2.
Before that rally, the Giants struggled to make López pay. Mike Yastrzemski, out the previous nine games with an oblique strain, produced the Giants’ only two hits off López through four innings. Each single came with two outs, and each were followed by Nick Ahmed flyouts to deep left field to keep the Giants scoreless.
The Giants worked deep into counts against López, starting with 29 pitches in the first inning when all four batters reached a full count; three struck out and LaMonte Wade Jr. walked.
Birdsong struck out three of the first four batters he faced. Then came Austin Riley and Sean Murphy with back-to-back solo home runs in the second inning, on 407-foot and 430-foot shots, respectively.
The Braves almost hit three bombs in a row, but Adam Duvall’s 396-foot blast couldn’t clear the center-field wall, nor could Heliot Ramos’ glove nab it to prevent a double. Riley belted a 2-1 fastball into the left field’s second deck on a 97.7-mph offering, which is what Birdson struck out Matt Olson in the preceding at-bat.
Birdsong opened with a 1-2-3 inning, striking out Kelenic on a 96.4-mph fastball and No. 3 hitter Ozuna on an 86.3-mph slider.
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NOTES: Matt Chapman’s seven-game hitting streak came to an end on an 0-for-5 night, but not without him lining out twice to the center-field track in his first two at-bats…Kyle Harrison was slated to throw a bullpen session on the side in Atlanta as part of his recovery from an ankle injury…Blake Snell (groin) will throw 75 to 80 pitches Wednesday and Robby Ray (elbow) will start Thursday for Triple-A Sacramento in Reno…Alex Cobb (shoulder) will throw a bullpen session Wednesday and then pitch Friday in a rehab assignment…Wilmer Flores (right knee tendinitis) and Thairo Estrada (left wrist sprain) stayed behind in San Francisco this week for rehabilitation, as is the case with Tom Murphy (left knee sprain) and Keaton Winn (right elbow)… ight-handed pitcher Landen Roupp got optioned to Triple-A Sacramento. He allowed three runs on three hits and two walks in 2 2/3 relief innings before Tyler Rogers came in to get the final out of Sunday’s 10-4 win over the Dodgers…Monday, infielder Trenton Brooks and pitcher Raymond Burgos cleared waivers and were outrighted to Sacramento…Left-handed pitcher Kolton Ingram got claimed off waivers from St. Louis and was optioned to Double-A Richmond. Ingram is 3-0 with a 4.26 ERA in Triple-A for three different organizations this season (Mets, Cardinals, Rangers)…Bryce Eldridge, a 19-year-old infielder, was named to MLB’s Futures Game on July 13 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. He began the year at Single-A San Jose (10 home runs, 45 RBI, 34 runs in 51 games) before his promotion last week to High-A Eugene (6-for-12, four RBI in four games).