The San Francisco Giants will make the first tweak of the season in their rotation Tuesday night when they send right-hander Hayden Birdsong against the visiting Kansas City Royals.
The Royals received seven shutout innings from San Francisco Bay Area product Kris Bubic in a 3-1 triumph in the opener of the three-game series on Monday.
The loss was the Giants’ first since Jordan Hicks started an 8-7 defeat versus the Arizona Diamondbacks last Wednesday. Hicks’ ERA rose to 6.55 in the loss.
Hicks retained his spot in the rotation through his first four losses, but Giants manager Bob Melvin announced over the weekend that Birdsong (1-0, 2.31 ERA) would get the ball on Tuesday.
Birdsong, 23, has pitched 11 times in relief this season, although coincidentally had his worst outing of the year in that same Arizona game, allowing three runs in three innings. He had allowed just three earned runs over his first 10 appearances.
“We look at performance, and Hayden hasn’t been getting the type of regular work he was earlier in the season when the starters weren’t going as long,” Melvin said of Birdsong’s subpar outing. “So there were a couple different reasons for (the change).”
A starter in all 16 of his outings as a rookie last season, Birdsong has never faced the Royals.
Another team that made a long run with the same five-man rotation, Kansas City is expected to counter with fellow right-hander Michael Lorenzen (3-4, 3.76 ERA). He will become the third Royal to make a 10th start this season, following Michael Wacha and Bubic.
The Southern California native has never beaten the Giants in his career, going 0-1 with a 7.11 ERA in 10 games (four starts).
The Royals’ run of five starters finally ended in the team’s 31st game of the season, when Seth Lugo went on the 15-day injured list and was replaced by Noah Cameron.
Now it’s about to happen again, with Cole Ragans joining Lugo on the IL and having to be scratched from Wednesday’s scheduled start. Kansas City hasn’t announced a starter for that game but promoted Jonathan Bowlan from Triple-A to join the club in San Francisco.
Bowlan was available out of the bullpen — but didn’t pitch — on Monday and likely will be among the available relievers Tuesday as well. The right-hander, who pitched two scoreless innings in relief against the Houston Astros in April before getting demoted, also would be a candidate to start Wednesday’s game as an opener.
“It’s a very exciting opportunity,” assured the former second-round draft pick, who has made four lifetime major-league appearances without recording a win. “Whenever they call my name, I’m here to be ready.”
Pitching consistency has been the norm for both the Giants and Royals this season and certainly was again on Monday night, when Robbie Ray and Bubic each threw seven shutout innings. Bubic gave up just two hits and Ray six.
Birdsong will attempt to continue a dominant stretch for the Giants in which Logan Webb, Landen Roupp, Justin Verlander and Ray have combined to allow just three runs on 19 hits over 25 innings as San Francisco has won three of its last four games.
Meanwhile, Cameron, Wacha and Bubic have given up just two runs on 12 hits over 18 1/3 innings in the Royals’ last three contests, including two consecutive wins entering Tuesday’s contest.
–Field Level Media
