Former Eastern Illinois pitcher Hayden Birdsong picked up his first Major League Baseball victory on July 2 against the Atlanta Braves.
In his second big league start, Birdsong pitched five innings, allowing four hits and two runs while striking out five batters.
The No. 4 ranked prospect in the Giants organization, Birdsong made his MLB debut on June 26 against the Chicago Cubs, but came up just short of the victory. Birdsong was a sixth round draft pick by the Giants in 2022.
He became the 12th former EIU player to play in the Major Leagues and the second to make their debut this season joining Will Klein (April with Kansas City).
This season Birdsong began the year in Double-A Richmond before making two starts after a call-up to Triple-A Sacramento. He has a 5-2 record with a 2.51 ERA in 13 starts this season. Birdsong has 75 strikeouts in 57.1 innings of work between the two stops with opposing batters hitting just .196.
Birdsong will be the first EIU player to play for the Giants at the MLB level. Prior to Klein's April call-up, the last EIU player to play at the major league level was Tim Bogar from 1993-2001 with the New York Mets, Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers.