Hayden Birdsong has been called up to the Major Leagues as the former Eastern Illinois baseball pitcher is slated to make his MLB debut tonight (June 26), starting on the mound for the San Francisco Giants.
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Birdsong, a Mattoon native, was a sixth round draft pick by the Giants in 2022 and will make his debut against the Chicago Cubs.
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He becomes the 12th former EIU player to play in the Major Leagues and the second to make their debut this season joining Will Klein who made his MLB debut with the Kansas City Royals in late April.
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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.
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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.
