Disastrous start, bad defense set tone in Giants' 6th straight loss

ATLANTA -- Just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong for the Giants in Monday’s series opener against the Braves at Truist Park.

San Francisco fell, 9-5, against a struggling Braves team and the Giants are enduring a season-long six-game losing streak.

The trouble began with starter Hayden Birdsong. The right-hander did not record an out in his 10th start of the season as he allowed five runs on one hit with four walks and a hit batter before he was pulled in the first inning having faced just six batters – all of whom reached base. The Braves took a 5-1 lead, added some late insurance and never looked back.

It was Birdsong’s first start since July 6 due to the All-Star break and off-days leading into it. Birdsong couldn’t pinpoint the cause of his command issues.

“I don’t know right now,” Birdsong said. “Every single time I have struggles with [command], I try to find it and I haven’t found it yet. We’ll keep working. Today it felt good; I just couldn’t locate it obviously.”

Birdsong has issued 25 walks in his last 27 2/3 innings, including Monday.

“I [have to] go back to step one, whatever that is,” Birdsong said. “I’ll go back and look at film [and] see what I was doing in the Minor Leagues, see what I was doing up here early and just reset it. That’s all I got right now.”

Birdsong became the first starting pitcher to face six batters, record no outs and issue four walks in a game since a 46-year-old Nolan Ryan did it on Sept. 22, 1993. That was the last of Ryan’s 773 career starts.

“He was kind of teetering the last time [he started] but he found a way through it,” manager Bob Melvin said. “Today he couldn’t, unfortunately. That put us in a little bit of the bind with the pitching obviously. We had to cover this game. It’s not ideal and kind of back to square one with [Birdsong] as far as the command issues go. … I’ve talked to him. He’s very understanding of what he needs to do.”

Safe to say the Giants will have to be tactful with bullpen usage for the remainder of the series as San Francisco used five relievers to cover eight innings.

“We had plenty of opportunities to come back in that game,” Melvin said. “We didn’t. If we did, it might have looked a little different as far as the personnel. Somebody like [reliever] Tristan [Beck] has to wear it after throwing four-plus the other day. [Spencer] Bivens had one-plus yesterday and had to go back out there. We’re trying to get through the game to have enough weapons for tomorrow.”

The Giants will need length out of Tuesday’s starting pitcher Landen Roupp. Roupp has posted six innings or more in eight of his 19 starts this season.

“That would be good,” Melvin said.

San Francisco’s defense didn’t do the pitching any favors. The Giants committed two errors, and one of the plays that illustrated how things are going happened in the bottom of the fourth inning.

With runners on first and second, Braves designated hitter Drake Baldwin hit a soft single up the middle to center fielder Jung Hoo Lee, driving in Matt Olson from second. Lee threw the ball to shortstop Willy Adames, who was standing at second, while Ronald Acuña Jr., who started the play at first base, rounded third and scored from first.

“That’s bad communication is what it is,” Melvin said. “[Second baseman] Casey [Schmitt] has to let [Lee] know when he gets up. [Third baseman Matt Chapman] is trying to yell. Casey is trying to learn the position too. It’s just a bad look when you’re playing like that and something like that happens in a game like this where we look terrible. It’s just another instance today that was not a good look for us.”