WASHINGTON -- Hayden Birdsong’s Major League career was off to a strong start, but the Nationals proved to be the biggest challenge yet for the right-hander.

San Francisco’s offense quickly got on the board, scoring four runs in the first inning, but Birdsong struggled to stop the Nationals from rallying and fell, 11-5, on Tuesday night at Nationals Park. The Giants’ No. 4 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, dealt 66 pitches -- 38 strikes -- in two-plus innings, allowing seven runs off five hits (two homers) and three walks.

“We haven’t seen that,” said Giants manager Bob Melvin. “There are times that he’s been scattered with his fastball but his offspeed stuff he’s been able to throw for strikes and keep [batters] off balance. Today he just didn’t have command of anything early on and they were putting some good swings on them and putting a lot of pressure on them.”

The Illinois native was unscathed in the first inning, allowing just a single. However, his struggles quickly manifested in the second inning. He faced eight batters, tossing 40 pitches to complete the frame. Birdsong allowed three hits and back-to-back walks, which the Nationals took advantage of to take the lead.

With one out, it was a battle against Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams where the most damage was inflicted. Birdsong tossed a 96.4 mph fastball well above the strike zone. Abrams connected with the 4.42-foot-high pitch for the three-run homer.

“I have no idea how he hit that ball. Good for him, guy can hit,” Birdsong said. “They can hit fastballs and I learned that. I knew that going in but not many people are hitting that ball. It was impressive.”

The 22-year-old pitched into the third inning. After Washington catcher Keibert Ruiz homered and left fielder James Wood -- the Nationals' top prospect -- walked, Melvin called Randy Rodríguez from the bullpen. Wood found his way back to home plate on an Alex Call double, scoring the final run charged against Birdsong.

“Obviously I wanted to get five, six, seven innings, but sometimes it doesn’t work that way,” Birdsong said. “Things happen. Guys can hit. I didn’t have my best stuff. [It] wasn’t my day but I’ve got to be a bit better than two innings. I’ve got to be. Can’t hurt the bullpen like that, especially with a couple more games coming up this week.”

Birdsong was 3-0 with a 2.97 ERA and .204 opposing average since his contract was selected on June 26. In order to manage his workload after his 12-strikeout performance on July 21, Birdsong was optioned to Single-A San Jose. He is currently at 89 2/3 innings between Double-A, Triple-A and the Majors. In 2023, he tossed 100 2/3 innings the entire season.

He then served as the 27th man in the doubleheader against the Rockies on July 27. He impressed in his recent outings -- both against Colorado -- where he went 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA and allowed five hits, striking out 20 of the 42 Rockies batters he faced. He was optioned back to Single-A following the doubleheader, his only start since July 21 entering Tuesday’s contest. He did not make any appearances during either stint in the Minor Leagues.

The Giants tried their best to chip away at the deficit after Birdsong departed Tuesday's outing. They scored a run in the fourth inning to cut the Nats' lead to two but were unable to capitalize on runners in scoring position -- ending the night 1-for-14 in those situations.

“Our situational bats were terrible tonight,” Melvin said. “That’s been a problem here for a couple of weeks now. And runners in scoring position, it’s the cheapies that you can control. Trying to get a ball in the air, you’re just trying to get a run home. It doesn't take a hit to do it and that’s been frustrating.”

After the Giants traded Alex Cobb to the Guardians ahead of the Trade Deadline to ensure a spot in the starting rotation for Birdsong, the clubhouse has a lot of confidence in the young pitcher.

“He’s been good for us, so it’s just about, ‘Don’t worry about that when you’ve been good enough times to where you’re going to be out there again. We have confidence in you and you have good stuff,’” Melvin said.