SAN FRANCISCO – Sometime within the next week or so, Jordan Hicks will surpass his career-high for innings pitched. And the season’s not even at the midway point.
But the converted reliever refuses to blame the increased workload for any of his struggles, including Tuesday night’s 3-1 loss to the Houston Astros at Oracle Park.
The game marked Hicks’ second consecutive start where he has been unable to get through five innings, which would seem to indicate that he’s tiring out.
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That he was battling flu symptoms and tightness in his back didn’t help, but Hicks tried to remain confident when speaking in the Giants’ clubhouse afterward.
“The past two [starts] haven’t been ideal, not going at least five or six,” Hicks said. “I think I’ll have a good bounce back against the Cubs, hopefully, and then just go from there. Kind of take it one day at a time. I feel like it’s been a good process, a fun journey.”
Hicks made it through 4 2/3 innings against the Astros, bringing his season’s total to 71 2/3. That’s six innings shy of his previous career high of 77 2/3 innings, which he recorded during his rookie season as a reliever with the St. Louis Cardinals.
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Before his last two starts, Hicks had been durable and reliable. He pitched five innings or more in 11 of his first 12 outings with San Francisco and took an impressive 2.82 ERA into Tuesday’s game.
The Astros got to him for five hits and three runs, however – two coming in the fifth inning on Alex Bregman’s infield single that third baseman Matt Chapman raced in front of shortstop Brett Wisely to get before making a throwing error to first.
“Based on what he was dealing with today, the line doesn’t look great, but I thought he pitched pretty well,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “He hasn’t been throwing seven or eight innings, but he’s been keeping us basically in every game he’s pitched."
Hicks nearly didn’t make it to the mound.
After Monday’s game, a reporter approached Hicks to talk, only to have the 27-year-old offer up a warning to stay away because he hadn’t been feeling well.
In the days leading up to his start against the Astros, Hicks tried to get as much rest as he could. But all that lying around led to some back tightness.
Hicks declined to use the sickness and body aches as an excuse. If anything, he said it helped him lock in.
“I felt like it dialed me in more,” Hicks said “My slider felt really good, and my sinker felt like I was getting some swings under the zone with it in big counts.”
Hicks was treated with IVs on Monday and Tuesday, with coaches and teammates checking on him regularly throughout the game. Hicks said he would have pitched deeper into the game had he been healthy.
“Definitely not the way I would like to go about it, but it’s part of a long season.,” Hicks said when asked how he prepared for the game while not feeling well. “Overall, I felt like my stuff was pretty sharp. I really liked where everything was. I feel like every run [Houston scored] came on a ball that wasn’t hit that hard, but they put themselves in good position.”
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