SAN FRANCISCO – Jordan Hicks had misplaced six straight selections as a beginning pitcher final season when the Giants determined to maneuver the right-hander from the rotation to the bullpen.
With wins as soon as once more proving to be elusive for Hicks in 2025, supervisor Bob Melvin may quickly be tempted to make the same transfer.
Hicks, making his ninth begin of the season on Wednesday, didn’t pitch poorly however was nonetheless charged with 5 earned runs on seven hits in what grew to become an 8-7 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks earlier than an introduced crowd of 30,078 at Oracle Park.
Hicks, on the lookout for his first victory since March 31, solely lasted two-plus innings earlier than he was changed by fellow right-hander Hayden Birdsong with two runners on within the third.
Birdsong promptly allowed a three-run homer to 3rd baseman Eugenio Suárez, who drove a 96-mph fastball to left discipline for a 6-2 Arizona lead.
Hicks was coming off a six-strikeout efficiency towards the Minnesota Twins final Friday through which he allowed three runs over six innings. However he wasn’t fairly as crisp towards Arizona because the Giants, regardless of a late rally, misplaced for the fifth time in six video games.
“I thought his stuff was pretty good again,” Melvin mentioned of Hicks. “Had some laborious floor balls discover some holes. In some unspecified time in the future in time, you’d assume they’d be hit at any person.
“But (Birdsong didn’t have) his best stuff either. He gave up some early runs and put us in a hole.”
Hicks mentioned he “got the ground balls I wanted. They’re finding holes, and I don’t really know what else to do about that. It’s just baseball.”
Again on this 12 months’s rotation after spring coaching, Hicks was sensible in his first begin of the season on March 31, as he struck out six and didn’t enable an earned run over six innings in 7-2 Giants win over his hometown Houston Astros at Diakin Park.
However after Wednesday, Hicks, for the season, is 1-5 with a 6.75 ERA in 47.1 innings. That’s the fifth-highest ERA among the many 108 starters throughout MLB who’ve began a minimum of 9 video games.
Requested after Wednesday’s sport about Hicks’ standing within the rotation, Melvin mentioned, “it’s right after the game. It’s really hard to talk about those things right now.”
Hicks began 20 video games final season for the Giants, going 4-7 with a 4.07 ERA over 98.2 innings. His final 9 begins had been the problem, although, as he went 0-6 from Could 31 to July 23, with 22 walks in comparison with 42 strikeouts.
The Giants are off Thursday and Hicks’ spot within the rotation doesn’t come up once more till Could 20 when San Francisco hosts the Kansas Metropolis Royals. If Hicks doesn’t get the beginning, the Giants may use Birdsong in that spot or flip to left-hander Kyle Harrison, who began 24 video games with the group final season.
For now, Hicks who’s within the second 12 months of a four-year, $44 million deal he signed with the Giants in Jan. 2024, a contract he agreed to partially as a result of he needed a chance to begin, isn’t going to fret a couple of transfer again to the ‘pen.
“I’m just going to go out there every time put my best foot forward,” Hicks mentioned. “That’s actually all I can do is (flip) the web page, shut the e-book on the unhealthy outings, after which develop from the great ones. Take the positives from the unhealthy video games.
“I feel like there was a high percentage of ground balls today, and that is ideal for me as a ground ball pitcher. It just didn’t find the guys. Just got to live with it and move on.”
The Giants trailed 8-2 after the highest of the fourth earlier than they began to chip away at Arizona’s lead.
Heliot Ramos completed with three RBI and Jung Hoo Lee homered for the second straight day. The Giants then loaded the bases within the ninth and scored as soon as to chop the Diamondbacks’ benefit to 1, however Christian Koss popped out to shallow middle discipline.
Within the eighth, with Koss aboard, Ramos reached on an infield single hit down the third final analysis. After he rounded second, Koss ran face-first into Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo. Damage and on the bottom, Koss was tagged out as he couldn’t get again to second base.
However after the umpires conferred, the Diamondbacks had been known as for obstruction, Koss was awarded second base and Ramos remained at first. Diamondbacks supervisor Torey Lovullo got here out to argue, and was quickly ejected by first base umpire Nic Lentz.
In a little bit of comedian reduction, Lovullo motioned to eject the 4 umpires who made the obstruction ruling.
The commotion was all for naught, although, as Flores popped out with two out to finish the menace.
FITZGERALD UPDATE: Tyler Fitzgerald started his rehab task with Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday night time, but it surely stays unclear when the injured second baseman will have the ability to return to the Giants.
Fitzgerald was positioned on the 10-day injured listing, retroactive to Could 1, with a left rib fracture, and the Giants’ sport towards the Arizona Diamondbacks at Oracle Park marked the thirteenth sport he’s needed to miss. Melvin mentioned the Giants have totally different schedules for Fitzgerald’s return, “depending on how he’s doing, what we feel like he needs, how he’s responding each day. It would be nice to get him back sooner than later.”
Initially Printed: Could 14, 2025 at 6:17 PM PDT
