SAN FRANCISCO — Jordan Hicks’ final line score against the Astros wasn’t all that special. Given that Hicks was battling both batters and his body, the Giants gladly took the effort.
Hicks allowed three earned runs across 4 2/3 innings with five strikeouts as he fought the flu, ending up with the loss as San Francisco totaled only three hits and fell to Houston, 3-1, on Tuesday at Oracle Park.
“I think based on what he was dealing with today — the line doesn’t look great — I thought he did pretty well,” said Giants manager Bob Melvin.
This isn’t the first time this season that Hicks has started while sick. On May 19, Hicks delivered five innings of one-run ball despite vomiting right before first pitch. For Hicks, the flu brought different challenges. He spent much of the last few days laying in bed, requiring IV injections on Monday and Tuesday. Along with the flu, Hicks dealt with a tight back.
“I feel like the stomach’s a little different, for me at least,” Hicks said. “I can go out there and if I throw up, I throw up. The flu-like symptoms are the ones that get you.”
Hicks’ velocity, unsurprisingly, was down a few ticks. The right-hander threw 36 total fastballs — 34 sinkers, two four-seamers — but didn’t crack 95 mph a single time. His slowest sinker of the night registered at 90.2 mph. Even with reduced velocity, Hicks generated four whiffs with his splitter and five with his sweeper.
“I feel like it dialed me in a little bit more,” Hicks said. “My slider felt really good, and with my sinker, I feel like I was getting some swings under the zone with it.”
Despite feeling under the weather, Hicks kept Houston’s potent offense in check. The right-hander needed just 50 pitches to get through the first four innings, his lone blemish being Jose Altuve’s RBI groundout. In the fifth, Hicks ran into a game-deciding roadblock.
Trey Cabbage led off the inning with a single, then former Giant Mauricio Dubón smashed a double, putting runners on second and third with no outs. Hicks struck out the next two batters, then got Alex Bregman to dribble a potentially inning-ending grounder to the infield’s left side.
Matt Chapman, returning to the lineup after missing two games with a sore hamstring, barehanded the ball and fired to first, but his throw was offline and two runs scored, giving Houston a two-run lead. Hicks, who hasn’t completed five innings in his last two starts, was then pulled at 72 pitches, tied for the fewest he’s thrown in an outing this season. Melvin said he would’ve pulled Hicks even if Chapman made the play due to Hicks’ physical state.
“That’s one of the ones where it’s just baseball,” Hicks said. “THey didn’t hit it hard enough. Just a tough one. (Chapman) is a Gold Glover. He’s going to make those plays. Yeah, that’s tough though. It’s kind of in between shortstop and third.”
With Tuesday’s outing, the reliever-turned-starter is up to 71 2/3 innings, only six fewer than his career-high of 77 2/3 innings. Hicks will likely set a new benchmark in frames sometime this month, and Melvin said the 27-year-old has done “remarkably well” with his transition to full-time starting.
“He knows how to manage his bullpens. He hasn’t been throwing seven or eight innings, but he’s been keeping us in basically every game he’s pitched in,” Melvin said. “Today was going to be short no matter what. I don’t think he’s thinking too much about innings right now. His velocity, compared to what it’s been as a reliever, has been a little bit down, but when he needs a pitch and has to reach back, he does it.”
For the Astros, the three runs that Hicks allowed runs proved to be enough. Houston’s Ronel Blanco tossed six innings of one-run ball, the lone blemish coming on Brett Wisely’s solo home run in the third. From there, Tay Scott, Bryan Abreu and Ryan Pressly held the Giants hitless the rest of the way, each tossing a scoreless inning apiece.
“He’s got good stuff,” Melvin said of Blanco. “Throws hard, throws an assortment of breaking balls. Just enough fastballs to keep you off the breaking stuff. He’s got a (2.67) ERA right now. We just couldn’t solve him. We couldn’t make him work hard enough and ends up throwing six innings.”