Giants’ Hicks identifies biggest obstacle he faces amid winless streak originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
Even though Jordan Hicks is logging more innings than ever in the majors, the Giants reliever-turned-starter still believes he’s pitching well and is confident in what he’s throwing.
The occasional mental lapses that seem to keep cropping up are what really bothers Hicks.
Even after a pretty solid start in São Francisco’s 3-1 defeat to the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday at Truist Park, Hicks blamed his focus — or lack thereof — as being the biggest obstacle he had to overcome.
“It’s been a two-out run the last two games. I gave up six runs in two-out rallies,” Hicks told reporters in Georgia. “[In] in these last innings, I just need to find a way to press and get third after two quick ones. That’s the most important thing.”
Hicks had a pretty decent line against the Braves, although he surrendered three runs in five innings. The 27-year-old had six strikeouts and two walks while generating an impressive 17 swings and errors among his 89 pitches.
With a lineup filled with heavy hitters, Atlanta scored its first run in the second inning before Hicks and the Giants could record an out.
Hicks kept the Braves quiet in the third and fourth before they scored twice in the fifth. Hicks retired the first two hits of that inning on a strikeout and flyout, then gave up four straight hits that put Atlanta ahead 3-0.
It would have been worse if the Giants had not challenged a play at the plate, which was originally ruled in the Braves’ favor until San Francisco manager Bob Melvin challenged the call and overturned it on replay.
Melvin said that in this case, Hicks’ numbers were misleading.
“When you give up three runs and only get four hits and score one, it doesn’t look great,” Melvin said. “But it’s not like he pitched poorly.”
Hicks has made eight starts since last winning on May 19. He has a 5.01 ERA during that span, which has led to some speculation that Hicks may be wearing down.
Including Wednesday’s start, Hicks has accumulated 90 2/3 innings during the 2024 MLB season. That’s by far the most innings he’s pitched since going 77 2/3 innings in 2018 as a rookie reliever for the St. Louis Cardinals.
The last time Hicks went beyond five innings was May 21, when he pitched 5 1/3 innings and suffered a loss against the New York Yankees.
Instead of blaming the heavy workload, Hicks pointed the finger at himself for his lack of concentration in key situations.
“I don’t think there’s anything with my stuff. It’s more just being aware of that’s when it’s happening,” Hicks said of the problems closing innings after getting the first two outs. “Obviously it’s something I focus on. I need to block better or I need to throw better quality pitches when I know the game is on the line with two outs.
“Instead of maybe backing off, just keep the gas.”
Hicks appears to be exhausted already, so it will be intriguing to see what he does for the rest of the season with everything he has left in the tank.
