SAN FRANCISCO — When the Giants signed Jordan Hicks this past offseason, the big question was obvious: How would Hicks hold up as a full-time starter for the first time in his major-league career? With his final outing of the first half in the books, San Francisco possesses half-a-season’s worth of data to examine — data that could suggest a shift in Hicks’ role moving forward.
In his final start before the All-Star Break, Hicks allowed five earned runs across 4 1/3 innings, including two home runs. With former Giant Kevin Gausman tossing seven innings of two-run ball in his return to San Francisco, the Giants fell to the Blue Jays, 5-3, on Thursday afternoon at Oracle Park.
On the surface, Hicks had a fine first half given that he hasn’t been a full-time starter since his days in the Cardinals’ minor-league system. The right-hander made 19 starts, posting a 3.79 earned-run average over 95 innings — well exceeding his previous single-season career high of 77 2/3 innings. Hicks, though, was a different pitcher after the season’s first month.
In March and April, Hicks had a 1.59 ERA over 34 innings. From May onward, his ERA is 5.02 over 61 innings. Hicks pitched at least six innings on three occasions in April but has yet to do so since.
Hicks’ velocity has ticked down, too. In April, his average sinker clocked in at 95.6 mph with opponents posting a batting average of .238 against the pitch. In June, his average sinker velocity was down to 93.8 mph and opponent batting average was up to .462. Against the Blue Jays, it was 92.2 mph. Velocity isn’t the end-all, be-all, but hitters generally see a dip in production at higher velocities.
Hicks will likely remain in the rotation to begin the second half. But as Robbie Ray and Alex Cobb work their way back from their respective injuries to join Logan Webb, Blake Snell and Kyle Harrison in the rotation, the Giants will have to decide whether they keep Hicks in the rotation or move him into the bullpen.
The Blue Jays applied pressure on Hicks from the jump, tagging the right-hander for three runs in the first inning. George Springer began the game with a single, then Spencer Horwitz followed with a single that turned into two bases as center fielder Heliot Ramos committed a fielding error, failing to cleanly corral the ball.
The mistake proved costly as Toronto scored two runs on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s RBI groundout and Justin Turner’s sacrifice fly — both of which were made possible by Springer and Horwitz taking the extra 90 feet. Danny Jansen capped off the inning with a solo home run, and the Blue Jays had a 3-0 lead.
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Following Ramos’ two-run homer in the bottom of the frame, Hicks faced the minimum in the second and third, then retired the first two batters in the fourth. On the verge of a third straight scoreless inning, Hicks allowed three consecutive singles to Davis Schneider, Kevin Kiermaier and Leo Jiménez that resulted in another run.
In the fifth, Spencer Horwitz sent Hicks’ 1-0 sweeper into McCovey Cove on the bounce that extended Toronto’s lead to 5-2. Hicks plunked Justin Turner with one out on his 88th pitch of the day, and his afternoon was over.
Those five runs were more than enough for Gausman, who orchestrated an outing that Giants fans have seen on many occasions. Pitching in his first game at Oracle Park since Game 5 of the 2021 NLDS against the Dodgers, Gausman’s only mistake was the home run to Ramos on a splitter that was located down and away. From there, Gausman didn’t allow a run the rest of the way.
The Blue Jays’ bullpen followed suit until Mike Yastrzemski’s solo home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but he was the only Giant to reach base from the seventh inning on.
