Hard-throwing SF Giants pitcher continues concerning trend in loss to Yankees

The wheels fell over quickly for hard-throwing SF Giants pitcher Jordan Hicks in the fifth inning of Saturday's game against the New York Yankees. The Yankees' lineup turned over for a third time and Hicks did not register an out before being pulled, continuing a trend from last season.

Hard-throwing SF Giants pitcher continues concerning trend in loss to Yankees

The Yankees have a tough lineup, so there is nothing wrong with having a poor outing. Hicks departed with the bases loaded while being down 4-2. Randy Rodríguez came in and allowed all three inherited runners to score. In total, Hicks was tagged for seven earned runs across four frames.

The right-handed pitcher was leaking oil in the fifth inning, and Bob Melvin was a little too slow to act. By the time he did, the Yankees were in the driver's seat. Admittedly, this was not a clear-cut choice by Melvin. Hicks had completed four innings, and he wanted his starter to get one more inning under his belt. Perhaps, he should have had someone warming up in the bullpen and ready to go a few batters sooner.

This might be part of Hicks' experiment as a starter. He did a nice job of holding the Yankees to two earned runs through the first two turns in the lineup. By the time the lineup turned over for a third time, he was not fooling anyone and all five batters reached base.

This was more of the same in 2024. Albeit in a small sample of 68 plate appearances, hitters slashed .333/.382/.540 against Hicks in the third turn through the lineup. Last season was his first true shot at sticking in the rotation, and there were some good and bad to come with it.

Hicks was excellent through the first two months of the year. Once his innings count inched toward a career-high, his effectiveness waned quickly.

Given that Hicks is still building up arm strength to handle a full season and considering the extensive time he has spent on the injured list, the Giants are aware that the 28-year-old pitcher likely will not be the type of pitcher that makes 30 starts while completing 180 innings in a year. That said, he has stated that he aims to make 30 starts in 2025.

More than likely, his starts will need to be limited to five or six innings. If last year's trend is any indication, his starts should really come to an end after the opposing lineup has seen him twice.

In fairness, this is based on a relatively small sample, so not entirely a concrete observation just yet. It is moving in that direction, and Hicks' start on Saturday continued that trend.