SF Giants’ Hicks dominates Astros in first hometown start

HOUSTON — Jordan Hicks sat isolated in the third-base dugout hours prior to first pitch, taking a brief beat to bask in the moment. He’s known Houston for nearly three decades; it still had that same fragrance.

Entering Monday, Hicks had pitched in 29 major-league stadiums, a list that doesn’t include Sutter Health Park in Sacramento. He’d even pitched in Mexico’s Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey and the United Kingdom’s London Stadium. But Hicks, who was born in Houston, had never pitched at Daikin Park, formerly known as Minute Maid Park for most of his life. Monday, then, represented the first time he would pitch in H-Town as a major leaguer. Given the occasion, he had no shortage of friends and family in attendance.

He saved his best for home.

The final line — six scoreless innings, one hit, one walk, six strikeouts — is impressive enough, a performance that led the Giants to a 5-2 win over the Astros. At one point, he retired 14 consecutive batters. But the final line doesn’t do Hicks’ performance justice. Pitching on familiar soil, it was the best that Hicks has looked in a Giants uniform.

San Francisco locked Hicks into its starting rotation despite the up-and-down nature of his first season as a starter, one that ended in the bullpen. His first start of the new year provided early validation.

The Giants didn’t need much offense with Hicks shoving, but the offense showered Hicks with support regardless. Wilmer Flores hit a three-run shot and drove in four runs after hitting two homers in Cincinnati, already one away from matching last year’s home run total. Matt Chapman drove in a pair of runs and reached base three times while LaMonte Wade Jr. contributed an RBI by way of a sacrifice fly as well. The offense remains hot after scoring 14 runs in Cincinnati, but not as hot as Daikin Park’s radar gun with Hicks on the bump.

As a reliever, velocity was Hicks’ calling card. He regularly touched triple digits, and on two occasions, he hit as high as 105 mph. Upon signing with the Giants as a starter, Hicks sacrificed speed for stamina. Hicks occasionally reached back for more, but his velocity last year sat in the mid-90s.

His start against Houston, then, was a blend of a reliever’s heat and a starter’s endurance.