Giants open Oracle with walkoff win as Hicks deals, Conforto stays hot

Reporting from ORACLE PARK

Giants starter Jordan Hicks fired a career-high seven innings of one-run ball, Michael Conforto continued his hot-hitting rampage, and Thairo Estrada ripped a walk-off double as the Giants snuck past the Padres 3-2 in their home opener Friday afternoon. 

After Matt Chapman was drilled by a pitch to start the bottom of the ninth, Estrada ripped a bullet into the left-center field gap to score the hustling Chapman from first to secure the victory.

Hicks (7 IP, 0.75 ERA) was brilliant in his first start of the season in San Diego on March 30, allowing just three hits while striking out six in five scoreless innings. Tasked with starting the anticipated and well-attended home opener, Hicks’ first outing in his new home ballpark turned out even better than his debut.

The right-hander finished the afternoon having allowed just five hits, one earned run and zero walks while striking out five Padres hitters. He was efficient, too, completing his outing with 91 pitches. 

The Giants (3-5) inked Hicks to a four-year, $44 million offseason deal intent on elevating the 27-year-old into the rotation after six bullpen seasons with the Cardinals and Blue Jays. 

Known to be a premier fireballer from his days as a late-inning reliever, Hicks’ fastball velocity has dropped down a few ticks now that he’s tasked with throwing multiple innings and far more pitches. The tradeoff has been worth it in the early going, with Hicks showing signs of continuing to reach the upper-90s — not the 103 mph he regularly used to clock — as the game, and his pitch count, progresses. 

Command has arisen as an issue for Hicks throughout his career. Entering Friday, his 4.9 walks per nine has been nothing to write home about. But he’s shifted the narrative completely during his first two starts by issuing just one free pass in 12 innings. Hicks says command has been more of a mindset issue:

“If want to go deep in the games, I can’t have three or four walks. I can if I get the double play on the next guy early. I want to see how good I really am and challenge him in the zone. That’s what I’ve been telling myself.”

The only real damage from the Padres (4-6) came in the opening frame when Jake Cronenworth knocked an RBI single to open up the scoring. In the third, Hicks snared a comebacker, but when he tried to turn a 1-6-3 double play, he threw off the mark and into center field. Fernando Tatis Jr. followed up with an RBI single through the left side. 

In a 2-2 game in the ninth, closer Camilo Doval yielded a one-out single and a walk, but rebounded by striking out the next two hitters to retire the side and keep the game tied.

Michael Conforto continued his scorching hot start to the season, cranking a 2-for-2 afternoon with two doubles — including a run-scoring shot in the first inning — off newly-acquired Padres right-hander Dylan Cease. 

Not only is he healthy after an injury-riddled 2023 campaign, Conforto is now filling his at-bats productivity and hard contact. He has now reached safely in each of his first eight games, slashing .433/.469/.867 with eight runs scored, four doubles, three homers, ten runs batted in and two walks. His 1.336 OPS ranks fourth among qualified MLB hitters behind Los Angeles’ Mookie Betts, Texas’ Josh Jung, and Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr.

On his hot hitting, Conforto is knocking on wood:

“I feel like I’m right where I want to be at the plate. That being said, it’s only been a week — it’s a long season. I’m trying to just kind of stay right where my feet are. Just continue to have good at bats and swing at strikes and hit the ball hard. So far, that’s what I’ve been doing. And I just I want to keep it simple, stay right where I’m at.”

Following his booming double — a ball that left his bat at 106.2 mph, and nearly crept over the wall — up against the center field wall in the fourth, Conforto’s aggressive baserunning proved costly to the Giants. With two on, Cease spiked a wild pitch that advanced both runners to second and third. 

Conforto broke for a vacant home plate, but was stranded direcly between third and the plate with nowhere to go and was tagged out. Had he remained at third, Conforto could have scored when Estrada followed with a slow groundout to shortstop. 

The Giants are 40-26 in home openers since the club moved west to San Francisco in 1958.

Up Next

Keaton Winn (0-1, 5.40 ERA) will take the mound for Game 2 of the three-game series on Saturday afternoon. He’ll square off against San Diego righty Michael King (1-0, 6.14 ERA).

Notes

Veteran starter Alex Cobb suffered a setback in his return from hip surgery, but the new issue involves his throwing arm. An MRI showed a “mild strain” in Cobb’s right flexor tendon, which will inevitably push his timetable for return. … Righty Sean Hjelle will begin a rehab assignment with Low-A San Jose on Friday evening and he’s scheduled to throw an inning. He’ll join Triple-A Sacramento soon after for additional appearances before a reevaluation that could find him back on the active roster by the end of the upcoming road trip.  … On Thursday, the Oakland A’s announced they’ll be playing in Sacramento for three seasons beginning in 2025 as their new Las Vegas ballpark is being built. The temporary move means 2024 will be the club’s final season in Oakland. Melvin, who donned the green and gold for 11 seasons as A’s manager, called the recent development “sad:”

“I really enjoyed the Coliseum. You’d like to see them finish being in the Coliseum.”

Melvin did note that Sacramento, while not considered the Bay Area from a geographical standpoint, is “fairly close proximity” for A’s fans to drive up and still support their team at Sutter Health Park, currently the home of the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats.