It took the Giants 18 batters Friday night before they picked up their first baserunner — a Christian Koss single — and that perfectly summed up their 3-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.
Twins starter Chris Paddack dominated the Giants, taking a perfect game into the sixth inning before Koss lined a solid base hit to center field with two outs in the frame.
The Giants’ only run of the game came when Matt Chapman connected for his eighth homer of the season in the seventh inning, taking Paddack deep to left.
Paddack, who hadn’t pitched beyond the fifth inning this season, allowed three hits and one earned run in 7 1/3 innings. He struck out six Giants batters.
Jordan Hicks made his eighth start of the season and he pitched well overall, but his first-inning struggles bit him again.
Hicks found himself in immediate trouble, giving up a leadoff triple to Byron Buxton to begin the game and the next batter, Trevor Larnach, brought the center fielder home with an RBI single.
Hicks settled down, giving up runs in the fourth and fifth, but the Giants’ offense couldn’t figure out Paddack, making any comeback attempt futile.
In six innings, Hicks allowed seven hits, three earned runs, while striking out six. He didn’t walk any batters, a positive sign for the 28-year-old.
But Hicks and the Giants will have to figure out how to address his first-inning woes. He entered Friday’s game with a 12.86 first-inning ERA in seven starts. He lowered that number to 12.38 after his latest outing, but he still put San Francisco in an early hole.
Overall, Hicks has a 5.82 ERA this season, and while the Giants are committed to let him start games, they might have to consider a rotation change as they compete for an NL playoff spot.
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