PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Weather: 86 degrees, partly cloudy
Result: Mets 7, Cardinals 5
When Jordan Hicks thought about what his first game in 21 months would be like, he probably hoped it would be something similar to what it turned out to be – 22 pitches, 18 of which were strikes.
He just never thought they would all be against the same batter.
Hicks came into Sunday’s game in Port St. Lucie to begin the fifth inning, and his first pitch to Luis Guillorme was a called strike at 99.8 miles per hour. Whatever competitive fire Hicks had missed since his last game on June 22, 2019 before Tommy John surgery he quickly found over the next 21 pitches.
In an at-bat that lasted longer than any regular season at-bat in the majors since pitch tracking data began in 1988, Hicks eventually walked Guillorme on his 22nd pitch.
In between the first and 22nd pitch, Hicks worked through all of his pitches, threw two fastballs clocked at 101 mph, four more at 100 and three which were timed at 99 mph.
Guillorme fouled off 16 of the pitches, all after Hicks was ahead 0-2 in the count.
“I’ve never seen an at-bat like that,” Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty said in a message on Twitter.
Neither had Hicks, who needed only 11 pitches to complete a 1-2-3 inning in a B game on a back field against Washington on Wednesday.
“It was definitely a good battle but it was probably the last thing I thought was going to happen to be honest because it’s never happened before,” Hicks said. “I don’t think I’ve had a 13-pitch at-bat before in my career. I’m glad I battled him and was able to throw that many strikes and compete.”
The Cardinals pulled Hicks after the at-bat, even though Sunday was the first day pitchers were supposed to have to face three batters before coming out of the game.
“Common sense prevailed,” said manager Mike Shildt. “I’ve got to applaud the umpiring crew. They understood it, and ended up calling out the trainer (to circumvent the rule). Jordan felt great. I will pay the fine 10 out of 10 times to protect the player in a situation like this.”
Hicks’s critique of his outing was that it was good, but could have been better.
“My stuff could have been a little sharper,” Hicks said. “The B game I only threw fastballs so today if I got ahead I was going to throw the slider. It’s there to get a bunch of foul balls but it’s not there as my put-out pitch yet, not where I want it, but we’ll get there.
“I felt really good. It was fun to be out there again and battle my ass off. I’m very happy with myself.”
Shildt was happy as well.
“A lot of positives to take out of it,” he said. “I could not have been more encouraged. The velocity was there. The second pitch he threw in the at-bat, that slider was dirty. In order to have that long an at-bat means the guy is throwing a lot of strikes.”
Hicks hopes to throw just as high a percentage of strikes in his next appearance – just against more than one batter.
Here is how Sunday’s game broke down:
High: Tyler O’Neill stayed hot, going 3-of-3 with a double and two singles and scored twice. He raised his spring average to .476 (10 of 21).
Low: After Hicks left the game, Garrett Williams hit two batters and walked the third and all three later came around to score in the Mets’ five-run inning.
At the plate: Jose Rondon, fighting to earn a spot as a backup infielder, drove in three more runs with a two-run single and a sacrifice fly … After drawing a walk in his first at-bat and then hitting a deep fly to center, Matt Carpenter got his first hit of the spring, an RBI double, snapping his 0-of-16 streak … Yadier Molina had two hits to raise his spring average to .333 … Harrison Bader hit in the leadoff spot and was 0-for-4, dropping his spring average to .143.
On the mound: After a rough first inning in which he allowed four hits and two runs, Carlos Martinez settled down and allowed just one more hit and a walk over the next three innings … Tommy Parsons threw two more scoreless innings and has not allowed an earned run in 8 1/3 innings this spring … Jake Woodford worked a 1-2-3 eighth.
Worth noting: In Guillorme’s next at-bat in the sixth, he lined out on the first pitch. “That’s baseball,” Shildt said. … Flaherty’s next appearance will be in a simulated game on the Cardinals’ camp day on Tuesday, keeping him from having to pitch another game against the Nationals.
Up next: John Gant will get the start in Monday’s game against the Nationals in Jupiter. Max Scherzer will start for Washington, his third consecutive game against the Cardinals.
Follow Rob Rains on Twitter @RobRains