Hicks runs out of gas in Cards' walk-off loss

ARLINGTON -- Cardinals closer Jordan Hicks has hardly worked during his team’s recent slide -- St. Louis hasn’t had a save opportunity in May, and the club has had few close-and-late games -- but on Sunday at Globe Life Park, he finally got a chance to earn his keep.

Unfortunately for Hicks and the Cards, it turned into too much work. The flamethrowing righty took the loss in a 5-4 defeat, throwing a season-high 39 pitches to eight batters in 1 1/3 innings before Carlos Martinez relieved him with no outs and two men on in the 10th. The Rangers ultimately won on a walk-off sacrifice fly by Nomar Mazara.

• Box score

“It just didn’t work out today,” Hicks said. “My fastball, it’s not where I want it right now, but it’s OK. My slider, I feel like they weren’t biting at it. I threw some really good ones, but they weren’t going for it, not even checked swings.”

The well-rested righty’s vaunted velocity was in the triple digits as usual, and he said he didn’t feel rusty or fatigued at any point. Though it was the most pitches Hicks has thrown this season, it was the fourth time he’d gone more than one inning.

“I don’t feel like it was a strain at all,” Hicks said. “I felt good going out there and they just hit the ball. They didn’t swing at pitches I thought they’d swing at and they hit the ones that were in the zone. That’s what it is.”

Hicks had pitched just two innings across three appearances this month, his last appearance a one-batter mop-up spot at the end of a blowout loss Thursday. On Sunday, Hicks faltered in the 10th, when he allowed a leadoff single to Rougned Odor, walked Danny Santana and gave up the game-tying single to pinch-hitter Willie Calhoun.

That was the end of Hicks’ day.

“Guys get called for situations and it was his situation,” manager Mike Shildt said. “He hadn’t pitched but four pitches in a week. We knew we had a count of 40 we were going to hold pretty firm to. He got out of the eighth, got a clean ninth and [it was] an opportunity for him to go out and pitch. … It’s not a perfect world here.”

The Cardinals’ offense mounted a futile comeback after scoring twice in the first inning and then going scoreless for seven frames. Dexter Fowler broke the drought with a game-tying homer to the upper deck in right field in the ninth. Harrison Bader, getting a rare day as the leadoff man with Matt Carpenter resting, led off the 10th with a double and scored on Paul DeJong’s sacrifice fly.

St. Louis jumped on Texas starter Drew Smyly immediately, as Bader doubled to start the game. Paul Goldschmidt walked and DeJong brought home two runs with a double. But then the Cards’ offense withered until the late flurry.

Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty recovered from allowing a leadoff homer to Shin-Soo Choo to yield only one more run in his six-inning effort. Andrew Miller went 1 2/3 innings before handing the ball to Hicks.

Shildt felt need to ‘say something,’ but it got him tossed
The Cards struck out 11 times in Sunday’s loss, including four on called strikes. One of those was more than Shildt could take, and he was ejected by home-plate umpire Jeremie Rehak after Fowler was caught looking in the fourth inning. Fowler seemed ready to comment on the call, but Shildt got to Rehak first.

“I’m not a big talker. I’m not a big overreacter, myself, either,” Shildt said. “I’ve been in this game a long time, and listen, balls and strikes, I get it. I would have hoped for a little bit longer leash to say something. But I’ve got a 3-0 pitch that is barely above the ground and it’s called for a strike, I’m going to say something, and that’s the first time I’d said something about a ball or strike the whole game. I’ve got to say something.

“I said something, and then the 3-1 pitch I took exception with. People can be their own judge about it. We have the ability to look at what the pitches look like and I’ll let that speak for itself. … I’m not going to sit there on my hands and sit there and just watch and let our guys wear it, so I said something. Nothing too crazy, and the next thing I know, I’m out of the game.”