Jordan Hicks got his first save opportunity with the Boston Red Sox on Sunday, and he didn’t disappoint.
Hicks shut the door on the Washington Nationals, securing a 6-4 win and three-game sweep for the Red Sox at Nationals Park.
With Boston leading 6-3 going into the bottom of the ninth, Alex Cora tabbed Hicks to close things out against the bottom of the Nationals’ lineup. It was his first save chance of the season and only his third appearance with the Red Sox since being activated from the injured list on June 30.
Hicks, who hadn’t pitched since Wednesday, was a bit wild in his first action of the holiday weekend. He walked Brady House with one out, then allowed House to advance to second on a wild pitch to pinch-hitter Daylen Lile. Lile singled home House, bringing up CJ Abrams as the potential tying run with two outs.
Hicks threw four straight pitches out of the strike zone, but Abrams chased two of them, flying out to Jarren Duran to end the game.It wasn’t the sharpest inning, as Hicks threw just 12 of his 23 pitches for strikes. However, it was good enough to get the job done, giving Hicks his first save since Aug. 19, 2024.
HICKS SHUTS THE DOOR 🚪
THAT'S A SWWWEEEP! 🧹 🧹 🧹 pic.twitter.com/laBTZ0bPzv
— NESN (@NESN) July 6, 2025
It was also a solid rebound performance from the 28-year-old, who allowed three runs on three hits and a walk in two-thirds of an inning during his previous outing on Wednesday.
Hicks has been shaky for Boston since coming over from the San Francisco Giants in the Rafael Devers trade. In his first three appearances with his new team, he’s allowed four runs (two earned) on four hits and two walks in 2 2/3 innings.
Hicks became the sixth different Red Sox reliever to record a save this year. Aroldis Chapman normally would have gotten the call, but Cora used him in the eighth inning against the middle of Washington’s batting order.
Sunday’s save was the 34th of Hicks’ career, but only his second since the start of 2024. It will be interesting to see how Cora uses him going forward given his versatility as a starter and reliever, but he doesn’t seem to be a threat to Chapman’s job security at the moment.
