Jordan Hicks brought Pirates hitters to their knees with his devastating slider

If there's one thing to know about Cardinals reliever Jordan Hicks, it's that he's nasty on the mound -- to put it mildly.

One of the most devastating things a pitcher can do to give himself an advantage on the hill is possess an arsenal that makes hitters uncomfortable, unable to really dig in and feel confident at the plate. Hicks does this with a blazing, routinely above-100-mph fastball and some totally unfair wipeout offspeed stuff.

When he's on, it's a thing to behold. In Monday afternoon's 6-5 win over the Pirates at PNC Park, Hicks was definitely on ... much to the chagrin of Corey Dickerson and Melky Cabrera.

Jordan out here breaking ankles! 😱 pic.twitter.com/iC0pHHWjJE — St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) April 1, 2019

See how that slider just falls off the table, rendering both hitters helpless at the plate? No one is hitting that.

The phrase 'breaking ankles' is commonly used in reference to NBA players making defenders lose balance with some fancy footwork, but that's also what Hicks did with the pitches seen above.

He's a tough matchup for any hitter when he's feeling his pitches.

Jordan Hicks, 101mph Fastball and 82mph Slider, Overlay. pic.twitter.com/MeG5rjaIVU — Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 1, 2019