SF Giants: Bullpen meltdown overshadows historic outing by Sean Manaea

SAN FRANCISCO — It was almost a big day for the Giants’ offseason acquisitions on Saturday.

Sean Manaea was masterful in six innings of one-run ball. Joc Pederson and Michael Conforto played important roles in the revamped offense.

But Ross Stripling, who signed a two-year, $25-million deal with the Giants in December, let it all fall apart while allowing four runs in the late innings as the Royals overcame a four-run deficit to topple the Giants, 6-5, at Oracle Park.

The Giants move to 3-5 on the year with one more game against the Royals on Sunday before the Dodgers come to town on Monday.

Stripling’s meltdown blew an otherwise historic day for Manaea.

There was the 97 mph heater Manaea threw in the second inning that marked the hardest pitch he’s ever thrown in a game he’s started. There were eight strikeouts and six innings of one-run ball. And there was the history he made with catcher Blake Sabol as the two formed Major League Baseball’s first-ever Samoan battery.

The outing will be remembered by many as Manaea’s most impressive since he tossed seven no-hit innings against the Diamondbacks to open his 2022 season, an otherwise disappointing year in which he finished with a 4.96 ERA.

The Giants offered him a two-year, $25-million deal to return to the Bay Area. Saturday, the 6-foot-5 lefty showed off while touching 97 mph and hovering in the mid-90s with his sinker. A year ago, he averaged 91 mph on his sinker, the pitch he’s thrown more than any other during his eight-year big league career.

Paired with an evaporating changeup, Manaea was powerful and masterful all at once. He got some help from his defense — yes, the Giants defense that entered Saturday with negative-6 defensive runs saved, tied for the second-worst in baseball. Brandon Crawford and Thairo Estrada turned a smooth double play, and Lamont Wade Jr. made a difficult play at first base to help Manaea escape the fourth inning.

The only damage came off a hanging changeup that Bobby Witt Jr. smoked over the left-field fence for a solo shot in the sixth inning.

Manaea walked off the mound in the sixth inning with a 4-1 lead before Stripling entered.

Stripling immediately allowed a solo shot to Franmil Reyes, then served up three more runs in the eighth on a three-run shot by Salvador Perez.

The Royals plated their eventual winning run on a wild pitch by Camilo Doval in the ninth.

Also….

— Along with Sabol, the two battery mates had been looking forward to the opportunity to link up since spring training, when Sabol’s mother visited and cooked Samoan food for some of her son’s teammates. While both players were born in the United States, Sabol’s mother was born Western Samoa while Manaea’s father was born in the eastern islands of American Samoa, as detailed by a story in The Athletic from March.

— Sabol, too, made his mark on the game when he stumbled in foul territory before making a diving catch for the second out in the eighth inning, although two straight singles and a three-run homer by Perez evened the score, 5-5, and ruined Manaea’s chance at a win.

— Wade hammered a line drive over everything in right field for his first home run of the year in the fourth inning. It was also the Giants’ 98th career splash hit into McCovey Cove as they approach No. 100 that seems likely to be hit this year. Barry Bonds hit 35 of the 98 splash hits. Wade has four.

— Wade’s home run started a big fourth inning that was capped off by a pair of two-out, RBI singles by Estrada and Crawford.