Sean Manaea’s second start as a Giant ended after six sterling innings.
The southpaw struck out eight and walked one. The only damage Kansas City dinged him for was a Bobby Witt Jr. home run.
But after just 76 pitches, he handed the ball — and a 5-1 lead — off to Ross Stripling.
The Giants’ most obvious strength on the roster is their starting pitching depth. With seven pitchers capable of starting games, they have the luxury of being able to use tandems. In their perfect world, Manaea and Stripling would have combined to shut down the Royals and give the bullpen a day off.
It’s not always a perfect world.
The first batter Stripling faced, Franmil Reyes, took him deep for a solo home run. Then in the next inning, catcher Salvador Perez lofted an equalizing three-run bomb just over the left field fence.
“Strip is one of our major, important pieces to this team,” manager Gabe Kapler said postgame. “We’re trying to get as many innings as we can, every once in a while, keep pitchers on a rhythm, eat innings with guys that start games as well.” You saw how we piggybacked a little “
Stripling’s poor relief appearance rendered the Giants’ exciting four-run fourth inning moot. Camilo Doval couldn’t preserve a tie, allowing a leadoff double that scored on a wild pitch in the ninth inning. And the Giants went down in order against closer Aroldis Chapman in the bottom of the ninth.
San Francisco (3-5) blew a four-run lead in a game that turned on its axis when Stripling relieved Manaea. The Giants scored five runs on 12 hits and appeared in control, but Stripling took a blown save and Doval a loss in a 6-5 defeat to the Royals.
The plan heading into Saturday was to piggyback Stripling and Manaea, Kapler said. Manaea’s first outing of the year was a 37-pitch, two-inning appearance in Chicago.
“It’s really difficult to go from 30 pitches to what he did,” Kapler said. “So anything more, I think, would’ve been probably not fair to Sean and his physical well-being.”
Manaea is still ramping up to starter’s length, Kapler said. But Manaea did build up during spring training and pitched six innings in his last Cactus League start. He said he didn’t lobby to go back out for the seventh inning but felt physically strong enough to do.
“I kind of knew what was going on and what we’re doing here,” Manaea said. “I respect Kap’s decision.”
Before the pitching change, Giants jumped out to a 5-1 lead mainly due to a thrilling binge in the fourth inning.
LaMonte Wade Jr. led off the fourth with a towering solo home run into McCovey Cove. His first bomb of the season — also San Francisco’s first splash hit in 2023 — ignited a crooked inning.
After Wade’s homer, Michael Conforto singled up the middle. J.D. Davis advanced him to third with a double squibbed off the end of his bat that landed just fair in right field.
Joc Pederson drove in Conforto with a sacrifice fly to put SF up 2-0, but the Giants would add more.
Down in the count 0-2 with two outs left, Thairo Estrada slapped a single into left field. Third base coach Mark Hallberg sent Davis around third as left fielder Edward Olivares made the exchange. Olivares’ throw beat Davis by about five feet, but the third baseman dove sideways around Salvador Perez’s tag attempt.
Davis’ hustle extended the inning for another run, this one off the bat of Brandon Crawford.
The Giants cracked as many hits in the fourth inning of Saturday’s game as they did in their entire home opener. Another run in the sixth gave San Francisco a 5-1 lead.
Then Stripling relieved Manaea. Reyes and Perez beat him for homers. SF’s lead vanished.
In his first appearance of the year, in Yankee Stadium, Stripling allowed three home runs. That trio matched his career-high. Two more in 1.2 innings is a flashing red alarm.
“There’s just like a level of consistency and sharpness I’m just not at yet,” Stripling said postgame. “Even through late spring training into these first couple outings — lot of like 1-0, 2-1 counts, lot of balls out of hand that aren’t even competitive.”
Perez’s home run came on a well-located changeup — with a new grip Stripling has been working on — and just scraped over the wall. Stripling has 101 career relief appearances compared to 105 starts, and he said he’s fine piggybacking or coming out of the bullpen otherwise.
“Plenty comfortable doing it,” Stripling said. Obviously today didn’t go well, but it’s certainly not out of discomfort with the role or situation…I’ve always been a good soldier.”
Consecutive singles from Davis, Pederson and Mike Yastrzemski jammed the bases with no outs in the eighth. But Kansas City reliever Taylor Clarke sat down Thairo Estrada, Brandon Crawford and Blake Sabol swinging to keep the score knotted.
Just when the Giants appeared to find a more balanced, consistent offensive attack, it didn’t get rewarded.
In the ninth, Doval gave up a leadoff double down the right field line to Vinnie Pasquantino. Sabol, who with Manaea formed what’s believed to be the first Somoan battery in MLB history, couldn’t stop a wild pitch later or dive back to home plate in time to tag out the go-ahead run.
The rookie had made a stellar stumbling grab in foul territory earlier and probably had no chance on Doval’s 100 mph cutter that nearly hit Nick Isbel. Sabol was set up on the outside corner.
In the ninth, the Giants went down in order. Another rally didn’t come.