On a night when the Phillies, Diamondbacks, Marlins and Cubs all lost, the Giants missed a chance to make up ground in the National League wild card race.
San Francisco began Tuesday on a four-game winning streak, with a 39.4% chance at reaching the postseason. They ended it with a defeat and a lost opportunity.
The Giants had cracked double-digit hits in each of their past six games, a span in which they averaged 6.5 runs. But on Tuesday, San Francisco (74-71) registered just six hits, going 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position in an anticlimactic, 3-1 loss to the Guardians.
The defeat wasn’t on Sean Manaea, who lasted 5.2 innings in his first start since May 10.
“I don’t think he came out feeling in his rhythm and in his delivery, so I think it took him a second to feel right,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. Then once he went out for the second inning, I thought he was dominant. Very efficient. And even without that really heavy, high-velocity fastball that he had in the first, he was able to stay off barrels, get weak, early contact and take us deep into that game. I thought he did a really nice job overall.”
Manaea worked efficiently and kept the Guardians in the park. Twelve of the first 15 outs he recorded came either on the ground or via strikeout.
Manaea “100%” views himself as a starter. He has started 163 of his 193 career games, including against the lefty-heavy Guardians lineup Tuesday.
The southpaw surrendered a run in the first inning on a single and a pair of walks, but dealt four straight scoreless frames afterwards.
Manaea’s performance allowed Blake Sabol to tie the game with one swing in the fifth. Sabol, who delivered the game-tying single up the middle in the series opener, turned on an inside cutter, one-hopping it into McCovey Cove.
Sabol’s 13th home run of his rookie season was a majestic, 417-foot shot that would’ve left all 30 parks. It left his bat with an exit velocity of 107.6 mph.
Manaea got a standing ovation as he walked off the mound after 80 pitches. He should’ve escaped the sixth inning unscathed, but LaMonte Wade Jr. got eaten up by a grounder at first.
Manaea got relieved by rookie Ryan Walker, whose first pitch was deposited into center field by Tyler Freeman. That gave the Guardians a 3-1 lead and Manaea two unearned runs to his stat line.
Manaea appeared to be tiring a bit; none of his last six fastballs reached 91 mph (his season average is 93.7 mph). Since he’s been in the bullpen for most of the season, he’s not built up to a full starter’s length. He still came one Wade error away from a quality start.
Scott Alexander (1.2 IP, 0H, 0BB, 1K) put together one of his best outings of the second half, holding Cleveland at three runs. But the Giants couldn’t bridge the gap.
San Francisco put the leadoff runner on in the sixth and seventh inning, but never drove them in.
Wilmer Flores checked a single into shallow left center in the eighth, but LaMonte Wade Jr. — the other hero from the opener — flew out to the warning track in left-center to end the inning.
John Brebbia struck out two to keep it 3-1 for the bottom of the ninth for Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase. The two-time All-Star couldn’t get the final out Monday, but fared much better in the second contest.
Sabol nearly had another home run, but center fielder Myles Straw made a leaping grab at the center field wall to record the second out of the inning. Down to their last out, Brandon Crawford, who doubled earlier in the game, popped up to shallow right.
When Crawford dominated in the Giants’ second game of the season — a win in Yankee Stadium — it was easy to think that this team will go as he goes in potentially his last season as a Giant.
After the final out, Crawford is hitting .199.