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Sean Manaea struggles, Tristan Beck debuts in SF Giants 9-4 loss to Mets

Tristan Beck's MLB debut and a pair of home runs were the highlights of the SF Giants 9-4 loss to the New York Mets.

Marc Delucchi

Sean Manaea struggles, Tristan Beck debuts in SF Giants 9-4 loss to Mets
Sean Manaea struggles, Tristan Beck debuts in SF Giants 9-4 loss to Mets /
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The SF Giants lost to the New York Mets on Thursday 9-4. Giants starting pitcher Sean Manaea struggled with location and put San Francisco in an early 5-0 deficit that proved too large to overcome. The Giants are now 6-12 on the season, it is their worst record through 18 games since 2017 when the team finished the year 64-98.

Manaea's improved fastball velocity remained present on Thursday night. However, the lefty lacked the ability to locate his pitches throughout his outing. Manaea did pitch through a pair of hard-hit comebackers in the first two innings. One hit directly on his shin while another bounced off his side. Perhaps those likely bruises played a role in his struggles with command. Nevertheless, his erratic control consistently gave the Mets free baserunners, which proved costly against New York's potent offense.

Pete Alonso got the scoring started in the top of the fourth inning. A 3-2 sinker from Manaea missed his target at the top of the zone and ended up right down the middle. The Mets slugger blasted a two-run homer, his league-leading ninth home run of the season.

Manaea's no-good, very-bad inning continued when Eduardo Escobar sent a breaking ball that caught a bit too much of the plate into the left-field bleachers for the Mets' second two-run homer of the inning. After allowing an RBI double to Brandon Nimmo three batters later, Giants manager Gabe Kapler removed Manaea from the game. The southpaw surrendered five earned runs on four hits, three walks, and two hit batsman across 3.2 innings pitched with three strikeouts.

Tristan Beck (Giants #19 prospect) replaced Manaea in the bottom of the fourth, making his big-league debut. The Giants called up Beck late in their road trip when Alex Wood landed on the injured list, but he did not make his first appearance until Thursday night. Beck has been one of the more intriguing pitching prospect in the Giants farm system ever since he was acquired from Atlanta in a deal at the 2019 MLB trade deadline for Mark Melancon.

SF Giants starting pitcher Tristan Beck throws against the New York Mets. (2023)
SF Giants pitcher Tristan Beck throws in his MLB debut against the Mets. (2023) / John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

A Stanford product, Beck had plenty of friends and family on hand for his debut. The lanky right-hander looked excellent early in his outing, retiring the first four batters he faced. He primarily relied on a mid-90s fastball and a mid-80s slider. Both offerings held their velocity well over his 81-pitch debut.

Senga began to unravel in the bottom of the fifth inning. Giants catcher Blake Sabol (Giants #33 prospect) ended the offense's scoring drought, leading off the inning with his third homer of the season. Two batters later, LaMonte Wade Jr hitting his first opposite-field homer of the season.

Perhaps a bit rattled by the two big flies, Senga walked Thairo Estrada and Michael Conforto. With two outs and a runner in scoring position, right fielder Mike Yastrzemski lined an RBI single into right-center field. Conforto advanced to third on Yaz's hit and scored on a wild pitch.

The Mets quickly added an insurance run against Beck in the following inning. Jeff McNeil blasted a 2-1 slider from Beck just inside the right-field foul pole for a solo home run to lead off the inning.

Beck did not allow another run in the sixth, but in the seventh, the righty surrendered three runs on four hits and a walk. Beck gave up his fair share of hard contact over the course of the inning, but he also fell victim to some tough luck.

Mark Canha's double to lead off the inning was just a foot away from J.D. Davis' outstretched glove at third base. Francisco Lindor doubled on a blooper (66 mph exit velocity) to no man's land in center field.

Regardless of his final line, Beck allowed the remaining arms in a heavily taxed Giants bullpen to get a night off. Beck completed 5.1 innings of work, allowing four earned runs on nine hits and a walk with four strikeouts. Barring an injury, Beck will likely be optioned back to Triple-A in the coming days, but he looked like someone who has a big-league future.

The SF Giants will send Anthony DeSclafani up against Mets lefty Joey Lucchesi, who will be making his first big-league appearance since 2021. First pitch at Oracle Park is scheduled for 7:15 Pacific time.

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Marc Delucchi
MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).

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