SAN FRANCISCO — Sean Manaea could take a glimmer of satisfaction from his newest outing.
Yes, the left-hander created visitors in his aid look Thursday evening, but there was an uptick in his velocity. The closing outcome — one earned run allowed over 3 ²/₃ innings — was respectable, despite the 4 hits and two walks he allowed.
“I was just throwing free and easy and just throwing with confidence,” Manaea said.
The look in a low-leverage spot — the Mets trailed by 4 runs when he entered and finally lost 7-2 to the Giants — allowed Manaea an alternative to keep stretched out as the sixth starter in what has been a five-man rotation to start the season.
Manaea averaged 89.9 mph with his four-seam fastball — still down from last season but up from spring coaching and his 1 ¹/₃-inning aid look against the Pirates last Sunday.
The lone run Manaea allowed Thursday was on a four-seamer that Rafael Devers smashed for a homer.
“I thought it was a positive step,” supervisor Carlos Mendoza said. “[Manaea] was aggressive and his fastball had life, swings and misses, and for him to finish that game and save the bullpen is huge. There were a lot of good signs.”
The Mets used lots of relievers in the first week, with three video games that went further innings. Manaea could help guarantee Mendoza wouldn’t need to summon another arm.
“This is a family; this is a team,” Manaea said. “Everyone has got work to do, and I am really glad that I was able to help out.”
Manaea’s next step is unclear, but he’s unlikely to be accessible for the the rest of this sequence after throwing 74 pitches. The Mets have a time off Monday and then have video games scheduled the following 9 days, so it’s potential Manaea would be inserted into the rotation as a sixth starter as soon as the next homestand.
Nolan McLean took the mound on Friday, and the Mets have Clay Holmes and Kodai Senga aligned for the closing two video games in the sequence. Freddy Peralta and David Peterson are the other members of the five-man rotation.
“We’ve got five extremely talented starters, and my role right now is to help this team in the capacity that I am doing,” Manaea said.
The early outcomes have been optimistic from the rotation, Peterson’s newest begin however — the lefty was knocked out in the fifth inning on Thursday after permitting six runs, 5 of which were earned. That got the ball to Manaea with the probability for an prolonged outing. He had thrown only 29 pitches in his look on Sunday.
Last season was disastrous for Manaea, who strained an indirect in spring coaching and didn’t seem in a sport for the Mets until July. But he struggled upon his return and pitched to a 5.64 ERA in 15 appearances.
The Mets re-signed Manaea before last season to a three-year contract value $75 million.
Manaea had thrived the earlier season and emerged as a de facto ace for a crew that reached the NL Championship Series, crediting a drop in arm angle against left-handed hitters for much of his success.
But Manaea indicated he may have dropped his arm slot too low last yr in making an attempt to replicate that success.
“I think the arm slot getting too low was a byproduct of the rest of my body,” Manaea said. “If I am more upright the arm slot doesn’t matter.”
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