Amid SF Giants’ youth movement, it’s veterans who step up to beat Twins

While Casey Schmitt and Patrick Bailey were held hitless, Michael Conforto delivered a 3-run HR and Sean Manaea turned in his most effective outing of 2023.

MINNEAPOLIS — Since Casey Schmitt and Patrick Bailey were called up, the rookies have seemingly done all the Giants’ heavy lifting. In a 4-1 series-opening win against the Twins on Monday, they handed the baton back to the veterans.

Each of the first four Giants batters reached base and scored before making an out in a first-inning rally punctuated by a three-run home run by Michael Conforto, providing all the support San Francisco would need behind a patchwork of pitchers that held Minnesota scoreless for seven innings.

The Giants won for the sixth time in seven games, pulling their record (23-24) within one game of .500.

With Conforto’s big blast — a 413-foot shot into the bullpens in left-center — the Giants were able to capitalize on an erratic outing from Twins starter Bailey Ober. They had two men on base before they put a ball in play, thanks to leadoff walks from LaMonte Wade Jr. and Mike Yastrzemski. When J.D. Davis finally got a pitch to hit, he clobbered an RBI double — at 107.8 mph, the hardest-hit ball of the night — that drove in Wade and left two on for Conforto.

“We weren’t chasing up where he likes to throw the fastball,” Conforto said. “The guys before me set the table with great at-bats, not chasing up there and kind of forcing him back into the zone. I think that really set it up for my at-bat.”

In 11 games since May 10, Conforto is batting .325 (13-for-40) with five of his team-leading nine home runs.

It was Wade’s eight-pitch walk — his 26th this season out of the leadoff spot, tied for third-most in the majors — that keyed the inning, manager Gabe Kapler said.

“LaMonte’s at-bat to lead off the game was really a tone-setter for the day,” Kapler said. “Arguably the most important at-bat we had, maybe the one that won the game for us.”

Ober, who took a 1.78 ERA into Monday’s game, required 39 pitches to make it out of the first inning but was able to complete five as the Giants’ bats cooled off. Blake Sabol worked an 11-pitch walk following Conforto’s homer but represented one of only six more base runners (three hits, three walks) the rest of the game.

The four rookies in the Giants’ lineup combined to go 2-for-14, with Schmitt and Bailey held hitless for the first time both appeared in a game together. Sabol and Brett Wisely produced the two hits, each doubling in the late innings before being stranded on second.

Sabol was batting fifth, only his third time that high in the lineup, a middle-of-the-order spot that Kapler said he earned. With a pair of walks in addition to his double, Sabol raised his OPS against right-handed pitchers to .912 (.828 overall).

“The numbers suggest that he’s really kicking ass against righties,” Kapler said. “The body of work now is pretty good against right-handed pitching. He deserves consideration to hit in the middle of the order.”

Bailey, a switch-hitter who got his first big-league homer Sunday from the right side, nearly went the other way for his first homer batting left-handed in the eighth, after Schmitt reached on a fielding error by Carlos Correa, but came up a few feet short, flying out to the track.

Batting sixth, Schmitt made the Giants’ first out of the game, grounding out softly to the pitcher on the third pitch of his at-bat, despite three of the first five batters drawing walks. After Conforto and Sabol drew back-to-back walks to lead off the sixth, the rookies struck out in consecutive at-bats.

“I don’t think it’s just about being young or inexperienced, I think some of it is just about style of hitter,” Kapler said. “Blake is likely to see more pitches than Casey and Pat are, but (they’re) different styles of hitters. I think Pat will grind at-bats ultimately in this league, and I think Casey is going to be a very aggressive hitter.”

Sean Manaea turned in his most effective outing since signing a two-year, $25 million free-agent contract with the Giants this offseason, lowering his ERA to 6.89 with 3⅔ shutout innings to help the Giants (23-24) win for the sixth time in seven games. Recording eight of his 10 outs via strikeouts, Manaea relied on a steady diet of mid-90s heaters — more than 60% of his pitches.

It was the first time in 10 appearances this season that Manaea did not allow a run, which Kapler called “one of (his) best outings of the year, perhaps the best outing of the year for Sean.”

The Twins, averaging 11 hits over their past eight games, were limited to only one run on four hits by Manaea, John Brebbia, Tristan Beck, Tyler Rogers and Scott Alexander. No pitcher took down more than 10 of the 27 outs, with the lone damage coming on a solo shot from Kyle Garlick off Beck — the only rookie on the Giants’ pitching staff — in the eighth. It was Beck’s first appearance since May 13.

Led by Manaea, Giants pitchers combined for 16 strikeouts, matching a season-high.

Manaea took over in the second for Brebbia, who successfully served as an opener for the third time this season and the 14th time of his career. He owns a 0.63 as an opener, having allowed only one run in those appearances.

“A bullpen game is a really challenging thing to pull off,” Kapler said. It always feels nice to have a guy like Alex Cobb or Logan Webb starting the game. When you don’t have that, you know there’s going to be a battle and you think it’s likely going to be back and forth a little bit, so it’s nice to get that cushion to work with. Impressive that everybody on our staff was able to make that hold up tonight.”

Notable

— Wade was replaced by pinch-hitter Wilmer Flores in the eighth, after jamming his thumb in his previous at-bat. “I think he’s going to be OK,” Kapler said.

— Twins infielder Donovan Solano enjoyed a reunion with his former club, spending a good chunk of time during batting practice chatting up old teammates in front of the Giants’ dugout. Thairo Estrada flashed a big grin when he spotted him before exchanging an elaborate hand shake. Carrying a first baseman’s mitt, Solano (listed at 5-foot-9) was asked by Mike Yastrzemski, “What happens if someone throws high?” and responded with a laugh, “They’d better not.”

Solano spent three seasons in San Francisco, batting .308 with a .789 OPS from 2019-21 while moving around infield positions but primarily playing second base.

“I can’t help but smile when I think about Donovan,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “He’s as good as they come. He got so many big hits for us over the years. And his versatility was huge.”

In a bit of an oddity, Solano entered the game in the second inning, in response to Kapler’s game strategy. When they brought in Manaea to start the second inning, the Twins pinch-hit Solano for Edouard Julien, who was ineligible for the remainder of the game after only playing a half-inning of defense at second base.

Solano and Correa were the only Twins to reach base multiple times, with Solano singling in his first at-bat and drawing a pair of walks.