Mets, Manaea stymie Giants
In Snell's stead, bullpen allows 8 runs in loss to NY
SAN FRANCISCO >> This is not what the Giants anticipated every fifth day when they signed Blake Snell.
Week after week, the Giants' worst days have been the ones on which their $62 million free-agent prize was scheduled to start. Scratched and placed on the injured list before first pitch Wednesday, the pattern only continued in an 8-2 loss to the Mets and Sean Manaea.
Watching from the dugout after being diagnosed with a strained adductor, Snell bore no blame for the mess that transpired on the field. The Giants reverted to their worst tendencies, stranding runners and running into outs, and their first game of reliever roulette went south quickly.
The loss prevented the Giants (1214) from climbing back to .500 for the first time since the fourth game of the season or securing their first sweep. Besides a four-game skid after they evened their record to 2-2, the Giants have not won or lost more than two in a row through their first 26 games.
By the time Manaea exited midway through the fifth inning, the Giants had cycled through two bulk arms who put them in a 6-0 hole.
Sean Hjelle was bitten twice by the home run ball for three runs, and Landen Roupp allowed the deficit to balloon by another three runs.
Recalled before first pitch to take Snell's roster spot, Roupp was one strike away from a 1-2-3 fifth inning, but Pete Alonso sent a line drive that tailed away from Thairo Estrada and under his glove for a base hit. Roupp walked the next batter and before he struck out Harrison Bader for the