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.
All 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.
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.
In 11 games since May 10, Conforto is batting .325 (13-for-40) with five of his team-leading nine home runs.
Ober 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.
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 from the right side 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.
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. 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.
Averaging 11 hits over their past eight games, the Twins 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.
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.
Notable
— Wade was replaced by pinch-hitter Wilmer Flores in the bottom of the eighth, despite a right-hander on the mound for the Twins. The Giants did not announce an injury, but it’s unlikely the left-handed-hitting Wade was pulled for strategic purposes.
— 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.
