Sean Manaea turned in his fourth consecutive solid performance Tuesday since returning from a right strained oblique muscle that delayed his season debut.
The lefty was perhaps the only bright spot in a 7-1 loss at San Diego where the Mets managed just four singles, went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position, the bullpen imploded and Juan Soto exited after fouling a ball off his foot.
Manaea, who threw a season-high 86 pitches, wanted to stay out there a little longer, but was overruled by manager Carlos Mendoza. He averaged 93.6 pitches per game in his 32 starts last year, with a season high of 109.
“We still have an idea pitch count-wise,” Mendoza said. “We’re still kind of on that buildup with him and he reached that mark, but the good news is for him to be asking for one more (inning), that tells you that he’s feeling pretty good, but we’re not there yet.”
Manaea allowed one run on three hits over five innings, struck out four and didn’t walk a batter. He dropped his ERA to 2.08 and his WHIP to 0.87. Through four outings, he’s thrown 17 1/3 innings, struck out 22 and walked four.
“He was a lot better with the way the ball was coming out,” Mendoza said. “That extra day, this time around, the change-up was in play today so overall he looked really good.”
He made an excellent play on defense, too, fielding a Bryce Johnson safety squeeze bunt on the first base side of the mound and flipping it with his glove to catcher Luis Torrens, who tagged out a head-first sliding Jose Iglesias.
He retired 12 consecutive Padres in one stretch, including a 14-pitch battle with Jake Cronenworth (he fouled off eight pitches) that ended with a fly out to center on a 90 mph, four-seam fastball.
“Yeah, kinda wish I created a pitch on the spot, but I got the out,” Manaea said. “That was crazy. I think it was the longest one I’ve ever been a part of.”
The Mets (62-46) hold a 1/2 game lead over the Phillies (61-46) in the division with one more game in San Diego before coming home for a six-game homestand that starts Friday.
