Denied by replay, Crawford instead hits 482-foot HR during same AB

MEXICO CITY – Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford secured a cool bit of history on Saturday afternoon by launching MLB’s first regular-season home run in Mexico City. He certainly wasn’t the last.

Crawford’s milestone third-inning blast sparked a slugfest in the Mexican capital, with the Padres ultimately overpowering the Giants, 16-11, in the Mexico City Series opener at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú.

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Aided by the extreme altitude -- Mexico City sits at 7,350 feet above sea level, 2,000 feet higher than Denver -- the Giants and Padres combined to score 27 runs on 11 home runs, with an MLB-record-tying 10 players going deep in the wild, back-and-forth affair.

San Francisco pitchers surrendered six homers, tied for the most in a single game since the franchise moved west in 1958.

“It was crazy,” Crawford said. “I mean, obviously, the result wasn’t fun, but most of the game was fun. Back and forth. The crowd was great. I personally enjoy watching homers. I’m sure the pitchers probably will feel otherwise, but I think that’s a fun part of baseball.”

Crawford came within inches of slugging the inaugural homer when he sent a drive down the right-field line that appeared to sneak inside the foul pole with one out in the third inning. But the call was overturned following a replay review. The 36-year-old Crawford left no doubt when he returned to the plate to resume his at-bat against Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove, crushing the very next pitch – a 1-2 hanging curveball – 482 feet to left-center field to cut the Giants’ deficit to 3-1.

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What was it like rounding the bases twice in the span of two pitches?

“Tiring, honestly,” Crawford said. “I actually got some water during the replay. Even though it was a slow jog around the bases, it was still a little bit tiring at this altitude. But I didn’t mind.”

It was the fourth home run of the year for Crawford, who exited the game with right calf tightness after flying out in the top of the fourth. Crawford said he tweaked his calf when he broke for Austin Nola’s RBI single up the middle in the third. He will be reevaluated before Sunday’s series finale.

LaMonte Wade Jr. followed Crawford’s homer with another solo shot to bring the Giants within one, marking the first of four instances in which players went back to back in the game. In the fourth inning, Mitch Haniger added a three-run drive to left field – his first for his hometown club – to tie the game, 5-5.

Blake Sabol and David Villar launched consecutive blasts to briefly give the Giants an 11-10 lead in the seventh, but the Padres regained the lead on Manny Machado’s second homer of the game, a two-run shot off Tyler Rogers in the bottom half of the inning.

Left-hander Sean Manaea, a former Padre, lasted only two-plus innings for the Giants, giving up four runs on five hits and four walks. In addition to the altitude, Manaea had to contend with an injury scare in the bottom of the first, when he was smoked on the right knee by a 107.6 mph comebacker off the bat of Nelson Cruz.

Cruz’s two-out liner deflected off Manaea’s leg and rolled in front of the Giants’ dugout for a double, leaving Manaea hobbled and grimacing in pain. Head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner came out to check on the 31-year-old veteran, who stayed in the game after throwing a few warmup pitches.

“I thought my kneecap shattered,” Manaea said. “I was very hesitant to put any weight on it. I couldn’t really tell what it hit, just that it was right in that region. But after a little bit, I kind of came to, and I was able to put weight on it. I was fine after that.”

Jakob Junis relieved Manaea in the third and yielded five runs over 2 2/3 innings, with all of the damage coming via four homers. One of them -- a two-run drive by Fernando Tatis Jr. in the fifth -- had a hit probability of only 7%, but it ended up carrying out over the short porch in right field.

“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Sabol said. “I mean, some of those balls, especially the Tatis ball comes to mind, it was off the end of the bat, up in the air. I was like, ‘Oh, that’s a popout.’ ... I was like, ‘Really?’ Sure enough, it was a homer. We both get to play on the field, so there’s no excuse, but the ball definitely flies. It lives up to the hype.”