Manaea leads A's over SD with added pop

A 10-day rest period seemed to transform A’s left-hander Sean Manaea into a completely new pitcher on Saturday.

Pitching for the first time since Aug. 25, Manaea came out firing a fastball that sat at a higher velocity than usual. He used the uptick to tame a potent Padres offense over five strong innings in an 8-4 victory at the Coliseum.

Manaea entered the day averaging 90 mph with his fastball over his first seven starts this year. In the first inning on Saturday, he popped catcher Jonah Heim’s glove as hard as 94.6 mph with the pitch during an at-bat against Manny Machado and consistently sat around 93 mph for the frame. Allowing one run on four hits and matching a season-high five strikeouts over five innings, Manaea finished with his fastball averaging 92.1 mph for the outing.

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Since Manaea averaged 92.9 mph with his fastball as a rookie in 2016, his velocity has decreased with each season. So what led to his throwback performance against San Diego?

“I always knew the velo was in there somewhere, I just needed to figure out what the little clicks or cues were to unlock it,” Manaea said. “I definitely think there is still more in there. As far as arm strength, I’ve felt good this whole season.”

The improved velocity was an added bonus to what has been a positive trend over the past few weeks for Manaea. After posting a 9.00 ERA through his first four starts, the lefty is now 3-0 with a 2.21 ERA over his past four outings following Saturday’s gem.

“Beginning of the season was whatever. I struggled,” Manaea said. “But at the same time, looking back, I learned a lot about myself in that time and took those lessons to not be too hard on myself. It’s great being able to see this hard work pay [off].”

But there was something much more dominant about Manaea’s start this time around. He was getting swings and misses on his fastball at a higher rate than before. Among the 37 fastballs he threw against the Padres, he generated 4 whiffs on 17 swings for a whiff rate of 24 percent -- his highest of the season. In fact, more than half his pitches (33 of 64) generated swings.

“You saw swings and misses, and that’s what he gets when he has a little better velocity with his fastball,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “Now his changeup plays even better. He had a better breaking ball because of the arm speed with his fastball, so obviously the time off was good. This was his best outing of the year, for sure.”

During the time the A’s were off following a positive COVID-19 test last week, Manaea, like the rest of his teammates, had a limited opportunity to partake in physical workouts. Instead, he focused more on the mental side of his game, visualizing scenarios he might find himself in for this start as a form of passing time while quarantined inside the team hotel in Houston.

“It was a lot of visualization and mental work. That was really the only thing I could do,” Manaea said. “It was nice to take that break and slow things down. I don’t want that much time off again, but it was good for what it was.”

A’s hitters bounced back after getting shut out for just the second time this season on Friday night. Oakland’s offense erupted for eight runs on 11 hits, coming up clutch as seven of those were scored with two outs.

Heim, Matt Olson and Ramón Laureano each had two-RBI days, with Laureano’s coming on one swing as he blasted a two-run shot off Padres reliever Luis Patiño in the sixth that extended Oakland’s lead to 7-1.

“I’d say we felt a lot better than yesterday,” Heim said. “Knocking the rust off yesterday, we saw the ball a little better today. Squared up some balls. That’s what you want. We’re excited to be back at it.”

Olson’s RBIs got the A’s scoring started in the first, though not in the typical fashion the A’s have grown accustomed to seeing. Known for his tremendous power, Olson instead put his speed on display as he raced all the way to third base on a liner to right field for a two-run triple off Padres starter Chris Paddack. In what was his 395th game as a Major Leaguer, Olson knocked his first career triple.

“When you’ve got Matt Olson hitting homers and triples, it’s scary,” Heim said. “He’s putting good swings together. With him in the middle of the lineup doing all that, it’s scary to watch.”

Up next
Mike Fiers takes the mound for the A's on Sunday for a 1:10 p.m. PT tilt with the Padres at the Coliseum. Fiers is 9-0 with a 2.99 ERA over his past 16 home starts, tied for the ninth-longest winning streak at the Coliseum in Oakland history. Garrett Richards will start for San Diego. Fans can watch the game on NBC Sports California and MLB.TV (for free) or listen on A's Cast.