Manaea and brother reunite on mound during Military Appreciation Sunday

SAN DIEGO — Earlier than each Sunday house sport at Petco Park, the Padres take the sector and are greeted by 9 service members — one at each defensive place. The gamers thank the service members, have a short chat, signal a baseball after which it is sport time.

That second, now a staple of Navy Appreciation Sunday in San Diego, is all the time a reverent one. However this Sunday afternoon was notably particular for the Manaea household.

Padres left-hander Sean Manaea began the sequence finale in opposition to the Dodgers. When he took the mound, he was greeted by his brother Dane, presently within the Navy as a hospital corpsman third class at close by Camp Pendleton.

“The extra I give it some thought and folks speak about it, it doesn’t actually occur usually — one brother that’s within the massive leagues and one which’s within the navy,” Sean mentioned. “And for that [Marine] base to be out right here, and [playing for] this group, it’s very particular. My mother, I simply texted her, and he or she was crying. It’s a lovely second.”

It was solely the second time Dane had seen his brother pitch in an enormous league sport. He had caught one among Manaea’s begins for the A’s in opposition to the Angels final season. However Dane merely took that sport in from the stands. This time, he was ready for Sean on the mound when the pitcher emerged for the primary inning.

The 2 met simply in entrance of the Petco Park mound and hugged earlier than partaking in a short dialog. Sean even saved with custom and signed a baseball. Then Dane jogged off the sector and Sean started his common warm-up.

“That second was actually cool,” Sean mentioned.

Supervisor Bob Melvin echoed these precise phrases.

“Actually cool, tugs at your coronary heart slightly bit,” Melvin mentioned. “Particularly with how effectively [the military] is supported right here. … Not too distant in Camp Pendleton — that’s going to be a pleasant useful resource for Sean, to have household round.”

Sean Manaea arrived in San Diego in a commerce with Oakland on the weekend earlier than the common season. He’d gotten off to a quick begin earlier than permitting six earned runs over 4 1/3 innings Sunday within the sequence finale, a 10-2 loss to the Dodgers.