By Ben Leonard
Follow @ben___leonard
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legendsondeck.com file photo: Oakland A’s starter Sean Manaea got his first MLB victory game against the Texas Rangers Monday night at the Oakland Coliseum
OAKLAND, Calif. — Sitting in the clubhouse after a disheartening outing against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday, Sean Manaea knew he couldn’t rest on his laurels, or lack thereof.

After getting just eight outs, he had to hit the showers, staring down an 8-0 deficit and potentially watching his spot in the A’s rotation slip away. With Jesse Hahn or Henderson Alvarez coming back from the disabled list soon, things had to change. A 2013 first round pick and the key piece in the Ben Zobrist deal, Manaea probably had never been rocked at any level like he did in his first three career starts, giving up 16 runs in 12.2 innings. 

Baseball is a brutal game — one week, you’re the hottest thing since sliced bread, and the next, you’re thrown out in the dumpster. To stay in, you have to adapt — or suffer the consequence. Boy, did he change. 

Armed with a new hair cut, a new changeup and a newly beaming smile, Manaea threw 6.2 brilliant innings of four-hit, one run ball to guide the A’s to a 3-1 win over the Rangers, the first of his career. 

First, he took a trip to a hair stylist in Tampa and sheared the “annoying” flowing afro he once rocked — he was happy to get rid of it. “The first three starts didn’t go as well as I wanted to,” Manaea said Monday. “And as a team we were just struggling, so it was time for a change.”

Manaea’s clean fade took Melvin aback when he first saw it. “It took me back for a second, and I think everybody went from whatever you call that to the clean cut young man,” Melvin said. “It took you a minute to focus and realize what happened. that’s a lot of hair that he cut off — he probably lost a few pounds.”

But Manaea’s changes weren’t just superficial — he completely changed his focus and repertoire. He brought back an old changeup, with a grip he hadn’t used since college. The Royals told Manaea to drop the comfortable grip that his roommate had showed him at Indiana State, and it never felt natural. He made the switch in the bullpen before his second start in Baltimore, and used it against Boston for the first time — the first time since college a changeup felt good coming out of his hand.

The reason it didn’t work against Boston: he “pretty much threw everything right down the middle.” Not quite a recipe for success, unless you’re in Little League. Monday against Texas, Manaea threw a 55-pitch bullpen instead of his customary 35. “I just really tried to harp on locating my fastball,” Manaea said. “[I would throw] 2 inside, 2 outside, 2 inside 2 outside. That was the biggest thing for me, locating my fastball instead of throwing it right down the middle.”

Rangers’ hitters felt the effects — they mustered just four hits and one walk against the left-hander, managing only a sacrifice fly in the seventh. “It’s a dream come true,” Manaea said, hardly able to control his huge smile. “I’m really glad that I got to do it at home, but it’s just an awesome feeling.”

He started pounding his fastball early and often, giving him a huge confidence boost to get him going. “I was able to throw my changeup off the bat, and I was able to inside on guys and get broken bats and quick outs,” Manaea said. “It just made my changeup that much better. They’re looking for the inside fastball, and then I throw the changeup.”

A’s manager Bob Melvin lauded Manaea’s ability to bounce back after such a difficult outing in Bean Town. For Melvin, his outing was a huge boost “not only for us, but for himself. He came off a pretty tough outing for someone who’s never experienced something like that in Boston. You see what they’re made of the next time around. This is a good lineup, and they’re playing pretty well. To do what he did and hold them to one run is a pretty tall order. It was impressive…As far as his stuff went and his command throwing the ball, it was by far his best.”

Manaea wouldn’t have been able to earn his first career “W” without the help of his offense. Rangers’ starter Derek Holland did his best to limit the A’s to three hits in six frame, but let the A’s scratch and claw their way to two decisive runs in the fourth.

Billy Burns was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, Josh Reddick reached on a bloop single, and Danny Valencia walked to load the bases. A Khris Davis sacrifice fly and a Billy Butler single later, the A’s and Manaea would have all they needed to win — a 2-0 lead.  Marcus Semien added an insurance run in the seventh with a booming solo shot to center field against reliever Luke Jackson, giving Oakland a 3-1 lead.

What’s a 24-year-old rookie like Manaea going to do to celebrate before going to bed? Get Ben and Jerry’s in his hotel and watch Game of Thrones, of course.