SAN FRANCISCO — Blade Tidwell was a bit confused.

After striking out the New York Mets’ Mark Vientos to secure the Giants’ 7-2 win on Thursday evening, Tidwell and catcher Daniel Susac exchanged handshakes on the mound, as per the custom. Susac, who held onto the ball, congratulated Tidwell for his first career save.

Tidwell, though, wasn’t following.

“He was like, ‘That’s a save.’ I said, ‘We’re up by five,’” Tidwell said.

“I’m like, ‘You went three innings.’ He’s like, ‘What does that mean?’” recalled Susac, who totaled three hits and a walk in his first start.

Tidwell didn’t realize it in the moment, but he, indeed, recorded the first save of his career, a rare one of the three-inning variety. Following the game, Tidwell and Susac both hopped in laundry carts in the Giants’ clubhouse and were showered with beer by their teammates to celebrate their respective milestones. As these things go, beer wasn’t the only liquid involved.

“It was like mustard, ketchup,” said Tidwell, who allowed no runs over three innings with two strikeouts. “I almost threw up. I hate those. I don’t like sauce.”

“We were both in there, so we went through that together,” Susac said. “We were in different carts, but same condiments and everything all over us. … He was struggling. So was I. We probably took eight showers each.”

For Tidwell, who was recalled on Thursday afternoon after José Buttó hit the injured list with right arm fatigue, this marked his first save since his days at Loretto High School in Tennessee. Tidwell believed he recorded a save during his time with the Volunteers at Vitello, but he was never credited with a save. The right-hander’s last known save, then, was as a high school junior.

The moment would’ve been special under any set of circumstances, but Tidwell’s first save was especially memorable because of who was watching from the third-base dugout.

Rookie manager Tony Vitello, of course, was Tidwell’s head coach at Tennessee. There was also director of major league pitching Frank Anderson, who was Vitello’s pitching coach in Knoxville.

“Me and Frank had a really good moment after,” Tidwell said. “He came up and gave me a hug. It was awesome.”

The opponent, too, added meaning.

Tidwell was drafted in the second round of the 2022 MLB draft by the Mets and gradually climbed through New York’s minor league system. Last May, Tidwell made his debut with the Mets, allowing six earned runs over 3 2/3 innings. Ahead of the trade deadline, the Mets traded Tidwell, outfielder Drew Gilbert and reliever José Buttó to the Giants in exchange for submariner Tyler Rogers.

Rogers, the long-time Giant, pitched 27 1/3 innings for the Mets before signing a three-year, $37 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays this offseason. As for Tidwell? He has the stuff to become a staple in this pitching staff for years to come, regardless of role.

“He wanted to be on that club to start the year — our club — as bad as you can possibly imagine,” Vitello said. “He’s a guy that you can tell when the emotions are there. He wears that intensity on his sleeve, and it didn’t work out. I don’t like the circumstances that caused it, but I do like the fact he stayed ready. He’s been throwing well, and he was hungry to get out there.”

The only other reliever utilized on Thursday night besides Tidwell was right-hander Ryan Walker, who recorded the final two outs of the sixth inning after Robbie Ray allowed two runs over 5 1/3 innings. The decision to use Walker in the sixth was interesting given that Walker is the closest thing this team has to a closer, but the deployment of Walker worked in the Giants’ favor.

“We kind of saw the sixth inning as a potential big moment in the game,” Vitello said. “Earlier in the meetings … we talked about the difference in looks from Robbie to Walk. So often, the other team — again it could be any level — gets excited when you take a really strong starting pitcher out and you’re relieved that he’s out of pitches. It’s almost like it’s a greater challenge for the next guy.

“We like the different look and we like the fact that it was a save-type situation. Because to me, six through the ninth inning are all opportunities for that.”

Tidwell, though, was the only reliever recording a save on this evening. Even if he didn’t initially know it in the moment.