In Giants debut, Mike Leake overshadowed by Martin Perez

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ARLINGTON, Texas — Mike Leake was upstaged by a pitcher who recently returned from Tommy John surgery, but the reviews of the newest Giant were glowing.

“Guys like that are really fun for me to catch,” Buster Posey said. “I like pitchers who work quickly.”

Hunter Pence said Leake has a “springy, uplifting, upbeat personality” and “gave us every opportunity to win. That was an outstanding debut.”

Leake’s first game with theGiants was Sunday’s 2-1 loss to the Rangers, courtesy of Martin Perez, who threw one of the most dominating games against the Giants this season, and Josh Hamilton, who hit a two-run homer off Leake, his only costly mistake.

Three days after he was acquired in a trade to solidify the rotation for the down-the-stretch Giants, Leake pitched solidly into the seventh inning. He mixed his pitches well, got in and out of jams and set a rapid pace that delighted defenders, especially in mid-90s temperatures.

“I like to work fast. I don’t like to mess around,” Leake said. “Just attack and see what happens, keep the fielders involved and work at a good pace where they like to be attentive.”

Posey’s plan was to keep up with Leake.

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Mike Leake pours water over his head to cool off in the dugout during the third inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2015. (AP Photo/LM Otero) less San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Mike Leake pours water over his head to cool off in the dugout during the third inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Aug. 2, ... more Photo: LM Otero, Associated Press Photo: LM Otero, Associated Press Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close In Giants debut, Mike Leake overshadowed by Martin Perez 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

“From playing against him the past five years, I knew he works quickly, and I tried to keep the tempo up for him as much as possible,” Posey said. “You try to have a pitch in mind when it’s time to put a finger down rather than have him sit there and wait.”

Not much waiting on either side. A day after the Giants and Rangers took 3 hours and 44 minutes to complete 11 innings, they played Sunday’s game in 2:19. Leake worked fast. Martin Perez worked faster, needing just 80 pitches — including a whopping 61 strikes — in 81/3 innings.

Perez retired his first 14 batters before Brandon Belt reached on a throwing error with two outs in the fifth. Justin Maxwell followed with an infield single, and Perez set down the next 11 batters until Angel Pagan’s one-out double in the ninth, one of just six balls the Giants hit in the outfield against Perez.

Drama ensued. Texas manager Jeff Banister pulled Perez, which didn’t go over well in the crowd, and the Giants rallied a day after overcoming a three-run, eighth-inning deficit. Nori Aoki walked, and Matt Duffy singled to cap a long at-bat, loading the bases for Posey.

Posey singled to left, scoring Pagan for a one-run game. Hamilton’s throw sailed to the backstop, but third-base coach Roberto Kelly had held Aoki. The game ended when Pence, whose 11th-inning homer won Saturday’s game, bounced into a double play.

Asked about Kelly holding Aoki, manager Bruce Bochy said, “They were playing shallow. You don’t know if they’re going to sail the ball. We had a good hitter coming up.”

The Giants sent minor-leaguers Adam Duvall and Keury Mella to the Reds for Leake, who lasted 61/3 innings, surrendered eight hits and walked two. In the sixth, Hamilton followed Mitch Moreland’s two-out single with a homer over the right-field wall.

“It was a little different,” Leake said. “Putting on a different uniform on, it’s a little weird. Once we got going, it felt like just another game.”

John Shea is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: jshea@sfchronicle.com. Twitter @JohnSheaHey

Leake’s line

Pitching stats for Mike Leake, who took the loss in his Giants debut: