DUNDEIN, Fla. — The Detroit Tigers lost to the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-3, on Thursday at TD Ballpark, dropping to 5-6 (with two ties) in Grapefruit League play.
What happened
Right-hander Matt Manning started for the Tigers and allowed three runs across three innings, while Blue Jays right-hander Alek Manoah countered with four scoreless innings in an efficient start.
“It’s all about execution with him,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch said. “I almost feel like I’m on repeat from last year with (Casey) Mize and (Tarik) Skubal. We’re still developing. He’s going to be a good one, and he’s starting to figure that out.”
The Tigers’ offense didn’t score until the sixth inning, when Eric Haase hit a solo home run to left field against righty reliever Julian Merryweather.
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It was Haase’s second homer this spring.
Outfielder Riley Greene, playing right field instead of center , had a web gem in the first inning, robbing extra bases from Bo Bichette with a diving catch.
“I drop-stepped and just kind of sat there,” Greene said. “I was trying to see what it was going to do. I thought it was just routine, that it was going to fade back and I was in the right spot. And it kept going. I had to recover, and I laid out and caught it.”
Wind speeds were more than 20 mph, and the ball was hit with a 107.4 mph exit velocity. Greene showcased his strong arm after the catch with a throw to hold George Springer at second base.
“Pretty good,” Hinch said. “We haven’t put him in right field enough. We’re taking a hard look at him in center, but there’s always a chance he moves off that at some point.”
Starting out
Manning gave up his three runs on four hits and two walks with three strikeouts. The 24-year-old pitched into the fourth inning, when he walked back-to-back batters without an out.
Manning tossed 42 of his 67 pitches for strikes.
His first earned run occurred in the second inning, as Lourdes Gurriel Jr. blasted his 94 mph four-seam fastball for a solo home run. Manning got ahead of Gurriel 0-2 in the count before three consecutive curveballs made it 3-2. On the next pitch, Gurriel took him deep to left-center.
“If I can put guys away quicker and get quicker outs, that would be good,” Manning said. “But this is one of the best lineups in baseball. They had their guys in today, which was good to see and compete against. If I get some quicker outs and have less longer ABs, I can roll through a little bit.
Additional damage came in the fourth. Manning walked Alejandro Kirk on four pitches and Gurriel on seven pitches. After Manning’s free pass to Gurriel, Hinch removed him from the game.
The Blue Jays scored four runs in the fourth, two of which were charged to Manning.
“I think he’s being very competitive, and he’s got a good plan,” Hinch said. “It’s just, can he get his arm and his arm action delivery to do it? He’s misfiring a little bit. But I think the competitiveness is really good. Patience is going to be very important for him, because when it locks in, I love how he’s throwing.”
For his 67 pitches, Manning used 24 sinkers (36%), 13 curveballs (19%), 13 four-seam fastballs (19%), 12 sliders (18%) and five changeups (7%). He recorded eight swings and misses: two sinkers, three four-seamers, two sliders and one changeup. He also logged eight called strikes, including five with his curveball.
His fastball averaged 94.3 mph.
At the plate
Before Haase got to Merryweather in the sixth, the Tigers applied some pressure in the fifth inning but came up empty. Spencer Torkelson opened the frame with a single to center on a first-pitch fastball.
With two outs, Greene doubled to right.
The Tigers had two runners in scoring position, but Robbie Grossman struck out swinging. Although Merryweather allowed hits to the Tigers’ top prospects, he struck out three batters in the inning: Grossman, Isaac Paredes and Jack Lopez.
In the seventh, the Tigers scored two runs off right-handed reliever David Phelps. Ryan Kreidler doubled and Lopez reached on a fielding error before pinch-hitter Kerry Carpenter — replacing Grossman — produced a two-run single, cutting the Blue Jays’ lead to 5-3.
Greene finished 1-for-3 with one strikeout. The 21-year-old is hitting .400 (8-for-20) and slugging .950 with two home runs in 10 spring games. Torkelson, 22, went 1-for-1 and has a .292 batting average (7-for-24) and .458 slugging percentage in 11 games.
On the mound
Taking over for Manning, right-handed reliever Will Vest — competing for one of the final spots in the bullpen — conceded an RBI single to Matt Chapman. He then walked Cavan Biggio to load the bases and walked Santiago Espinal for a 3-0 Blue Jays lead.
Springer hit an RBI single to right to make it 4-0. The Blue Jays tacked on their final run as Vladimir Guerrero Jr., with the bases loaded, grounded into a double play. Vest struck out Teoscar Hernandez on three pitches, capped off by a 95.8 mph fastball, to end his 22-pitch inning.
Vest was charged for the other two of the four runs in the fourth.
“They don’t have to be perfect,” Hinch said. “Their best is good enough. It’s just a matter of being able to channel the anxiety a little bit and continue to execute. We are on the long view. Nobody’s going to lose their job over one outing or lose their opportunity. But I like that there’s pressure.”
Right-hander Rony Garcia worked around two hits and two walks in scoreless fifth and sixth innings. The most impressive pitchers were righties Joe Jimenez and Alex Lange, blanking the Blue Jays in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively, and posting two strikeouts apiece.
Lange threw nine of 12 pitches for strikes.
“Very, very good,” Hinch said. “Both he and Joe are ahead of the majority of our relievers that are on our team. (Gregory) Soto is probably in that category as well. We’re going to need that. Lange is so confident this season coming off the second half last year. We’re going to need him to be good.”
Three stars
1. Greene, 2. Lange, 3. Haase.
Next up
Friday vs. New York Yankees in Lakeland.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.