Lakeland, Fla. – Before Saturday’s game, Detroit Tigers manager AJ Hinch was asked what he needed to see from right-hander Matt Manning, who was making his third spring start and coming off a rough outing against the Red Sox in Fort Myers.
“We’d like to see progress,” Hinch said. “You get into these third and fourth starts and you’d like to see adjustments. You want to see things start to sharpen. … The more progress you see the better.”
Progress, especially in spring training, can be relative. Results-wise, Manning wasn’t good, giving up six hits, five runs — including a long, two-out, three-run homer to Ozzie Albies — in the Tigers’ 16-7 win against the Braves. But in terms of work volume and incremental build-up, he accomplished his mission, throwing 57 pitches (33 strikes) in three innings.
“I felt like it was coming out a lot better,” said Manning, who is ramping up slower this spring after dealing with shoulder and forearm issues last season. “The slider felt good. I was an out away in both innings from having a clean game.
“That’s the only thing that’s frustrating.”
His fastball usage was way down, sitting at 91-92 mph. He hit 93 mph one time and 94 mph one time. The average velocity on his fastball last season was 93 mph. He threw mostly sliders and curve balls Saturday. He ended up throwing 33 secondary pitches, sliders mostly.
“He didn’t get away with some of the mistakes, which is why you saw the ball leave the park,” Hinch said. “We will continue to inch forward and try to get him more and more success which comes with more and more volume.
“He wasn’t as pitch-efficient as he could’ve been as the innings went on. He didn’t throw a ton of fastballs. I think his mix has to get better as we get closer to the season.”
It was the first time Manning threw to catcher Donny Sands, and Sands was calling a lot of spin.
“I was going with his feel,” Manning said. “Plus it’s hard to come off the slider once you throw two in a row. You want to throw the third one because they’re sitting on the fastball. It was a different kind of pitching style.”
Manning isn’t worried about the velocity right now. He said he’s still building up, still working on getting his body stronger.
“I thought today was a jump, a jump in the right direction,” he said. “I’m just going to continue to push and push. We’ll get there. Physically I’m on track. Pitch-ability-wise, I’ve got to get a little better and execute more pitches.”
Tough break
Recovery timelines on oblique injuries are unpredictable, especially for baseball players, but odds are long against Tyler Nevin being able to start the season on time.
Back in Lakeland Saturday morning, he revealed to MLive that he had a Grade 1 oblique strain. That is the mildest grade, but recovery time for a hitter is typically three to four weeks. Opening day is March 30.
The math isn’t in Nevin’s favor.
“It’s tricky,” Hinch said before the game in Northport. “Every injury is unique, but it’s tricky because of the nature of the rotation. But we will see. It would be irresponsible for me to guess. It’s good that we know about it but his playing time will be impacted.”
Nevin, who had hit two home runs and appeared to be finding his rhythm at the plate, was in the thick of the battle for either a share of the third base job or a utility spot.
For services rendered
Tigers’ third base prospect Justyn-Henry Malloy was reassigned to minor-league camp earlier in the week, but on Saturday found himself in the starting lineup against his former team.
“It’s a reward, absolutely,” Hinch said. “For the work he’s put in. We sent him out but I told him he would come back when we had at-bats. We have some designated-hitter at-bats available today. It will be fun for him to play in front of a lot of friends. His family is in town.”
The Tigers acquired Malloy from the Braves for reliever Joe Jimenez, who was expected to pitch an inning against the Tigers Saturday.
Malloy ripped a single and walked in three plate appearances. Jimenez, coming off back surgery, had a rough outing, giving up a pair of runs on two hits and a walk after he’d retired the first two hitters.
Game bits
Tigers outfield prospect Roberto Campos saw his first Grapefruit League action. He slapped a hard single to center field and had a pair of RBI.
… Four relievers who are still in the hunt for a bullpen job did scoreless work against the Braves. Right-handers Edwin Uceta and Brendan White pitched a scoreless inning each. Rule 5 right-hander Mason Englert got four outs. And lefty Miguel Del Pozo worked a scoreless inning.
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