TORONTO — Detroit Tigers right-hander Matt Manning has suffered another injury.
The 25-year-old fractured the fifth metatarsal in his right foot on the final pitch of his start in Tuesday’s 9-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre. He was limited to 12 starts and 63 innings last season because of shoulder inflammation, biceps tendinitis and a forearm strain.
The severity of the injury is unknown. The fifth metatarsal is one of the closest bones to the mound when his right foot pushes off the mound to throw a pitch.
“Give it some rest and be out there in five days,” said Manning, wearing a boot on his foot in the visitor’s clubhouse. “Why not? That’s my mindset. I’m going to do what I can. I’ll see some people, get it right and be back out there.”
TUESDAY’S OPENER: Tigers bombed for 5 HRs in 9-3 loss to Blue Jays as skid hits 5 games
INJURY UPDATE: Beau Brieske gets answer about injury; Tigers drop Javier Báez to No. 5 in lineup
Manager A.J. Hinch wouldn’t put a timetable on his return at this point, but Manning said he doesn’t expect to miss more than a week. He has a 4.63 ERA with three walks and seven strikeouts across 11⅔ innings in two starts this season, facing the Houston Astros and Blue Jays.
In 2022, Manning injured his shoulder in his second start.
“It’s the same time I got hurt last year,” Manning said. “Freak accident, can’t do anything about it. I’m thinking I’ll give it a week off, see how I feel and get back out there. I mean, it’s just a foot.”
The Tigers started the season with these five starting pitchers: Manning, Eduardo Rodriguez, Spencer Turnbull, Matthew Boyd and Joey Wentz. Michael Lorenzen strained his left groin in spring training and missed Opening Day, but he completed a rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo on Saturday and seems ready to rejoin the rotation. The Tigers could place Manning on the injured list and activate Lorenzen.
Manning broke the bone in his foot on a comebacker in the sixth inning. When Alejandro Kirk hit a two-strike fastball (with a 97.3 mph exit velocity), the ball deflected off Manning’s right foot and rolled to first baseman Spencer Torkelson.
With a broken bone, Manning covered first base to complete the third out.
He received X-rays after the sixth inning.
“I didn’t think it was that bad,” Manning said. “I felt like normal, just that my foot might be bruised a little bit. We looked at it just because (for precautionary reasons), and there were little cracks. It is what it is.”
He allowed four runs on six hits and one walk with three strikeouts over six innings. His overall performance was better than the box score indicated, but the three home runs came back to haunt him.
Manning surrendered back-to-back homers in the fifth inning.
“I need to be out there,” Manning said. “I need to be out there to pitch and I need to be out there to get that experience and keep growing as a pitcher. In a time like this, I don’t really have time for (an injury).”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.