Detroit — We don’t have all the data the Tigers have, so we can’t know all that went into devising the pitch plan for Matt Manning against the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. We don’t know, for example, the relative weaknesses of the Rays hitters or how exactly the shape of his slider or curveball might play against manager Kevin Cash’s lineup.
All we know is, for all the improvements he’s made with it, the slider is still one of Manning’s secondary pitches. His ticket to the big-leagues was his long-extension, riding four-seam fastball. And from what we saw Friday night when the Rays jumped on rookie Reese Olson early, the Rays will attack and do damage against spin.
So it was curious to see Manning coming out spinning so many sliders and breaking balls Sunday. The Rays feasted, scoring five times in the first two innings and riding that to a 10-6 win in the series finale on a damp day at Comerica Park.
“I thought my mechanics were a little out of whack today,” said Manning, who ended up being charged for eight runs, six earned, in 5.2 innings. “I didn’t feel like I had my best stuff overall and I think some of these lineups are making adjustments to me.
“I have to look at it and make some adjustments back.”
The first two Rays batters ripped sliders — a double by Yandy Diaz and a single by Wander Franco. An error by second baseman Andy Ibanez extended the inning and Josh Lowe made it hurt with a two-run single — off a slider.
“A team like that, if you give them more opportunities, more often than not, it’s not going to work out in your favor,” said Eric Haase, who caught Manning’s innings and later moved to left field.
In the second inning, Manning threw three straight sliders to No. 9 hitter Christian Bethancourt, the third one was slammed for a double. Then, after falling behind 2-0 to Diaz, he threw him three straight sliders. The third one just spun over the heart of the plate and Diaz demolished it — 410 feet to left.
“It was something we could get in the zone,” Haase said. “Behind in the count, we were trying to go to it. In hindsight maybe throw a couple of more heaters but by then. I mean, we failed to make a couple of plays behind him and at that point you’re just trying to stop the bleeding.”
Five well-struck sliders, 5-0 Rays.
“I think he just didn’t feel good with his fastball and I think you go to Plan B,” manager AJ Hinch said. “He didn’t throw a ton of fastballs the first time through (the order). He didn’t have his best stuff the first time through and he was just a little defensive. Lack of aggressiveness is what it looked like from my seat. He was chasing results from the beginning.
“They did a good job getting into the game and putting a ton of pressure on him. Then they play with such freedom when they have the lead and their swings get better and better.”
Manning hung a curveball to Brandon Lowe in the fourth and he hit that one farther than Diaz’s ball — 429 feet into the shrubs in center.
Manning threw 54 breaking balls (39 sliders, 15 curves) and 35 fastballs. It’s like he tried to pitch backwards from his strength.
“Yeah, I made an adjustment coming in how I wanted to pitch,” he said. “People knew I was a heavy fastball guy. So I made adjustments and had some success (the 6.2 no-hit innings against Toronto) and now it looks like they’ve adjusted to me again.
“I have to fine-tune that and make adjustments of my own.”
The slider got more effective for him as the outing went along, which may validate the theory that a well-executed pitch trumps a dubious game plan.
“It boils down to just, the last couple of weeks I’ve been kind of going through it (struggles),” he said. “Had some success and now I’m going through it. Now I’ve got to get back up.”
This game was full of curiosities.
Ibanez was involved in a couple. He had two hits and knocked in a run, but he also had two costly base running blunders.
With the Tigers down by four runs in the second inning, he ran through third-base coach Gary Jones’ stop sign at third base and was thrown out easily at home plate by right fielder Luke Raley, ending the inning.
“I don’t think he picked up Jonesy in time,” Hinch said. “It was a tough play to read. Jonesy is reading where Ibanez is and where Raley is in right field. Sometimes you are going to challenge with two outs, but how shallow he was and he caught the ball chest high on the bounce, Jonesy held him.
“Andy didn’t see him and it cost us.”
Ibanez ended another rally in the fourth getting doubled off second base on a line out to left field by pinch-hitter Jake Rogers. Kerry Carpenter had tagged and scored on the liner, cutting the Rays’ lead to 6-3. Ibanez, who was on second, didn’t read the ball and was nearly to third base when Randy Arozarena caught it.
“With the excitement of the Rogers’ at-bat (the bases were loaded with two outs), I think Andy just got caught up in it,” Hinch said. “We needed a big swing and he hit the ball hard. He just overreacted to the play, a little too excitable.”
The only positive was that Carpenter crossed the plate before Ibanez was thrown out trying to scamper back to second.
The way Manning’s outing ended was more frustrating than curious. After two quick outs in the sixth he got Diaz to hit what seemed to be a routine fly ball to left-center. Haase, who had just moved from catcher to left field, didn’t take a good route on the ball, circling it, and it fell in.
Franco followed with a single to end Manning’s day. Tigers’ newly-acquired lefty Andrew Vasquez entered and appeared to end the inning by striking out pinch-hitter Harold Ramirez.
Except that third-base umpire Shane Livensparger called a balk before the pitch. That plated one run and Ramirez, given a reprieve, singled in another.
“He got too quick,” Hinch said. “He rushed. I’m not sure if there was a ton of difference between that one and the first couple of pitches, but the umpire saw something that looked different. And it did feel and look different. Not everybody will call it, but it was a rough time to have it with the result of that pitch.”
All those misplays and curiosities proved costly as the Tigers’ kept chipping away.
Baddoo doubled and scored on a wild pitch in the sixth inning and Carpenter sent a 1-0 changeup from reliever Jason Adam into the shrubbery in center field, a two-run homer that made it a two-run game, 8-6.
The Rays reestablished a four-run lead in the top of the eighth on a two-run homer by Franco. It was his third hit of the game and it came, fittingly, off another spinning pitch — a Brendan White sweeper.
“I like that we fought to the end,” Hinch said. “But we made too many mistakes to be encouraged.”
chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @cmccosky
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