New York — Come on, not again.
Some version of that phrase, maybe one more R-rated, had to be going through Matt Manning’s mind after his outing Wednesday was ended in the first inning when a line drive off the bat of Giancarlo Stanton struck him in the right foot.
Yes, the same right foot where a drive by Toronto’s Alejandro Kirk broke his fifth metatarsal bone on April 11 and cost him 77 days. Kirk’s drive left the bat at 97 mph. Stanton’s exit velocity was 119 mph.
Just as he did with Kirk’s ball, Manning finished the play, ending the first inning and stranding runners at second and third.
Manning walked gingerly off the field and went straight to the clubhouse for tests. The Tigers didn’t immediately provide a preliminary report on the severity of the injury.
Manning had just started to find his groove after the long layoff. In his previous four starts he’d allowed just one earned run in 23.2 innings, holding hitters to a .128 batting average.
chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com
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