Manning, 'pen flirt with no-no in Tigers' walk-off loss

NEW YORK -- Matt Manning took the mound at Citi Field looking to compete, he said. Called up as the 27th player for Thursday’s doubleheader, the odd man out of the Tigers' rotation at the end of Spring Training started the nightcap against the Mets.

A few hours later, Manning was nearly part of his second combined no-hitter in nine months. This time, he tossed 5 2/3 innings of a no-hit bid that lasted into the eighth before a two-run Mets rally in the ninth ended Detroit’s unbeaten start with a 2-1 loss, sending the Tigers home with a doubleheader split and a 5-1 record on the season-opening road trip.

“We just won back-to-back series, so we’re obviously happy with that,” manager A.J. Hinch said, trying to keep the trip in perspective. “This is a tough loss, no doubt.”

Though Manning posted a 3.58 ERA in 15 starts last season, including 6 2/3 innings in a combined no-hitter against the Blue Jays last July 8 at Comerica Park, he went to Spring Training this year competing for a spot at the back end of Detroit’s rotation behind Tarik Skubal, Kenta Maeda and Jack Flaherty. Manning allowed just eight hits over 16 Grapefruit League innings, but six of those hits were homers -- though three came on a windy day at Joker Marchant Stadium.

Ultimately, the Tigers opted for Casey Mize -- who tossed 4 1/3 innings in Detroit's 6-3 win to start the doubleheader -- and Reese Olson over Manning, who instead started Opening Day for Triple-A Toledo on March 29, when he tossed five innings of three-hit ball -- with the only run coming on a solo homer.

“Yeah, it [stinks],” Manning said Thursday morning. “I think all you guys know exactly how I feel about it, but I'm taking it. The last thing I want to do is be a hurt to this team. It's a really good team. They're on a roll, so any way I can contribute, that's what I'll do.”

The Mets couldn’t get to Manning on a cold, blustery day with the wind blowing in and late afternoon shadows creeping between home plate and the mound. Though Manning walked more batters (four) than he struck out (three) -- including three free passes to leadoff batter Brandon Nimmo -- and drew just seven swinging strikes, he also didn’t allow a ball to be put in play harder than 99 mph off the bat.

“Honestly, not my best stuff,” Manning said afterward. “I just gutted through it. I knew the position we were in with the team and the bullpen -- doubleheader and everything. I was just like, 'Do whatever you've got to do to eat up some innings.' It was honestly just a grind. To my personal standard, it wasn't good at all. But I mean, you take them when you get them.”

Mixing fastballs, sweepers and what he calls his “bullet” slider for 77 of his 90 pitches, Manning dared the Mets to square up a ball and punish them. He struck out Pete Alonso twice with Nimmo on base -- once on a fastball and the other on a sweeper.

Manning knew he had a no-hitter going. He just didn’t know how.

“Oh, yeah," he said. "I was like, 'I don't know how they don't have any hits right now.'"

Hinch pulled Manning after he induced an Alonso popout to second, opting to go with a lefty-lefty matchup with reliever Tyler Holton against Brett Baty. Holton struck out Baty and retired the side in the seventh before Harrison Bader’s bloop single in the eighth ended a stretch of 13 consecutive hitless innings from Detroit's pitching staff.

The effort went for naught after Alonso golfed a ball out to left off an Alex Faedo changeup for a game-tying homer to lead off the ninth. Baty then worked a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt before Tyrone Taylor delivered a walk-off single.

While the Tigers prepared to head back to Detroit for Friday's home opener vs. the A's, Manning instead had his bag packed for Toledo in preparation for rejoining the Mud Hens, where he'll wait for his next opportunity in the Majors. And while he joked about needing to “button things up for the Indianapolis Indians,” he also kept his return in perspective.

“I’ve been on four planes in a week, just flying around, driving around, hotel after hotel,” Manning said. “It’s been a grind, but I’m never taking a day in the big leagues for granted.”