Article Author:
Reuters
It was a near-lost season for Detroit right-hander Matt Manning.
Manning had an inflammation in his right shoulder that kept him out for three and a half months and experienced several setbacks during his recovery. He made his first major league start since Tuesday's injury.
He played Sunday's four-game series finale against Tampa Bay on Sunday at home to the Tigers for the first time since April 11. park.
Manning gave up three runs and his five hits in five innings at Minnesota, who returned. He struggled with control, walking four batters, but was happy to finally contribute again.
"I came back for the first time since the beginning of the season and it felt great," he said. "There's nothing like playing big-league baseball," said catcher Eric Haas. With nearly two months to go, Manning has a lot to accomplish in the remaining starts. I believe we can.
"We're not looking to make the playoffs right now, but we're still getting innings and we'll learn," he said. "I hope that when things get a little better, he'll have that experience and know how to make adjustments that really make sense in the game." Manning, who has a 3.46 average, pitched 85 1/3 innings in 18 starts last season, finishing 4-7 with a 5.80 ERA.
He threw his 78 pitches against the Twins, but he probably won't surpass that number.
"I'm going to be careful with him just because he's injured," Hinch said. “We want him to succeed. He's still a developing pitcher, and we'll handle him accordingly.”
Drew Rasmussen (6-4, 3.06 ERA) starts for Tampa Bay. Rasmussen was the unlucky loser in the final outing. He held Toronto to one run and six hits in six innings. The only run he allowed in the 3-1 loss came in the first inning.
"After the first innings, he thought he was much more efficient," said Rasmussen. “I thought things were going pretty well when I recommitted to simplifying and filling the strike zone. It makes you work every time you play.It's a good team.But after making some adjustments in-game, I thought things were going pretty well."
Rasmussen won the match against Detroit on May 18th.
Tampa Bay won his first two games of the series, but the Tigers won him 9-1 on Saturday.
Detroit had a rare offensive outburst, with Rays manager Kevin Cash keeping infielder Yu Chang pitching the inning to keep the bullpen. Jonathan Scoop hit a two-run homer off him. Chan hit his second home run of the season in the Rays' only run.
Detroit's Harold Castro scored his three hits and two runs, plus he scored two runs and Javier Baez scored his two runs. Jaimer Candelario and Willi Castro each had two hits and two runs.
– Field Level Media
