Manning's 1st career win comes at Comerica

DETROIT -- Matt Manning didn’t get the big league debut that former Tigers prospects and friends Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal enjoyed last year. Wednesday’s scene at Comerica Park might have made it worth the wait.

As Detroit’s top pitching prospect made the walk from the mound to the dugout in the sixth inning, with his home debut and second big league start complete, he received a standing ovation from the crowd. Among the fans on their feet were Manning’s parents, who were positioned behind the Tigers’ dugout.

“I didn’t expect it. It kind of caught me by surprise,” Manning admitted after Wednesday’s 6-2 win over the Cardinals. “I kind of thought it was a standard thing they do when a starter throws some good, quality innings. But it definitely felt good. I felt welcomed. I felt like I was home.”

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Manning kept a straight face, his eyes focused on the dugout steps and his waiting teammates, but the significance of the moment was apparent. Mize and Skubal talked last year about missing out on families, friends and crowds for their debuts due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Manning, who was at the alternate training site in Toledo, Ohio, when Mize and Skubal were called up to the big leagues last year, got the full experience for his first Major League victory.

The postgame beer shower in the clubhouse was expected. The crowd reaction is no longer taken for granted, not after last season.

“The first time you walk off the mound in your home field, it only happens once,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “I know the fans have been patiently waiting for this trio of pitchers, along with some other position player prospects. And we’re starting to see some guys grow and mature and be contributors up here.”

How young were the Tigers on Wednesday? Jonathan Schoop, who doesn’t turn 30 until October, was the oldest player in Detroit’s lineup. The only 30-year-old to appear in the game in a Tigers uniform was 32-year-old reliever José Cisnero. And rookie center fielder Daz Cameron became part of the first father-son duo to steal a base off Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina.

Still, the day belonged to Manning. Six days after he made his Major League debut opposite Shohei Ohtani at Angel Stadium, the 23-year-old right-hander was the feature attraction in Detroit. He wasn’t dominant -- his lone strikeout over 5 2/3 innings was against longtime friend and fellow Sacramento, Calif., native Dylan Carlson -- but he was effective.

Both Cardinals runs off Manning were well-earned. His second-inning breaking ball to Nolan Arenado was below the strike zone when the All-Star third baseman golfed it out to left for his 249th career home run, and Manning’s first allowed. A couple other balls came close, including leadoff hitter Tommy Edman’s long fly that took right fielder Nomar Mazara to the warning track and Molina’s second-inning flyout towards the right-field corner.

“I’m happy to call this ballpark my home,” Manning said with a smile. “There’s some long, long yards in the alleys.”

An inning after Arenado's homer, Cardinals rookie Lars Nootbaar beat the Tigers’ outfield alignment for a triple to the depths of center field. Edman drove him in with a ground-ball single through the middle for a 2-0 St. Louis lead.

Manning stuck with the game plan, allowing just two more hits the rest of the way. When Arenado came back up in the fourth inning, Manning went back to breaking balls -- two in the strike zone for an 0-2 count -- before he chased another off the plate for a groundout.

“After the Arenado homer, he continued to be aggressive. He continued to mix his pitches,” Hinch said. “He was pretty calm as the game went along. I took him out pretty early again, wanting him to feel some success.”

Manning still threw 51 fastballs out of 80 pitches, ranging from 86 to 95 miles per hour. The heater accounted for three of his four swings and misses, but his offspeed arsenal drew eight of his 17 called strikes, allowing him to work ahead in counts.

By the time Manning’s two-out walk to Molina put the potential tying run on base in the sixth, the Tigers had rallied to take the lead courtesy of a Schoop two-run double and solo homer, along with a Cameron home run. Hard-throwing reliever Gregory Soto took Manning’s place and promptly ended the threat, striking out Matt Carpenter on five pitches.

“It was kind of everything I expected, everything I wanted it to be, getting out there for the first time,” Manning said. “It’s a long run from the dugout to the pitcher's mound. I looked around, and it just felt really good to be here. All the support from the fans, it was great.”