Detroit — Nothing he did in his four spring starts would indicate the performance Matt Manning put forth against the Boston Red Sox Monday night.
On warm but wet night at Comerica Park, in a game the Tigers eventually won, dramatically, 3-1, the second-year right-hander, pitching mostly off a crisp, elevated fastball, dispatched the first 12 hitters he faced heading into the fifth inning.
Leave it to an old friend to spoil the fun, though.
J.D. Martinez, who has hit his fair share of home runs in this yard, shellacked a 2-1 fastball leading off the fifth inning.