LAKELAND, Fla. — The Detroit Tigers lost to the Atlanta Braves, 5-3, on Wednesday at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium.
The Tigers are 12-14 in Grapefruit League play.
What happened
Miguel Cabrera, who turns 40 in April, was on second base when Ryan Kreidler hit a line drive off the glove of second baseman Ehire Adrianza for a single in the third inning. As the ball bounced into shallow right field, Cabrera turned up his speed and rounded third base.
He scored sliding into home plate for a 3-0 lead.
The catcher received the ball but did not try to apply the tag.
Right-handed reliever Jose Cisnero allowed three runs on three hits and one walk with one strikeouts. He recorded two outs in the sixth inning. Righty Jason Foley was responsible for a run in the sixth, too, because he allowed a single before Cisnero conceded a home run to Orlando Arcia.
The homer from Arcia put the Braves ahead 4-3. An ensuing two-out double from Sam Hilliard increased the Braves’ margin to 5-3, and the Tigers never climbed out of the two-run hole.
Foley threw 11 of 15 pitches for strikes across 1⅓ innings, while Cisnero tossed 11 of 20 pitches for strikes across ⅔ innings. Foley generated three swings and misses and two called strikes; Cisnero earned two whiffs and four called strikes.
Cisnero pitched back-to-back games for the first time in spring training.
Starting off
Right-hander Matt Manning allowed one run (zero earned runs) on six hits and two walks with six strikeouts in his final spring training start.
He threw 54 of 80 pitches for strikes.
He allowed the first two batters to reach safely but escaped the jam in the first inning. In the fourth inning, shortstop Javier Báez made a throwing error to put a runner on base. The runner, Joshua Fuentes, came around to score on a single by Orlando Arcia for the Braves’ first run.
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The 25-year-old logged a 6.43 ERA with six walks and 15 strikeouts across 14 innings in his five starts this spring. Against the Braves, he racked up five of his six strikeouts with his fastball.
A nasty in-the-dirt curveball struck out Magneuris Sierra in the fourth inning.
Manning tossed 37 four-seam fastballs, 18 sliders, 11 changeups, eight curveballs and six sinkers. His fastball sat between 91-95 mph and averaged 92.9 mph. He generated eight swings and misses with his heater.
At the plate
Before Cabrera showed off his wheels, the Tigers scored one run in the first and second innings.
Riley Greene delivered an opposite-field RBI single in the first for a 1-0 lead against Braves right-hander Michael Soroka. Andy Ibáñez added an RBI single in the second inning to make it a 2-0 advantage.
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Greene finished 1-for-1 with one walk.
He is hitting .333 in spring training.
On the mound
Right-handers Trey Wingenter and Alex Lange pitched scoreless seventh and eighth innings.
Wingenter, who allowed a leadoff single but generated five whiffs, has not given up a run in seven innings this spring. He struck out two batters in his latest outing as he has 11 strikeouts — compared to one walk — in camp.
His fastball maxed out at 97.9 mph.
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Right-hander Tyler Mattison, elevated from minor-league camp, fired a scoreless ninth inning with two strikeouts.
Three stars
1. Cabrera; 2. Manning; 3. Wingenter.
Next up
Thursday (1:05 pm) vs. Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater; Thursday (6:05 pm) vs. Baltimore Orioles in Sarasota.
Contact Evan Petzold at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Miguel Cabrera hustles to score in Detroit Tigers’ 5-3 loss to Braves