TORONTO — You had the feeling the Tigers left too much meat on the bone early Tuesday night and that it would probably leave them feeling hungry later.
They did. They were. The losing streak is at five games.
The Blue Jays finally got to celebrate their home opener in their renovated ballpark after starting the season with 10 road games and they did so explosively, blasting five home runs in a come-from-behind 9-3 win over the Tigers at Rogers Centre.
Matt Chapman homered in fourth, hitting a center-cut, 93-mph fastball from Tigers’ starter Matt Manning 423 feet into the new seating section in right-center. It was a 3-2 game in the fifth when Kevin Kiermaier homered on a 3-2 fastball and George Spring followed hitting the next pitch (a first-pitch slider) into the seats in right.
Bo Bichette (solo) and Alejandro Kirk (three-run shot) homered in a five-run eighth off rookie reliever Mason Englert in a two-run eighth.
Boom, boom — out go the lights.
That all happened after the Tigers took a 3-0 lead and then let Toronto starter Alek Manoah wriggle off the hook in the first three innings.
The 2022 All-Star, who placed third in the American League Cy Young voting, was laboring. His struggles were partly due to his inability to find the feel of his slider or command his sinker. They were also due partly to the Tigers exhibiting some plate discipline, which they hadn’t shown much of this season.
The second inning started with Kiermaier, the Blue Jays center fielder, stealing a home run from Kerry Carpenter. He made a sensational catch with a perfectly-timed leap, reaching over the 400-foot short wall in center field.
That would be the only out Manoah would get for seven hitters in what turned out to be a three-run, three-walk, 42-pitch second inning. The three runs would come on one swing — a majestic, three-home run to right field by Nick Maton.
Maton jumped a 93-mph fastball at the top of the zone. It was third hit and first homer of the season.
After Jonathan Schoop singled, Manoah walked Jake Rogers and Akil Baddoo to load the bases. Still only one out. But the knockout punch didn’t come. Manoah struck out Riley Greene with a wicked, swing-back two-seam fastball and got Matt Vierling to pop out.
Manoah walked two more in the third, but the Tigers couldn’t cash in. Three runs, five runners left on base — the damage to opportunity ratio felt light.
It was.
The home run balls spoiled what was an otherwise strong outing for Manning. He was using his curveball (to left-handed hitters) and slider (to righties) to steal strike one. He threw first-pitch strikes to 16 of the 25 batters he faced.
Springer was the only one who burned him.
Manning didn’t get a lot of swinging strikes (seven on 39 swings) but he got 19 called strikes (eight with he slider, six with the four-seamer).
He got some defensive help from Greene in center in the second inning. With runners on first and second, Kirk lined a ball off the brand wall in right field. The ball caromed hard past right-fielder Vierling but Greene hustled over and played the carom perfectly.
One run scored, but Greene’s play kept Kirk at first base and prevented a second run from scoring.
The Tigers, though, were done scoring. They managed only a hit and walk over the last four innings.
