Mets' offense a no-show as they fall to Tigers in 10 innings

Sean Manaea dazzled in his Mets debut allowing just one hit over six scoreless innings, but the Detroit Tigers scored five runs in the top of the 10th inning for a 5-0 win Monday night at Citi Field.

Manaea became the first New York starter to pitch into the sixth inning of the young season but took a no-decision as Michael Tonkin suffered the loss allowing two hits and five runs (none earned) in a disastrous extra frame.

In the 10th, with the automatic runner on second, Tonkin got a grounder to start the inning before he hit ex-Met Mark Canha in the back. Second baseman Joey Wendle then couldn’t handle a bouncer in the hole, which brought home the first run of the game. The right-hander induced another bouncing ball but he couldn’t handle that one either, loading the bases on an infield hit. A sacrifice fly by another ex-Met, Javier Baez, doubled Detroit’s advantage before catcher Carson Kelly cleared the bases with a towering three-run home run to left.

The Mets, who went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left nine on base, fell to 0-4 on the year. The Tigers improved to 4-0.

Here are the takeaways…

- Manaea cruised through the first four innings, getting six strikeouts in the process and allowing just two balls in play hit harder than 90 mph. The Mets debutant tallied eight whiffs, including six on his fastball, and eight called strikes, including six on the fastball, as well.

The left-hander retired the first 12 straight batters he faced on 53 pitches (36 strikes) before issuing a leadoff walk to Detroit’s only left-handed batter in the lineup to start the fifth. But a couple of hard-hit balls to the outfield and a strikeout got him through the frame unscathed.

Manaea's final line in his debut: 6.0 innings, one hit, no runs, one walk and eight strikeouts on 88 pitches (55 strikes). On the night, his average velocity was down on his fastball (which he threw 63 percent of his pitches), but he got 17 called strikes and whiffs (31 percent) on the heater.

The 5.2-inning no-hit bid was the longest by a pitcher in his Mets debut.

- The starter got some help from the defense to keep the Tigers off the board in the sixth. With a runner on first, Brett Baty smartly barehanded a slow roller and made a sharp throw to first for the second out of the inning. Andy Ibanez then shot a base hit to left, but Brandon Nimmo charged hard and fired a perfect one-hop throw to get Kelly out at the plate by 10 feet, with Francisco Alvarez absorbing some contact and hanging on to make the tag to end the inning.

- Alvarez, in his next at-bat after the collision, ripped a two-out, two-strike pitch into the gap in left field and with great hustle and a deft slide was in with a double.

Alvarez had a big chance with two on and one out in the first but bounced into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double-play. He finished 1-for-4.

- Nimmo, who was hit by a pitch in the first, checked his swing several times on close pitches to work a leadoff walk in the eighth inning, but was stranded there when Francisco Lindor (0-for-4 with a walk on the day) and Pete Alonso (0-for-4) both went down swinging and Alvarez bounced out.

- Out of the bullpen, Jorge Lopez allowed a walk and got a big strikeout to pitch a scoreless seventh. And Brooks Raley worked around an infield single for a clean eighth inning getting a strikeout and 6-4-3 double-play.

Edwin Diaz got the ball in the ninth and made quick work of the three Tigers hitters, striking out two and getting six whiffs out of 14 pitches.

- Starling Marte singled down the first baseline for the game’s first hit in the second and followed that up with a leadoff single in the seventh to left, collecting two of the Mets' five hits on the night. And both balls were hit hard, 100.8 mph and 105.4 mph off the bat.

- Jeff McNeil was out of the lineup for the first time this season, Mendoza said it was a “typical off day” after his “quick ramp-up at the end of spring training” following time out due to a left bicep ailment. McNeil, who had one hit in 11 at-bats in the opening series, entered as a two-out pinch hitter with a runner on first in the ninth inning. He struck out swinging on three pitches.

Highlights

What's next

These two teams are scheduled to be back at it again Tuesday night at Citi Field, but rain could make a fool of the schedule makers.

Right-hander Adrian Houser is set to make his Mets debut and face Detroit righty Casey Mize in his first start of the year.