So Casey Mize started Monday and pitched the Tigers to a win: four innings, no runs. Not be outdone, Tarik Skubal started Tuesday and pitched them to another: six innings, one run. Not to be outdone by either of them, Matt Manning started Wednesday and delivered Detroit's sixth win in a row in his best performance of the season: six innings, one run earned.
"It’s almost like an inter-competition between them," said shortstop Zack Short, "and it’s making everybody better."
All of them could have gone longer. All of them would have if the Tigers weren't protecting their arms. Mize even tried hiding from Hinch in the dugout to sneak back out for more. In time, all of them will. But we're already enjoying this trailer, like the buttered popcorn before the feature film.
"They set the tone as the first line of defense when we’re at home and they've been pretty good for us right out of the break," said A.J. Hinch. "They all want to be the guy. They're learning, they're growing and most importantly they’re putting us in position to win. That’s their job when they have the ball."
The Tigers have been without Matthew Boyd and Spencer Turnbull for more than a month, the two most proven arms erased from their rotation. You wouldn't know it. They've won 10 of the last 12 games started by Mize and Skubal. And now here comes Manning, a year younger in age and experience, helping the Big 3 fulfill its name in Detroit.
For Manning, Wednesday was a big step forward. He worked quickly. He threw his fastball with a little more zip, while keeping hitters off balance with his changeup and curve. And he mixed in the slider he's been crafting for the past few weeks with pitching coach Chris Fetter after abandoning it in the minors. He shut down a bad team in the Rangers, which is what good pitchers do.
"His calmness, being in control of his body and his delivery is really good," said Hinch. "He looked like he was in total command of the game and really settled in as a big-league pitcher."
Manning, 23, says has a lot more to give. But he's gone at least five innings and allowed two runs or fewer in four of his first six big-league starts. His floor speaks to his ceiling: "Hopefully these two-run games turn into no runs pretty soon." He says his mid-90's heater is coming. He says he's not sweating the velo as much as "the aggressiveness of the throw." And he's not sweating at all about attacking big-league hitters with a pitch he learned this month.
"His slider has come such a long way," said Short, who's been behind Manning for each of his past three starts. "To have confidence and throw it against guys like Josh Donaldson and Nelson Cruz, it shows the kind of guts he has. He’s going to be good for a long time, along with Skubal and Mize."
They earned the name in Erie, in 2019. As they dominated Double-A we ached for them in Detroit. The Tigers added Riley Greene that year, and Spencer Torkelson the next. But our hopes always hung on the Big Three. Together, Mize, Skubal and Manning were the symbol of the Tigers' tomorrow. It wouldn't dawn until they arrived. Today is brighter now that they're here.
"I think this is what everyone expected," said Manning. "The way we were performing in Double-A, that’s what they wanted to see here. And we’re bringing it as best we can and trying to stay on track. There’s going to be some bumps in the road, but we’re showing just a glimpse of what we can do for the next handful of years."
Not to get greedy, but two handfuls would be better. The popcorn's already running low.