Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton Breaks Tigers Pitcher’s Foot On Liner

Tigers starting pitcher Matt Manning couldn’t catch a break when Detroit took on the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Thursday.

The 25-year-old was ruled out for the season after he took a comebacker from Giancarlo Stanton off his right foot. It was the second-hardest-hit ball of the season at 119.5 mph and came on the same week Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. hit the hardest-hit ball of the season with a 121.1 mph home run.

Matt Manning took a ball to the foot coming off the bat of Giancarlo Staton at 119.5 mph, which is the second hardest hit ball this season

He was removed from the game pic.twitter.com/LfRGVHhKEk

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) September 6, 2023

The comebacker came in the first inning, and while Manning caught the ball and threw Stanton out, he was in considerable pain due to his fractured foot and left the game. Manning missed more than two months earlier this season after taking a comebacker from Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk.

“Same foot, different spot,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch told reporters, per ESPN via the Associated Press. “I feel for him. He worked hard to get back.”

Stanton is notorious for his high exit velocities, especially for his home runs, but Manning did not hold any ill will toward the Yankees star.

“There’s no positives out of this,” Manning told reporters, per The Detroit News. “Just unlucky. Pretty cool to get hit by an MVP? I don’t know.”

Thursday marked the 18th time a pitcher was hit on a comebacker this season. Boston Red Sox pitcher Tanner Houck suffered a facial fracture after he took a comebacker from Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka back in June. The injury kept him out until August.