Manaea (back) fired two scoreless innings in Tuesday's 5-3 Cactus League win over the Rangers, allowing a hit and two walks while recording three strikeouts.
According to a report by Jane Lee of MLB.com, Manaea was especially pleased with his slider, a pitch he allowed a paltry .174 average against last season while inducing 89 swings-and-misses. He worked up to 45 pitches over his pair of frames and the southpaw struck out the side in the first. Manaea had been scratched from his start a week prior due to back tightness. "He ended up getting the swings and misses that we wanted to see, used all his pitches," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "Starting out in a good direction for him."