Blue Jays offence bails out Alek Manoah. It’s been the other way around too often

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This article was published 03/09/2021 (1511 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Blue Jays were down, but apparently they were not out.

With the season potentially hanging in the balance heading into a crucial series against the Oakland A’s, the struggling Jays offence exploded for six runs in the eighth and three more in the ninth to steal a win and, more important, a game in the standings.

After right-handers Alek Manoah and Nate Pearson combined to put their team in a six-run hole, the dormant lineup sprung to life and once again started living up to its potential. First it was a grand slam by Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in the eighth. An inning later, Marcus Semien delivered the decisive blow with a three-run walk-off shot against his former team.

The pitching staff has been carrying the Jays for the better part of a month. On Friday, it was the offence’s turn to pick up the slack and bring renewed life to a season that appeared to be on the brink of collapse. There is still a big mountain to climb in the standings for a wild-card spot, but this team will live to see another day after a thrilling 11-10 victory.

“It’s awesome, there’s nothing like it in baseball,” Semien said after the improbable comeback, which included his shot to left off A’s reliever Sergio Romo. “You think about the night we had as a group, the first seven innings, and we just woke up. Huge at-bat from Lourdes. He’s been clutch for us all year. He’s one of the most clutch hitters in the game — nobody talks about that.”

The final two innings for the Jays were a complete 180 from the events that transpired before. Prior to Friday night, Toronto had been averaging just 3.86 runs per game since Aug. 9, which had been making the starting pitchers’ margin for error razor thin. Lately, even a solo homer felt like a five-run deficit following such a prolonged hibernation.

Manoah has been experiencing his fair share of those offensive woes. Entering Friday, the Jays had won five of Manoah’s last six starts but scored four runs or fewer in four of those games. Until the eighth it looked like there would be another one to add to the list. He needed to be picked up by someone. Gurriel and Semien were among those who rose to the challenge.

The victory ensured the Jays remained five games behind the Boston Red Sox, who picked up an 8-5 victory over Cleveland. Just as important, it pulled them within two games of Oakland, a club they also must pass on the road to contention. A team playing catch-up in the standings like the Jays can’t afford to lose much more ground. Friday’s late events made sure they didn’t.

“You hear me talk about it a lot. Just continue to give the team a chance, and somehow six runs was still enough for them to come back tonight,” said Manoah, who was charged with six runs on five hits and three walks across five-plus innings.

“We had that big eighth, where we got six, and you’re one swing away with these guys. That whole lineup is dangerous, and once they get going everybody knows what we’re playing for right now. It’s a big game going into tomorrow.”

Considering how good Manoah has been for the Jays this season, he deserved to be let off the hook for one of the rare times he came up with a dud performance. On a night when his command was off and the A’s generated a lot of hard contact, the rookie right-hander required an assist and he got one.

The way the game ended was a far cry from the way it began. In the first inning, Manoah fell behind three of the first four batters, eventually setting up a Matt Chapman two-run double with a poorly located fastball down the heart of the plate. Four innings later, command once again proved to be an issue. This time it was on a pair of pitches up and in that struck both Josh Harrison and Starling Marte.

Manoah might be able to get away with that against some teams, but not one as good as Oakland. After Marte was struck on the head, eventually forcing his departure half an inning later, Matt Olson made the Jays starter pay with Oakland’s second two-run double. In the sixth, Tony Kemp added a two-run shot to make it 6-2 and in the seventh they scored two more off Pearson as the lead increased to six.

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Friday’s outing would have been a tough pill for Manoah to swallow, but it became a lot easier to take after the late rally — which also helped overcome Jordan Romano serving up a two-run homer to Mark Canha in the ninth. That eases some of the disappointment during what has otherwise been an incredible first season for the product of West Virginia University.

“It’s great to see the offence coming back,” Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said. “The way they did it, it was awesome. It was a great game and it’s a boost for sure. To come back that far down, to tie the game, and after they came back to take the lead … it was just awesome.”

Manoah’s 88 strikeouts are a franchise record for a pitcher in his first 15 games, surpassing the 79 that Ricky Romero put up in 2009. His 3.15 ERA entering Friday was tops among all AL rookies. Even though it rose to 3.63 after the Oakland start, that’s still good enough for second among Jays starters, behind only Robbie Ray’s 2.71.

One bad outing doesn’t spoil any of that, especially not after Gurriel and Semien came through to let their big man off the hook.

Gregor Chisholm is a Toronto-based baseball columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @GregorChisholm or reach him via email: gchisholm@thestar.ca