Blue Jay Alek Manoah picks up where he left off in the Bronx

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This article was published 11/04/2022 (1304 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NEW YORK—Prior to Monday night’s series opener at Yankee Stadium, Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo was lamenting the fact that after an abbreviated spring training the hitters are ahead of the pitchers, which was leading to some crooked numbers on the scoreboard.

In a normal year, after a full six weeks of camp, it’s usually the other way around. The starters typically have ample opportunity to get properly stretched out and round into top form by the time opening day rolls around. It’s the everyday players who often appear to be a step or two behind.

That’s one of the reasons why offence across the league increases every year as the weather starts to improve. Through the first three games for the Jays, the opposite was true, with a lineup that combined to score 43 runs in a series against the Texas Rangers and a starting rotation that had just as much difficulty keeping opponents at bay. The runs have come in bunches; quality innings not so much.

It’s a trend worth monitoring over the first few weeks as teams struggle to get innings out of their starters and instead rely on bullpens that run 10-men deep. But it’s also a situation that apparently doesn’t apply to Jays second-year starter Alek Manoah.

While his fellow rotation members have struggled, Manoah picked up right where he left off last season.

Manoah allowed just one hit and struck out seven over six scoreless innings in the Jays’ 3-0 victory over the Yankees on Monday night. While Manoah was far from perfect, with occasional command issues that resulted in four walks, he was also dominant at times. Except for escaping a bases-loaded situation in the third, he didn’t face much resistance at all from a powerful Yankees lineup.

“He just keeps improving,” Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said after the Jays improved to 3-1 on the season. “That’s a tough lineup and he was in charge the whole game. He lost his command a little bit, but he doesn’t panic and that’s why he got the job done. You can’t teach that, and he has it.”

Manoah apparently can’t get enough of the Yankees, and it’s easy to see why.

During last year’s spring training, it was against New York that he struck out seven batters across three perfect innings to make a case that he belonged in the Jays’ plans for the upcoming season. A few months later, the Bronx was where he made his big-league debut, a two-hitter across six scoreless.

In three career starts against the Yankees, Manoah has allowed just three runs on eight hits and nine walks while striking out 18 over 17 2/3 innings. The 24-year-old appears to have the early makings of a big-game pitcher, something that has led many to believe Manoah — a guy who has yet to even complete a full season — is a future ace.

“This is the mecca,” Manoah said of the Bronx. “You want to come in and play hard. There’s always a lot of fans here. It’s an exciting ballpark to play in and something you dream of as a kid.”

The best way to avoid a sophomore slump is to keep adjusting so that hitters don’t know what to expect. That appears to have been a point of emphasis this off-season as Manoah looked to improve his changeup. It’s a pitch he used just 9.4 per cent of the time in 2021, almost exclusively to lefties, but it was a consistent weapon for him Monday night.

Manoah went to his changeup 15 times, which accounted for 17 per cent of his total pitches. He got seven swings, including four whiffs, and a called strike. When combined with a four-seam fastball, sinker and slider, it gives him an impressive four-pitch mix that should help him retire batters from both sides of the plate.

In 2021, righties were limited to a woeful .496 on-base plus slugging percentage, while lefties fared quite a bit better against Manoah with a .710 OPS. If the changeup helps improve that second number, it could be enough to turn Manoah from a promising piece into a bona fide front-line starter.

“I’m learning when to mix it in, learning how to mix it in. I feel like in college I didn’t really need it; in the minors I didn’t really need it,” said Manoah, who added he has drawn inspiration from teammate Kevin Gausman’s changeup. “Last year, I didn’t need it a ton, but being able to mix that in and keep hitters off-balance, I think is going to be huge.”

The only hiccup on Monday occurred in the third, and almost all of it was self-inflicted. After retiring Kyle Higashioka on a pop-up, Manoah walked three of the next four batters he faced to load the bases with two out for Giancarlo Stanton. The Yankees slugger then hit a ball into the hole between shortstop and third base, but Bo Bichette ranged far to his right and made an off-balance throw to first to end the threat.

That was the only danger Manoah found himself in all night. In Game 1, No. 1 starter José Berríos couldn’t even make it out of the first. Gausman, a high-priced free-agent addition was better in Game 2, but had to battle for every out across five innings. And in Game 3, Hyun-Jin Ryu allowed six runs over just 3 1/3 innings.

By comparison, Manoah made it look easy. The veterans are ahead of him in the pecking order, but if this season ends up being anything like the last, it might not take very long at all for the burly six-foot-six righty to go soaring up the depth chart.

Three things

Springer dingers

A healthy George Springer could go a long way in offsetting the loss of Marcus Semien atop the Blue Jays lineup. Springer, who wasn’t a regular presence until last June because of injuries, has made his presence felt early in 2022.

Springer hit a leadoff homer Sunday, and he went deep again the following day, this time a two-run shot to back six scoreless innings from starter Alek Manoah and help the Jays secure a 3-0 victory at Yankee Stadium. Through four games, Springer already has four extra-base hits. On Monday vs. New York, he finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs and a run scored.

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Mr. Automatic

Jordan Romano tossed a scoreless ninth inning to set a franchise record for consecutive saves. Romano has successfully converted his last 26 save chances dating back to last season, one more than Tom Henke in 1991. Romano blew his first chance of 2021 and has been automatic ever since, including scoreless ninths in each of the three wins this season. The Jays got six scoreless innings out of Manoah, with seven strikeouts, before he turned things over to the bullpen. Trevor Richards and Adam Cimber combined to toss two scoreless frames before handing things over to Romano.

Down goes Danny

Catcher Danny Jansen was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained left oblique. Jansen sustained the injury on a swing during Sunday’s loss to the Texas Rangers and while it wasn’t enough to force him to leave the game, the discomfort increased and the following day he was sent for an MRI. The 26-year-old has homered twice this season with a double and a pair of RBIs. Alejandro Kirk and Zack Collins will split time behind the plate during his absence, while catcher Tyler Heineman was promoted from Triple-A Buffalo. Collins went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in his season debut Monday.

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