PITTSBURGH — There are a couple of lessons Alek Manoah is taking from being struck on the inside of the left knee by a 112.5 m.p.h. rocket from Rafael Devers during his last start.
First, “I’d probably throw a different pitch,” the Toronto Blue Jays' right-hander says with an impish grin of the changeup turned around by the Boston Red Sox slugger.
Second, “I kind of got an adrenaline spike (after being hit) and the only thing I needed to change was my mindset,” he explains. “I was really focused. I was locked in. I was really in my mechanics. And then the adrenaline spike happened and I needed to slow myself down a little bit. So that was a little bit different.”
Beyond some bruising, there are no other lingering effects from the blow for Manoah, who’ll look to extend a strong bounce-back from the rotation when he takes the mound Tuesday as the Blue Jays open a two-game series at the Philadelphia Phillies.
Over the weekend, Chris Bassitt, Jose Berrios and Yusei Kikuchi shook off a messy turn from the starters during a four-game sweep at Fenway Park last week (18 innings, 23 runs allowed, 20 earned) by allowing just two runs over 19.2 innings in a three-game sweep of Pittsburgh Pirates.
While the offence contributed runs in the first inning in each of the wins at PNC Park, the way Bassitt, Berrios and Kikuchi asserted control over the contests was especially notable. Blue Jays starters were really the driving force behind a 7-2 stretch versus the Yankees, White Sox and Mariners leading into the Boston series, and the dip versus the Red Sox was jarring.
The Blue Jays, to some degree, seemed impacted by the miserable weather in Boston — it was the first time this season they’d played in such bitter conditions — and combined with a viral infection that struck a handful of players, were collectively knocked on their butts.
Bassitt’s seven shutout innings Friday — backed by some crisp defence that collected three inning-changing outs on the basepaths — provided a strong reset, while Berrios and Kikuchi, so ill during the Pirates opener that he was sent to the hotel for the night, followed suit.
“Our starting pitching has been great,” says outfielder Daulton Varsho, batting .361/.400/.694 over his last nine games with hits in six straight. “I know in Boston it didn't go too well but sometimes a team beats you and you've got to pick up where you left off before that. They've been doing well pretty much all year for us and all we can do is keep grinding, keep getting through it and hopefully you can throw a lot more of those.”
The Blue Jays are counting on it because when the rotation does its part, manager John Schneider is able to more effectively deploy his relievers.
Against the Pirates, only closer Jordan Romano pitched more than once, with Yimi Garcia allowing the only run.
“It puts guys in the right spots out of the bullpen and it allows those guys to get a little bit of a breather out there, too. And I think it allows us to really settle into the game offensively,” Schneider says of the ways strong starts position the team for success. “You go back to about 10 days ago, that's kind of what we were doing and hit a little bit of a rut. But the guys picked up right where they were. They've been really good.”
Manoah, uncharacteristically erratic through his first seven outings as he’s finding his way into the season, is trending in that direction.
The 25-year-old delivered back-to-back strong outings leading into the Boston start and had another gem going when the Devers liner caught him. Before then, he was through 3.1 shutout innings allowing just a hit and a walk with three strikeouts and Devers’ single (he ended up at second on an Alejandro Kirk throwing error) was the first of seven hits allowed by Manoah over the next 1.2 innings, leading to five runs, only two earned.
How the start would have turned out without the liner is impossible to know, even if he says “I didn't really feel (the impact) much” over the rest of the outing. Still, while he didn’t realize it at the time, a shift in mindset was probably needed.
“Most guys probably would have left the game there. Not too many bodies can take that,” says Manoah. “For me it was more of, slow myself down and now focus on controlling my body instead of I was so focused on mixing up pitches and getting hitters out. It's a different focus, I would say.”
As for his mindset against the Phillies, it will be the same old, for Manoah.
“Just continue to attack,” he says.
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