Blue Jays miss chance for Rays sweep as Manoah's command eludes him

TORONTO – On paper, it should have been a pitchers’ duel. Best against best with the Blue Jays in pursuit of their first sweep of the season.

And give Shane McClanahan credit — he limited the Blue Jays to just one run over six innings while striking out six. But while McClanahan kept damage to a minimum, his counterpart struggled with command, allowing the Tampa Bay Rays to put the game out of reach by the fifth inning.

It’s been a tough start to the season for Alek Manoah, who has completed five innings just once in his four starts. On Sunday, the Rays chased him from the game in the fifth after seven runs had scored on nine hits, including a Christian Bethancourt three-run home run. With that, the Rays were well on their way to an 8-1 win in front of 39,179 at an open Rogers Centre.

"I've had my butt kicked plenty of times, so getting my butt kicked out on the baseball field was a lot better than the other times I've gotten my butt kicked,” a blunt Manoah said afterwards. “I'm here right now and I'm going to keep fighting my way out."

Clearly, Manoah’s capable of more. A Cy Young finalist in 2022, he posted a 2.24 ERA in 196.2 innings last year. But those results have eluded him so far this season, with his seven scoreless innings in Kansas City on April 5 his lone quality start of his season.

Identifying problems is far easier than finding solutions, but let’s start there. Velocity doesn’t appear to be the issue, as Manoah averaged 93.6 m.p.h. with his four-seam fastball Sunday – essentially in line with his 2021 and 2022 averages.

Yet his command was off from the first pitch of the game, a sinker that hit Yandy Diaz on the shoulder. A walk followed, then a single and then another walk. By the time Manoah had escaped the first 35 pitches later, three runs had scored.

"I thought his stuff was good," Blue Jays manager John Schneider. "I don't think it's mechanics. I think it's just being in the zone a little more."

Three relatively quiet innings followed, but he got into trouble again in the fifth after starting the inning with two strikeouts. But a walk to Taylor Walls set up a Josh Lowe double followed by a Vidal Brujan single and then the most damaging swing of all — Bethancourt’s homer.

To be fair, homers happen and the Rays are a very good team. But Manoah battled command issues all afternoon with a wide array of arm-side misses (in on right-handed batters, or away to lefties). 

Command issues have troubled Manoah all season, with 15 walks and two hit batters in 19.1 innings compared to 16 strikeouts. Plus, without command, he's been more hittable than usual, as evidenced by Bethancourt’s homer on a slider that he left higher in the zone than he wanted to. 

"First three pitches of the at-bat, you've got to get two strikes," Schneider said. "I think his stuff really plays. That's where he was last year. Right now, not so much."

Earlier in the week, Manoah said he was out of sync mechanically, but he insisted that wasn’t the case Sunday. Rather than revisiting the start against the Rays for answers, he intends to look ahead.  

“I'm not going back to the drawing board,” he said. “I felt really good out there. Fastball velocity was pretty good. I felt like some of my pitches were pretty sharp. Just got to continue to go out there and give this team a chance, and I didn't do that (Sunday).” 

Manoah’s next start will be another tough test with a road matchup against the Yankees slated for next Saturday. Yet as disappointing as this latest start was, Manoah’s recent history of success against the game’s best hitters certainly shouldn’t be forgotten.

"I've got a lot in the tank,” the 25-year-old said. “I've just got to go out there and start throwing some punches instead of wearing them." 

At least Jose Berrios and Yusei Kikuchi have shown signs of improvement, allowing the Blue Jays to keep winning games while their opening-day starter keeps searching for better results.

If there’s a positive to be found for the Blue Jays’ pitching staff, it’s that closer Jordan Romano got a day of rest after taking a comebacker after his right rib cage Saturday. While x-rays were negative, Romano would have rested even if the Blue Jays were ahead late, but the lopsided score made that decision even easier.

From here, the Blue Jays head to Houston where a matchup with the defending World Series winners awaits. It wasn’t the way the Blue Jays wanted to end their first homestand of the season, but by taking two of three against the previously undefeated Rays, they have plenty of reason to be pleased with the way they’re playing.

"The Rays came in hot (and) it was awesome to see the crowd and the energy here early in April," Schneider said. "You keep plodding along (and) move on to another tough series."