John Schneider Head Coach Of Toronto Blue Jays, Just Announced that Pitcher Alek Manoah

Pitcher Alek Manoah (6) of the Toronto Blue Jays takes a break during a Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports interview in Dunedin,

Manoah gave up seven earned runs on six hits and four walks in 4.0 innings. He did strike out six on 92 pitches, though.

The last two or three years have been wild for Manoah. Manoah was one of the best pitchers in baseball in 2022; he finished third in the American League Cy Young vote and was chosen for the All-Star Game. He also began Game 1 of the playoffs that year and pitched against Seattle in the AL Wild Card series.

However, Manoah’s circumstances broke down in 2023. His record was only 3-9, and he had twice gone down to the minor leagues due to his inability to adjust to the new pitch clock. Furthermore, he suffered a shoulder injury during spring training this year, and before getting this opportunity on Sunday, he had to go through numerous minor league rehab stints.

After the game, Manoah said he needed to mentally adjust. As stated by MLB.com:

“I don’t think it’s a control thing,” Manoah said. All I was doing was trying to be too kind and stand out. It’s critical to understand that I am not Greg Maddux. It is not going to be me, Greg Maddux. I have a super lengthy fastball. I just need to go outside and trust the process.

Because of his excellent all-around game, Manoah will receive another start in the rotation, according to Blue Jays manager John Schneider. Yariel Rodriguez was in the rotation, but he had to pull out due to a back issue.