"They believe in me": Manoah feeling the support from Blue Jays
If there’s one word that has hung around the Toronto Blue Jays over the last few seasons, it’s probably been “disappointment.”
For a franchise with World Series aspirations, the Blue Jays remain without any postseason wins since 2016, currently sit in last place in the American League East, and have had just about every player throughout their lineup hit at least some sort of slump in recent times.
Perhaps no player has had a tougher time living up to those expectations than starting pitcher Alek Manoah. Since being named a Cy Young finalist in 2022 after his first full season in the majors, it’s been an ongoing challenge over the last 14 or so calendar months to wonder when — or if — he’ll return to his top form.
But as Manoah made just his second start of the season on Sunday after starting the season in the minor leagues with Triple-A Buffalo, he insists he’s doing what he can to quiet the doubters.
“There’s a lot of outside noise, but I work my tail off every day,” said Manoah, as per MLB.com’s Julia Kreuz. “And, you know, I have great support from all the guys in that clubhouse, and I know they believe in me. So it was just about going out there and doing it.”
Manoah pitched six shutout innings to start the game on Sunday before allowing three runs in the seventh inning en route to a 5-1 Toronto loss.
“It’s what we’re used to seeing out of him,” said manager John Schneider. “We’ve spent a lot of time talking about his pitches and his delivery. I said after his last start: his stuff is there. And I think today he was just in the zone and got on a good roll.”
Manoah’s three runs allowed all came via a three-run home run via Carlos Santana on a 2-0 count.
“Definitely not where I wanted to throw it, and I’d obviously rather it was 3-0 there, but that pitch worked so well for me today,” said Manoah. “We’ve just got to keep attacking.”
- You might also like:
- Aaron Sanchez gets torched in first start back with Blue Jays organization