Manoah does his part, Jays’ offence comes to life to split doubleheader vs Rays
Manoah #Manoah
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Alek Manoah left it all on the mound on Tuesday night.
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That’s nothing new for the Blue Jays’ ace, but considering Manoah had not been feeling well enough to pitch in the first game of a doubleheader against the Tampa Bay Rays, his effort in the second game was that much more impressive.
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Manoah went 6.2 innings, scattering five hits and striking out five as the Jays won the nightcap 7-2 at Rogers Centre to avoid a sweep on the day.
Manoah came down with a stomach bug overnight into Tuesday, taking him out of his scheduled start in the first game and leaving him in question for the second.
Alek Manoah of the Toronto Blue Jays delivers a pitch in the first inning during game two of a doubleheader against the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Centre on Sept. 13, 2022 in Toronto. Photo by Vaughn Ridley /Getty Images
Any concerns were put aside late in the afternoon by Jays manager John Schneider.
“He’s feeling fine,” Schneider said after the Jays lost the opener. “I expect a normal outing from him. He is feeling a lot better, so just ride him out there like we always do.”
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The win moved the Jays a half-game past Tampa in the race for the top wildcard spot in the American League. Seattle, which played later, also is in the hunt.
Manoah’s teammates came through in a big way after he had departed in favour of Anthony Bass (4-3), getting the crowd of 25,103 out of their seats.
The Jays broke the game open in the seventh, scoring four runs off Rays reliever Colin Poche (4-2). Some strategy on the part of Schneider paid off, as he went to his bench to get the rally going.
Santiago Espinal, pinch-hitting for Cavan Biggio, began the inning by drawing a walk. After Matt Chapman struck out, Danny Jansen, pinch-hitting for Raimel Tapia, drew a walk.
Both Bradley Zimmer, who pinch-ran for Jansen, and Espinal scored on a Whit Merrifield double. The latter was pinch-hitting for Jackie Bradley Jr.
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George Springer then came to the plate and smacked a Poche curveball to the seats in left field. The two-run shot was Springer’s 20th homer of the season and first since Aug. 28.
In the eighth, the Jays scored two more runs, one on a Teoscar Hernandez double and another on a Matt Chapman sacrifice fly.
Tampa had restored a one-run lead in the seventh, going up 2-1, when Jonathan Aranda, leading off, deposited a Manoah changeup over the wall in left.
Manoah allowed just a two-out single to Harold Ramirez in the first inning before Ji-Man Choi led off the third with a home run to right, giving Tampa a 1-0 lead.
Toronto tied the game in the sixth after Vladimir Guerrero Jr., leading off, doubled down the third-base line.
Guerrero advanced to third when Bo Bichette grounded out and scored after Alejandro Kirk got enough of a Jalen Beeks pitch, on a swinging bunt, to get Guerrero across the plate.
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Rays starter Yonny Chirinos gave up just three hits in four innings and struck out two.
RAYS 4, BLUE JAYS 2
The Jays went down weakly on Tuesday afternoon, failing to generate much offence.
Before a crowd of 23,497, Rays starter Jeffrey Springs (8-4) gave the Jays little breathing room, allowing just three hits in six innings. The lefty walked two and struck out five.
The Jays were held off the scoreboard until the eighth, when they scored twice against reliever Shawn Armstrong. Guerrero came across when Kirk grounded out, and Bichette scored on a single by Chapman.
In the ninth, the Jays had runners on first and second with one out, but Pete Fairbanks struck out Guerrero and got Bichette to ground out.
Opener Julian Merryweather (0-3) failed to get through the first inning unscathed, giving up singles to the game’s first two batters, Yandy Diaz and Wander Franco. Diaz advanced to third on Franco’s single and scored when Randy Arozarena grounded into a forceout.
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Mitch White, recalled earlier in the day from triple-A Buffalo as the 29th man for both games of the doubleheader, entered the game to begin the second inning. Other than the third inning, when the Rays scored three runs, White was effective in six innings of work. White scattered seven hits, struck out three and did not walk a batter.
“I thought he was great,” Schneider said. “He kept his composure and really settled in. Probably deserved a little bit better. We gave them some extra outs, which you can not do against a team like that.”
In the third, Diaz and Franco singled to start off, and Aranda was credited with a base hit after being called out at first. A review revealed that Guerrero didn’t have his foot on the bag for the out following a fine defensive play by Santiago Espinal.
Diaz scored when Arozarena hit into forceout, and Franco scored on a sacrifice fly. The third Tampa run came when Arozarena scored on a Manuel Margot single.
“There were some frustrating hits, but that is just baseball,” White said. “I was happy with the execution and all that. Keep doing that and eventually things will work themselves out.”
tkoshan@postmedia.com
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