Alek Manoah Gets Back to Form in First Start Back with Blue Jays

Is Alek Manoah back to being the phenom that’s been wrecking havoc since first taking the mound for WVU and then in MLB? Well, if his first start for the Blue Jays after being sent down is a sign of what’s to come, it sure looks like he’s getting back to form.

On Friday night, Manoah struck out 8 batters and allowed only one earned run in 6 innings of work. He gave up 5 hits while throwing 92 total pitches in Detroit. His teammates also supported him by scoring 7 runs by the time he was relieved in the game. The win is only his second in 2023 and moves his season record to 2-7.

⚡️⚡️⚡️ #NextLevel pic.twitter.com/TnBoA0ZpKI

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) July 8, 2023

Thanks to his first quality start in awhile, Manoah’s season ERA is now below 6 at 5.91. He still has a long way to go to prove his early season struggles are completely behind him, but this is certainly a nice start (pun intended) to begin the ace that finished third in the American League Cy Young race last season and started a playoff game.

Prior to being sent to the Florida Complex League, Manoah posted a 6.36 ERA across 13 MLB starts. While he record a much better outing during his most recent minor league appearance, Manoah’s issues continued in his first start with Toronto’s rookie ball affiliate a couple of week ago.

Just last year, Manoah took his career to another level. In 2022, the 25-year-old carried a 2.24 ERA, a 0.99 WHIP and struck out 180 batters in 196.2 innings pitched. Manoah was named an All-Star and started Toronto’s Wild Card Round game.

WVSN’s Griffin Floyd detailed possible factors that could be contributing to Manoah’s issues in the piece below.

Our Mike Asti also asked Schneider about Manoah after a game earlier in the season.