TAMPA, Fla. — Toronto Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah was hit hard in his first game after returning to the minors, allowing 11 runs over 2⅔ innings in a rookie-level Florida Complex League game Tuesday.
The Blue Jays sent the struggling right-hander down June 6 after the 2022 All-Star and American League Cy Young finalist couldn’t get out of the first inning against the Houston Astros.
Pitching for the FCL Blue Jays against the Yankees at New York’s minor league complex, he gave up 10 hits, including two homers, and two walks against a lineup comprising players who were mostly 17 to 19 years old.
“Obviously saw the line score but heard the things we were talking about in terms of strike throwing, delivery, tempo, velo was all positive,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Tuesday in Toronto, according to the Toronto Sun. “The rest of the stuff you can kind of take it with a grain of salt.
“I don’t think one day, one outing, one report will really change [what the Jays think of his rehab assignment]. I think there’s enough track record and confidence and belief in him.”
After Manoah, 25, allowed an RBI single to Hans Montero in the first, Roderick Arias hit a second-inning three-run homer that cleared the approximately 30-foot center-field batter’s eye. Arias, 18, received a $4 million signing bonus in 2022 from the Yankees.
Manoah needed 26 pitches, including 15 strikes, in the second.
Manoah was chased after giving up six more runs in the third that featured an opposite-field two-run homer to right by Keiner Delgado.
“You see All-Star hitters go down and strike out four times,” Schneider said, according to the Sun. “We’re not expecting him to go throw a perfect game just because it’s the minor leagues. You don’t know what to expect. You’re just hoping the things you are working on are being accomplished and for the most part today they were.
“It’s tough, especially for a pitcher. When you’re at this level. You’re really focused on game plans and execution. When you are throwing to guys you don’t know, you lean on things you are working on.”
Manoah was booed by Toronto fans after allowing six runs and seven hits in one-third of an inning on June 5 in his seventh straight losing decision. He went 1-7 with a 6.36 ERA in 13 starts after going 16-7 with a 2.24 ERA in 31 starts last season.
Manoah has allowed 45 runs in 58 innings. He allowed 55 in 196⅔ innings in 2022. He went 9-2 with a 3.22 ERA in 20 starts as a rookie in 2021.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah allows 11 in 1st minors game
