© Gerry Angus-USA TODAY Sports
Bichette’s Big Day Caps Blue Jays’ Win, Great Pitching Battle
TORONTO — It’s a rare opportunity to see two dynamic, young stars go toe-to-toe in a single game.
On Saturday, it was Alek Manoah who took the ball for the Blue Jays. Toronto’s first-round pick in 2019 and an early AL Cy Young candidate in 2022, Manoah has established a reputation for excellence during his short time in the city.
"He's been great at all times," Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said of Manoah.
The big man, who sizes up at 6-foot-6, 285 pounds, came flying out of the gates during his rookie season last year and has picked up where he left off this year with a 1.71 ERA through his first seven starts.
Manoah looked flawless as soon as he took the hill in the Blue Jays' 3-1 win, cruising through the Reds lineup and facing the minimum through three.
But while the Jays starter put on a show, the man on the Cincinnati side—22-year-old Hunter Greene—brought just as much excitement.
The second overall pick by the Reds in 2017, Greene is still finding his footing at the major-league level, but there have been incredible flashes of talent. In his last start, the right-hander was phenomenal, tossing 7.1 innings of no-hit ball.
There are few things quite as exciting as Greene’s fastball—which touched 101.4 mph Saturday—but the slider is his best weapon. That was made very clear in the second at-bat of the game, when he got the free-swinging Bo Bichette to chase three sliders nowhere near the zone.
At a minus-5 run value per Baseball Savant, Greene’s slider is top-15 in all of baseball. So, after Bichette went down on all sliders last time, he was ready to hack in his second at-bat. When Greene delivered the breaking pitch, Bichette cracked it into left field for a no-doubt solo shot, his fifth of the season and 50th of his career.
That run equalized the game after Etobicoke, Ont., native Joey Votto had driven in a run off Manoah in the top half of the fourth.
In the sixth inning, now with the Rogers Centre roof open and Greene out of the game, Bichette got another chance to do some damage. Raimel Tapia bounced off third base, and with two outs, Bichete—who has said plenty of times he doesn’t feel pressure—proved why the slider-heavy approach only works for so long.
In a shot almost identical to his first home run, Bichette lashed a two-run bomb 415 feet to left-center field to give Toronto a lead it wouldn't relinquish. Manoah took it from there. The right-hander was viciously efficient on Saturday, neatly wrapping up eight innings of one-run ball on just 83 pitches.
"I think the biggest thing was being able to attack with the heater, being able to mix in some offspeeds there, get some weak contact, and just being able to get that offense out there and let them get in a groove," Manoah said.
For a moment, it looked like Manoah might go for the complete game, but Montoyo opted for his closer Jordan Romano in the ninth, who struck out the side for his AL-best 14th save.
"I've got the best closer in baseball," Montoyo said, emphasizing Romano's sturdiness as the reason why he felt no regret about pulling Manoah after the eighth.
Manoah zoomed through this one, only throwing 20 balls total and neutralizing nearly every Reds scoring opportunity that popped up. So when Montoyo told Manoah he wasn't going back out for the ninth, the pitcher was very animated, but ultimately eased up.
"I think [Montoyo] understands how competitive I am; I think he's told you guys that," Manoah said. "I think he knows that. And me, as a competitor, I'm just doing my job. It's not every day you get to go do something like that, but we've got the best closer in baseball.
"He's doing his job and protecting me. We'll keep moving forward."
If there was any doubt of Manoah's desire to win, this situation speaks for itself. He's a man on a mission, driven to carry his club however he can. Normally, in the AL, three runs of support doesn't cut it, but with Manoah on the mound lately, that'll do. That'll do just fine.
