© Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
'I See Myself as one of the Best of the Best': Manoah Emerges as Jays' Fieriest Competitor
Every inning starts the same.
After he takes his final warmup pitch and gets the ball back from the third baseman, Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah turns his back towards the plate. He lowers his hat and says a short prayer—asking God to keep him strong, healthy, and to let him compete as hard as he can. Then it's right to work.
"I just really love baseball; I really love competing," Manoah said. "I really enjoy throwing that little white ball."
"Competing." It's a word that comes out of Manoah's mouth after every outing. The term is fitting, too, since the six-foot-six right-hander emits a shockwave of confidence the moment his cleats touch the rubber. Wednesday's 10-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels was no different.
Manoah backs down from no one. In his last start—a steady five-inning outing against the Boston Red Sox—he siphoned energy from an electric Rogers Centre atmosphere. When things got testy, Manoah hurled himself out of the dugout in defense of his teammates.
So, as an uber-competitor, what's better than facing Shohei Ohtani, the best hitter in baseball?
"I see myself as one of the best of the best, too," Manoah said. "So being able to compete with guys like that and get guys out, it's what's going to put me in that category."
Ohtani tagged Manoah the first time around, yanking a changeup all the way to the warning track before Teoscar Hernández stabbed it mid-air for an out.
The second time around, the AL MVP-favorite struck the ball a bit further. After going up-and-in with the four-seamer, Manoah broke off a slider at the knees—not a bad pitch, but right in Ohtani's wheelhouse—and the Angels' leadoff man cranked it 413 feet to center.
Your average rookie starting pitcher might've shied away from Ohtani in the next at-bat. Naturally, Manoah went right after him in the fifth. He started with the changeup, then pivoted to the sinker.
Ohtani took an awkward hack as the fastball broke off the plate. Manoah smacked his glove with authority as he racked up his ninth punchout of the game.
For a young man fueled by competition, it's no surprise the 23-year-old attacked the league's most feared hitter head on.
"I never back down from a challenge like that," Manoah said. "Even if it ends in a home run, it doesn't matter. It's definitely something I can learn from and continue to get better from."
Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo lauded his young hurler's mid-game adjustments.
"If somebody did something to him, then he comes back with something else," Montoyo said. "You don't teach that, he's has it, which is pretty impressive for a young guy."
Manoah's night was complete after 6 2/3 innings and a season-high 114 pitches. The righty allowed two earned runs on five hits, surrendered two walks and struck out a career-high 11 batters.
Of course Manoah was fired up to get some run support, too. When Lourdes Gurriel Jr. took a third-inning trot around the bases and into the arms of Toronto's home run jacket, Manoah was near the dugout’s top step with a big smile on his face, eager to congratulate his teammate on the home run.
The Blue Jays played hot potato with the coat, as George Springer took the jacket from Gurriel Jr. with a solo shot—his first of two bombs on the night—a few batters later. The "Barrio Jacket” returned to its hanger until Hernández brought it back in the fifth. The Jays cleanup hitter clubbed his first career grand slam off Angels reliever Sam Selman to give Toronto a five-run cushion.
Toronto's bats paved the way for a low-stress victory, yet Manoah's dominance stole the show. Just don't try to fill the youngster's head with tales of personal glory.
"The boys are in a playoff hunt right now," Manoah said. "I don't know how many games back we are, I know we're close, and winning a World Series will be the biggest accomplishment. Nothing else matters."
