'I Feel Good When He's on the Mound': Blue Jays' Manoah Earning Ace Reputation

Blue Jays bullpen coach Matt Buschmann said he doesn’t believe in role assignments for his pitchers.

Fireman? Stopper? Forget it. Everyone contributes when called upon.

"I think everything is about kind of holding the line and holding the game to where it's at,” Buschmann said after the second game of Toronto’s four-game series versus the Red Sox. “So everyone's kind of a stopper in that sense."

Fine, if the team won’t put a tag on their relievers, then how about the starters? Alek Manoah certainly looks deserving of a special term (or at least something beyond his supposed nickname, “Big Puma”).

The big right-hander killed all Red Sox momentum in Thursday’s 1-0 Blue Jays win, using his fastball-slider mix to spectacular effect. So, as a defined role, how about 'co-ace' of this Toronto staff, alongside Kevin Gausman and José Berríos?

"[Manoah is] there right now," manager Charlie Montoyo said. "And that's a big compliment because the other two guys are pretty good, too. Yeah, he's there for me.

"I feel good when he's on the mound and and I think today the runs were going to be tough to find because we're facing good pitching. He did it again."

With just one run of offense behind him, Manoah buzzed through his seven shutout innings. From his pre-game prayer ritual to his last pitch of the game, the 24-year-old was in complete control. At certain points, it looked like Manoah had even pitched his way into his opponents' heads.

Alek Manoah's 4 Consecutive Ks. pic.twitter.com/6Xqya13U4y
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 28, 2022

In the fourth inning, Manoah squared off against a hitter with an equally competitive spirit. Boston’s Rafael Devers—who often audibly talks to himself in the box—stared down at Manoah before the pitch came in. When Manoah breezed a fastball up and away past him, Devers could only crack a smile.

"He's a really good hitter," Manoah said of Devers. "And I felt like we were battling the whole time, and kind of thought he was sitting on the slider there and wanted to challenge him."

The duel ended when Manoah rang him up on a four-seam fastball outside, leaving Devers glancing over his shoulder as he sauntered back to the dugout.

In the fifth, Christian Arroyo’s single and steal of second created some trouble. Manoah didn’t feel the heat, though, first pumping a fastball past Bobby Dalbec, then slipping a changeup under the bat of Travis Shaw. After his second strikeout of the inning, Manoah bopped his glove and raced into the dugout, making sure not to step on the foul line as he did it.

It’s all just a big game for Manoah, and he plays it so easily—Thursday’s gem assured him of his fourth straight quality start to begin the year. Last season, Manoah stirred up talks about Rookie of the Year voting, and while it’s far too early to tell, if he keeps pitching like this, he’ll be right in the thick of AL Cy Young discussions this time around.

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