There seemed to be a little bit of gamesmanship from Toronto Blue Jays starter Alex Manoah when New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole took the mound Saturday afternoon. Just before he was set to throw the first pitch of Saturday's matchup between the Yankees and Blue Jays, Cole was forced to step off the mound as Manoah strolled out of the bullpen and towards Toronto's dugout. Given the history between the two pitchers, Manoah's timing might not have been an accident.

It's no secret that there's bad blood between Alex Manoah and Gerrit Cole. The Yankees' pitcher yelled at Manoah from the dugout during a game last season when the Blue Jays' ace hit Aaron Judge with a pitch. Not only did Manoah challenge Cole to confront him after the game, but months later Manoah called Cole the “worst cheater” in MLB.

Needless to say, it's not much of a leap to think that Manoah tried to throw Cole off his game at the start of Saturday's Yankees-Blue Jays game.

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Saturday's pitching duel between Manoah and Cole comes less than 24 hours after another heated exchange between the AL East rivals. Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. took exception to being plunked by Yankees reliever Greg Weissert in the ninth inning of Toronto's 6-1 victory in the Bronx Friday night. Anthony Rizzo had to be separated from Guerrero Jr. when the Yankees' first baseman defended his teammate.

Cole hit Blue Jays second baseman Santiago Espinal with a pitch in the second inning of Saturday's game. Although Cole was up 0-2 in the count and it was likely unintentional, it won't be surprising if Manoah responds before the game is finished.