The Toronto Blue Jays' bullpen showed up big after Alek Manoah was forced to exit because of elbow discomfort, and Toronto beat the fading Chicago White Sox 3-1 on Wednesday night.
After the game, Manoah shared his frustration after only making through 1.2 innings of the Blue Jays' win, per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com:
“Alek Manoah tells us that he was guarding his elbow early tonight, but that it “felt really pinchy” when he would extend fully through a pitch. ‘I feel … it sucks. I have my faith in god. I’ve dealt with a lot of shit this past year to get back to this point.' #BlueJays”
With two out and a runner on third in the second inning, Manoah was checked on by Blue Jays manager John Schneider and a trainer after throwing a 91 mph sinker to Dominic Fletcher. The big Toronto right-hander then exited the game after a short discussion on the mound.
The 26-year-old Manoah will have an MRI on Thursday.
It's been a strange journey for Manoah after ending the 2022 season as a Cy Young Award finalist. In 2023, he regressed significantly and spent most of that season in the minors or dealing with an injury.
Just last week, Manoah took the mound for his third start of the season and threw for seven scoreless innings as he continued to work his way back from injury. He ended the day allowing just one hit, zero runs, one walk, and seven strikeouts.
That made two strong performances in a row for Manoah where he recorded an impressive 0.00 ERA with 13 strikeouts through 14 innings.
But on Friday against the Tigers, Manoah was roughed up – allowing six runs in just 4.2 innings in his most recent start before exiting the Blue Jays' win over the White Sox on Wednesday.
Blue Jays' offense continues to underwhelm this season
The Blue Jays had postseason hopes for this year, but things haven't gotten off to an encouraging start. Toronto is currently just 26-29 on the year, as the offense struggles to string together consistent quality at bats.
Toronto hitters are especially struggling early in games. In fact, the Blue Jays have now gone 22 consecutive games without scoring a run in the first inning – breaking a team record that dates back to the team's inaugural season in 1977.
While Vladamir Guerrero Jr. has improved after a slow start, Bo Bichette and George Springer have disappointed Blue Jays fans with their weak offensive output.
Since joining the Blue Jays in 2021, Springer has been a great player but a step below the kind of outfielder he was with the Astros. In his first three years in Toronto, Springer's OPS sat at .798 — down from .852 in Houston — while his power numbers also experienced a slight but noticeable decline.
Springer has an OPS of .605 through 49 games. He also has just 11 RBI this season. This is a huge drop-off for a player averaging 92 RBIs per 162 games in his career and is a major reason the Blue Jays are 27th in MLB in runs scored.
The Jays recently dropped Springer from the leadoff spot, putting him sixth in the batting order. But if the veteran outfielder does not improve soon, he might not see his name on the lineup card at all.
The Blue Jays have a day off before taking on the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday.
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