'We Gotta Win': Blue Jays' Alek Manoah Fortifies Big-Game Reputation

Alek Manoah's 2022 debut had to wait.

On Opening Day, the Blue Jays' big righty watched from the dugout, nestled along the rail between Zack Collins and Yusei Kikuchi. Entering his sophomore season, Manoah wasn't tasked with the opener, as that responsibility fell to veteran José Berríos.

But Manoah knows his time will come. After just 21 MLB starts, the 24-year-old has already established himself as a big-game pitcher, embracing the bright lights and elevating his play during Toronto's playoff push last year. While Manoah started 2022 as Toronto's fourth starter, he'll be an Opening Day guy soon enough—especially if he continues to rise to the moment, as he did on Monday.

"I think there is an extra sense of, we gotta win this frickin game, you know?" Manoah said of facing tough opposition. "But obviously I want to try to do good against everybody, that's the goal."

The tougher the competition last year, the better Manoah performed. Against teams below .500, Manoah posted a 4.1 ERA in nine starts. Against above .500, the ERA dropped to 2.56. In two 2021 starts against the Yankees, the rookie posted a 2.31, and in his 2022 debut, the New York domination continued.

Manoah punch into his glove as Alejandro Kirk fired him back the ball after a first-pitch strike to begin the game. Two pitches later he was already stalking around the mound with a strikeout under his belt, returning to the rubber to prey on the next. The following two batters didn’t fare any better, as Manoah busted Aaron Judge in on the hands after dropping a sneaky changeup under the bat of Anthony Rizzo. 

The change-of-speed pitch is one Manoah has been toying with over the last few seasons, looking for the compliment to his fastballs and slider. He threw it 15 times on Monday, but it didn't look like the change he threw less than 10% of the time in 2021. The pitch sat around 87 MPH and dove under bats with late-life thanks to much higher spin rates than his changeup from last year.

A fourth weapon proved too much for the Yankees, as Manoah finished with six shutout innings with seven strikeouts and one hit against. Even when Manoah got in trouble, losing his release point in the fourth, the defense was there to back him. With the bases loaded on three walks, Manoah induced a broken-bat dribbler.

As Matt Chapman fell to his left, swiping at the bouncing ball, Bo Bichette swooped in behind to backhand the grounder. The shortstop fielded and flung across the diamond, finding Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s glove at first.

As the out was recorded, Manoah bounced back to the dugout, releasing a “Let’s Go” as he pumped his first. The 24-year-old knows he'll get his starts and doesn't care when they come—the Jays will certainly take 30 more like Monday's—but if he keeps rising to the moment, the big games will find him.

"It would be pretty cool in the future, when my time comes, for me to be able to get a couple [Opening Day starts]," Manoah said.