Toronto right-hander Alec Manoa was removed with one out. He gave up six runs on seven hits before being pulled. The bench couldn’t wait any longer.
Manoa started the game against the Houston Astros on Saturday (June 6) at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, but was pulled after giving up six runs on seven hits (one home run) and one walk in just one-third of an inning. Instead of having no sophomore jinx, the promising youngster, who was named to the All-Star team in his second year and finished third in the Cy Young voting, is experiencing a sophomore jinx.
Down 6-0 in the top of the first, the Toronto bench pulled second baseman Jay Jackson with runners on first and second. Jackson extinguished the flames, but Toronto was unable to overcome the early six runs and fell to 4-11.
Manoa needed 38 pitches to get that one out. To start, Manoa gave up three straight singles before giving up a home run to Corey Zeke with the bases loaded. The home run didn’t help matters after the bases were cleared. He gave up back-to-back singles to Yoenis Diaz and Jake Mayers.
Manager John Schneider’s patience ran out. He didn’t wait any longer and brought in the next pitcher. Jackson got out of a rundown of runners on first and second without allowing a run, keeping Manoa’s lead at six runs.
Manoa pitched his worst game of his career in front of his home fans. After winning four straight games to move within 2.5 games of the third-place Yankees in the American League East, Manoah’s performance put a damper on the excitement. The next game after Manoa’s start, the winning streak was snapped, again by Manoa.
The ⅓-inning stint was Manoa’s quickest since his major league debut. He was removed from a game against Washington on August 18, 2021, in his rookie season after allowing six runs in three innings, but has gone at least five innings since then. Last year, he went six innings or more in 25 of 31 games.
This year, however, he’s gone less than five innings in eight of 13 games. This was his worst outing yet, as he didn’t last more than one inning after giving up five runs and four earned runs in three innings against Tampa Bay on March 26 and two runs in four innings against Milwaukee on March 1. His season ERA is back up to 6.36 from 5.46.
For the third straight game, Manoa has been pulled before the fifth inning, indicating how the bench is looking at him. It’s hard to see him staying in the rotation alongside Ryu Hyun-jin. Ryu, who is rehabbing from elbow surgery, is expected to make a rehab start this month and return to a major league mound later next month.먹튀검증