TORONTO — If Alek Manoah’s sophomore season hadn’t become the stuff of lore before, it certainly has now.
Just hours after being scratched from Game 1 due to a stomach bug, Manoah grinded out 6 2/3 innings in the nightcap of Tuesday’s day-night doubleheader at Rogers Centre, helping the Blue Jays to a 7-2 victory over the Rays. The split of the twin bill maintained Toronto’s half-game lead over Tampa Bay in the American League Wild Card race, with two games remaining in the series.
It took the Blue Jays 16 1/3 innings to find their first lead of the twin bill. The bats were quiet until the bottom of the seventh in Game 2, when Whit Merrifield laced a two-run double and George Springer hit his 20th homer of the season to give Toronto a 5-2 lead. Teoscar Hernández and Matt Chapman each drove in a run in the eighth.
Manoah walked away with a no-decision, and maybe he deserved more. But his performance will likely go down as a pivotal moment in the Blue Jays’ season. The right-hander struck out five and allowed just two runs — solo shots by Ji-Man Choi and Jonathan Aranda — with five hits and two walks on 99 pitches.
Manoah’s absence from Game 1 added yet another layer of strategy for Blue Jays interim manager John Schneider. He employed Julian Merryweather as an opener and then turned to Mitch White, who pitched six gritty innings in Toronto’s 4-2 loss.