STRUGGLING JAYS `NEED TO REGROUP'
Toronto having trouble scoring runs but Manoah confident things will turn around
Alek Manoah was doing his thing on Sunday afternoon in front of a rare crowd of 20,000-plus at the Trop.
Working the umps. Yelling at the occasional opponent. Baffling Tampa Bay Rays hitters through five innings of two-hit ball and otherwise being the efficient, intimidating starting pitcher he has been throughout his young career.
And after a frustrating 3-0 loss that continued to expose the Toronto Blue Jays' offensive woes, the big right-hander showed the type of teammate he takes pride in being.
“I know exactly who is in that locker-room,” Manoah said of a Jays group that has lost six of its past seven games and four series in a row. “I think they just need to regroup.
“There's a lot of outside noises right now. Just stay within themselves. These guys can bang.”
The fiery competitor in Manoah wants to win every night out and he wears that attitude on and off the field. He showed it again in an outing in which he battled and allowed five hits and just one earned run through six innings of work.
Even with the bats once again dormant — providing a combined two runs in starts by Manoah and Kevin Gausman in this series being an unacceptable result — the 24-year-old is highly bullish on prospects going forward.
“We're just going through a little phase right now,” said Manoah, who was docked with his first loss since Aug. 17, 2021, a stretch of 14 starts. “This clubhouse is going to stay together and this offence is going to show up. No matter how good we pitch if we don't win a ball game, it doesn't matter.”
The offensive struggles are getting to the acute phase now as the Jays have been shut out three times in 35 games, matching the total for all 162 in 2021.
Add in a couple of uncharacteristic errors on Sunday by normally sure-handed third baseman Matt Chapman — his first two of the season — that led to the first two Rays runs, and it was evident it was going to be another one of those days for the Jays, whose record fell to 18-17.
There's no denying the team's defence has improved dramatically from last season as their six errors entering Sunday's contest were the fourth fewest in the American League. But when the offence isn't producing, even the smallest of miscues are magnified.
“You've got to pitch and play defence to win games. I didn't expect our offence to struggle like we did,” manager Charlie Montoyo said. “We didn't play a clean game, but our offence didn't do anything. When you're not hitting, there's no room for error.”
On Sunday, it all fell apart in a disastrous sixth inning that in many ways typified the Jays struggles this week.
After allowing a couple of weak one-out hits to Brandon Lowe and Wander Franco, things fell apart in maddening fashion. First, Chapman fielded a ground ball and attempted to make the force out at second. Instead, the ball went to the right of second baseman Santiago Espinal and into centre field and the first run of the game came across.
A wild pitch from Manoah with Ji Man Choi at the plate brought home another and then Choi chipped in with a broken-bat single. Just like that, a pitching masterpiece had unravelled.
“Chapman's head should be very high,” Manoah said of the perennial Gold Glover at the hot corner. “That guy makes every play and has won every award that you can think of so he's allowed to have a bad day.
“We're going to see (the Rays) plenty more times and we're going to be better than we were today.”
STAY THE COURSE
Chapman is well aware of the fact his team has struggled but feels the latest run will make them stronger deep in the season.
“How we've been playing doesn't necessarily reflect in our record,” Chapman said. “I know that if you talk to any guy on our team right now, they'd probably think that they could be playing better than they are.
“It's one of the things when we're in the middle of the summer and we're rolling we can look back and remember May and maybe how it made us stronger.”
Chapman said the mindset in the Jays clubhouse is to turn things around quickly but not to get caught up in forcing the issue.
“A lot of things get amplified at thee beginning of the season and everything's under the microscope,” Chapman said. “There's a sense of urgency but there's no panic.
“There has to be urgency where it's important to realize it's not OK to lose. But you can't let it be detrimental and carry over into the next day.”