TAMPA, Fla. – Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah stumbled, literally, on his first pitch against the AL East-rival Yankees in 2022.
Manoah lost his balance and fell while throwing a ball to Aaron Judge in the first inning of Toronto’s 10-9 exhibition win Saturday.
“There’s just a lot of rocks out there on that mound,” Manoah said. “Once I was able to kind of get under it a little bit, I feel like my front foot just slipped right through me.”
Last May, the 6-foot-6 right-hander cruised through six scoreless innings in his major league debut against New York. The 24-year-old went on to finish eighth in AL Rookie of the Year voting.
After his misstep Saturday, he showed signs he’s ready to build on that big rookie year. He allowed two hits, two walks and struck out three over 3 1/3 scoreless innings against a lineup that included Judge, Josh Donaldson, Joey Gallo, Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu and Aaron Hicks.
“I just think it’s fun to come in here in their ballpark and kind of just get that in-season vibe a little bit,” Manoah said. “It’s a lot easier to stay at home in the controlled environment, but to be able to come over and face all their guys obviously is something I wanted to do.”
Taken 11th overall in the 2019 draft by the Blue Jays, Manoah was called up from Triple-A Buffalo to start against the Yankees on May 27 and gave up two hits, walked a pair and scattered two hits in a 2-0 win.
He wound up going 9-2 with a 3.22 ERA in 20 starts and was part…