Blue Jays lose starter Alek Manoah at a tough time in the schedule

The Toronto Blue Jays announced yesterday that starting pitcher Alek Manoah will head to the 10-day injured list after slipping in the dugout at Sahlen Field and landing on his back. The club is hopeful the right-hander will miss only the one game as his injury has been retroactively moved to July 16th, meaning he could return by next Monday at the earliest.

The Blue Jays currently sit 7.0 games back of the Boston Red Sox in the AL East and sit 3.5 games back of a Wild Card spot. The club started the second half of the season off with a bang, sweeping the Texas Rangers in three games before getting whomped by the Red Sox to the tune of 13-4 last night. Ross Stripling and Anthony Kay both struggled to get outs and keep the ball from going over the fence, surrendering 11 earned runs combined and four home runs (two home runs apiece).

Since being called up to the big leagues, Manoah has been a driving force in the rotation, adding an energized spark to a team that was looking for another starting pitcher after fellow prospect Nate Pearson struggled in his debut and inconsistency from bullpen-heavy games. Through eight starts, the Florida native sports a 2.90 ERA with 15 walks, 52 strikeouts, and a 1.066 WHIP through 40.1 innings.

Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Alek Manoah heads to the injured list during a rough time in the schedule, as the club could gain some ground on the Boston Red Sox within the AL East with wins over the next two weeks.

https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/1417249119337422852

Manoah was supposed to pitch tonight in Buffalo against the Red Sox but will now be replaced by Thomas Hatch, making his season debut with the Blue Jays after spending the first half of the season on the IL and rehabbing in AAA.

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With the Bisons, Hatch has been throwing well, starting eight games and pitching to a 2.15 ERA through 29.1 innings while striking out 29 batters compared to 12 walks. His last outing saw him go five innings while striking out six batters and surrendering only one earned run.

The Manoah injury comes at a tough time in the schedule as the Blue Jays are set to face the Red Sox seven times (including last night) over the next two weeks and will also be facing the first-place New York Mets for a three-game series.

If the Blue Jays were to win five out of the seven games against their division rivals, they would skyrocket up the standings and gain some serious ground in a short amount of time to contend for first place in the AL East. The right-hander was scheduled to face the Red Sox twice over the next two weeks, and with the injury, he could face them next week if he returns from the back injury next Monday on schedule.

Let’s hope Hatch can have a solid start tonight against the Red Sox to give the bullpen some rest after the rough game yesterday and give the Blue Jays back some momentum in the series.

A few days ago I wrote about how Hatch should be brought up to help the bullpen and was most likely being kept stretched out as a starter for injury purposes and long-term development as a starter. With the Manoah injury, I can honestly say that I am quite glad the Blue Jays kept him in this role and that they did not take my opinion to move him to the bullpen (not that they would but you get the point).

With Manoah missing his next start and Kay struggling yesterday against Boston, having Hatch start tonight puts the Blue Jays in a better position to win than the other options on the roster. Let’s hope for a better result tonight and hopefully keep the Red Sox to under double digits before the third inning.