Manoah looking like an ace again

Positives have been few and far between for the Blue Jays this season but the re-emergence of Alek Manoah certainly qualifies as one of the rare developments worth celebrating.

- GREGOR CHISHOLM

Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah has not allowed an earned run in his past two starts while going seven innings in consecutive starts for the first time since 2022.

Manoah’s command and velocity have returned to previous levels. The same could be said about the mound presence and swagger that fans came to appreciate during his first two seasons.

The former Cy Young candidate looked as good as ever on Sunday as he limited the Tampa Bay Rays to one hit across seven scoreless innings in a 5-2 victory at Rogers Centre. Manoah struck out seven and walked just one while Daniel Vogelbach chipped in with a solo homer as part of a three-hit day.

“AL East opponent, we didn’t want nobody coming into our house and sweeping us,” Manoah said after the Jays snapped a three-game losing streak. “The biggest thing was going out there, setting the tone, getting a big win and get this thing rolling.”

Manoah will have to keep pitching like this for awhile before he can be deemed all the way back, but his last two outings have been extremely encouraging for an organization that hasn’t had much to cheer about lately. He hasn’t allowed an earned run in either of his last two starts while displaying the mid-90s velocity that went missing through much of 2023.