The Blue Jays All-Star right-hander came close to a nightmare scenario Friday when he was forced to leave his team’s 4-2 loss to the Tigers with a right elbow sprain 87 pitches into his outing. But Manoah’s precautionary X-rays were negative and he is unlikely to miss the start. In fact, as he told Blue Jays manager Jose Ministral, the 24-year-old was ready to go on into the sixth inning at the Rogers Centre. “He said, ‘Are you crazy?’ said Manoah, after the game, of his interaction with Minstral. “… Honestly, I didn’t even think I needed the X-ray, but they wanted to do it [as a precaution]. Everything was negative, everything is clean, so I’ll get on the horse and be back there in five days.” Manoah told reporters that his immediate reaction after taking Jonathan Schoop’s boat in hand was more shock than actual pain. He brought his left hand to his elbow and ducked, crouched next to the mound as the defense recorded the push at first. Wladimir Guerrero Jr. motioned to catcher and interim manager John Snyder, who brought in Tim Maiza, ending Manoa’s 5 1/3 inning night. “[Mayza] it was anyway and we kind of headed in that direction,” Snyder said of his decision to pull Manoah. “He’s competitive and wanted to stay, but it was a fairly easy decision to take him out to be safe.” The Blue Jays’ trademark move is to be careful with their stars. Manoah’s early departure came on a night when Toronto took the field without two of its biggest stars, George Springer and Bo Bichette, both dealing with discomfort after a big game against the Tigers. Bichette pinch-hit with two outs in the ninth, pinch-hitting to center to end the game, but his absence — and Springer’s — proved costly during the game. The Blue Jays offense mustered just four hits off Tigers pitchers in an outing that might as well have been a showcase for a parade of relievers on the trading block — many of whom, like Michael Fulmer and Will Vest, would fit like a glove for the hosts. While Manoah didn’t have his “sharpest outing,” as Schneider put it afterward, he kept his team in the game despite a tepid offensive night. He struck out four Tigers batters and allowed four earned runs, including a solo shot to Willi Castro. “We hold him to a pretty high standard,” Schneider said. “I don’t think his stuff has been as crisp as it has been, and that’s over the course of a long season. But he was good. I’m not going to put anything more than that. He was good. I think we expect him to dominate a lot of times, but it was just one of those nights for him.” Like many other teams this year, the Tigers loaded up with left-handed batters against Manoah, whose splits show that this is an area that needs improvement. Tough matches coupled with inconsistent management of the two-seam and four-seam pitches made it a rare night for Manoah. He wanted to continue, but respected the coaching staff’s decision to pull him. “Somebody has to be the smart one, you know,” Manoah joked. “It was the right time to get me out, and the bullpen did a great job.” While the organization let out a collective sigh of relief at the negative X-rays, Manoah’s injury scare came at an interesting time. Left-hander Yusei Kikuchi made a solid return from the 15-day IL on Thursday, seemingly giving the Blue Jays some clarity around their rotation ahead of Tuesday’s Trade Deadline. But Friday’s scene brought back the memory of Kevin Gausman missing time after being hit on the ankle by a fan, and it came just moments before coveted starter Luis Castillo reportedly packed his bags for Seattle. No need to panic. But every loss, injury scare and rival trade should heighten the Blue Jays’ urgency to make moves.
