Detroit Tigers vs Toronto Blue Jays Picks and Predictions May 24th 2024

Blue Jays Look to Manoah for Continued Success Against Struggling Tigers

Manoah’s Return to Form

Alek Manoah is beginning to act the name pitcher who entered an All- Star assignation in 2022. Following a tough 2023 season, the Toronto Blue Jays’ pitcher has now produced two impressive seven- inning showings in a row. His fourth season launch will be against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night.

Manoah( 1- 1,3.00 ERA) gave up just three unearned runs and four hits to the Minnesota Twins on May 12, then held the Tampa Bay Rays to one hit and one walk as he earned his first win of the season.

“He looked great again,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “I just love the way he is attacking the zone. His last outing vs. Minnesota and [Sunday], this is probably the best he has looked even going back to 2022.”

Overcoming Past Struggles

In 2022, Manoah had an impressive season, finishing with a 16-7 record and a 2.24 ERA. However, he faced difficulties last season, struggling with his command and finishing with a 3-9 record and a 5.87 ERA. During the next year, his number of walks greatly rose to 59 in 87 1/3 innings from 51 walks in 196 2/3 innings the year before, leading to him being sent down to the minor leagues.

“I have no intention of looking back,” Manoah stated. “I am not going in that direction.”
He has played against Detroit four times in his career, with a record of 1 win and 1 loss, and a 4.09 ERA.

Pitcher on the other team: Matt Manning

Manoah will be up against right-hander Matt Manning (0-1, 4.88 ERA), who is also trying to solidify his position as a starting pitcher in the MLB. Manning has been shifting between Triple-A Toledo and the Tigers this spring, following 45 starts in the major leagues in the last three years.

Manning returned to Major League Baseball on May 13 when Kenta Maeda was out for 15 days due to an illness. Manning has faced challenges in his last few games, allowing three runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings against Miami on May 13, and four runs and 10 hits in five innings at Arizona on Sunday.

“He battled himself from the get-go,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “He lost a lot of first-pitch battles and they put some pretty good swings on him. He was under duress in just about every inning. He did control the innings when he could by not giving up the implosion where they get three, four, five runs.”

Manning, who is 1-1 with a 2.43 ERA in three career starts against Toronto, could be headed back to the minors regardless of his performance, as Maeda is expected to be activated this weekend.

Recent Team Performances

The Blue Jays won the opener of the four-game series 9-1 on Thursday night, with Daulton Varsho, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Isiah Kiner-Falefa all homering. Toronto has won four of their past five games.

Conversely, the Tigers have dropped five straight, being outscored 41-14 during that span.

“Obviously this is a tough stretch,” Hinch said. “I love the plan we have going into every night. Everybody understands it and then you have to go out and execute it. It gets tougher and tougher the more you bring some of the frustrations into the game and the lack of hits pile up on you.”

Looking Ahead

The Blue Jays are relying on Manoah to maintain his exceptional performance and lead them to another win against the struggling Tigers. At crucial junctures in their seasons, both teams are set to face a significant test of their resilience and skill in this matchup.