“I found myself trying to be perfect and then…”
Alec Manoa (25, Toronto Blue Jays) has been in a terrible slump this season, and in an interview with local media, he said the above. He admitted that he had become obsessive about pitching too well, and that it was driving him into a slump.메이저사이트
“Throwing strikes is the best,” Manoa said at the time. Back in the Rookie League, he readjusted his pitching mechanics. After going 1-0 with a 14.09 ERA in two starts, Toronto recalled him before the All-Star break.
And Manoa turned it around in his return. On Aug. 8 (ET), he pitched six innings of five-hit ball against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan, to improve to 7-2 on the season with eight strikeouts and one earned run. His ERA was 5.91.
He didn’t throw his usual 95-96 mph fastball. He touched 93.7 mph when he struck out Spencer Tokelson in the first inning. He gave up a line drive to Matt Biering up the middle, but got Carrie Carpenter to fly out to left field on a high fastball.After inducing a double play in the second, he gave up back-to-back singles to Andy Ibanez and Zack Rogers in the third. The fastball was working, and he finally gave up an RBI single to Torkelson on a 93-mph fastball to center. But that would be the only run. He got Carpenter to line drive to first base on a changeup and induced a triple play in the fourth inning with six runs on the board. Another triple in the fifth.
Manoa was hit by a pitch to Biering with one out in the sixth, but he struck out Carpenter on a 94-mph fastball and Javier Baez on a 93-mph fastball. He used his slider effectively.
Manoa’s return gave Toronto’s starting rotation a breather. A full-fledged five-star rotation has been rebuilt. Now, when Ryu returns in late July, someone will have to move to the bullpen, which at this point is either Yusei Kikuchi or Chris Bassitt. Of course, Manoa still needs to be proven.