Toronto right-hander Alek Manoah is set to make his much-anticipated major league debut on Wednesday when the Blue Jays continue their three-game series against the host New York Yankees.
Ranked as one of Toronto’s top five prospects, the 23-year-old earned the call after going 3-0 with a 0.50 ERA in three starts for Triple-A Buffalo.
Toronto snapped a six-game losing streak with a 6-2 win on Tuesday. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. belted his major league-leading 16th homer while Steven Matz recorded a season-high 10 strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings.
New York saw its six-game winning streak come to an end and received a scare when starter Corey Kluber exited after three innings due to tightness in his pitching shoulder. The right-hander is scheduled to have an MRI on Wednesday.
The Yankees will look to restart their offense against Manoah, who recorded 27 strikeouts and three walks in his first 18 innings in Triple-A.
“He earned his chance to get here. We’ll see what he does and we’re not going to put that much expectation on him,” said Toronto manager Charlie Montoyo. “We’re going to let him pitch and see what he does. He’s pitching at Yankee Stadium, but he earned it.”
New York designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton (strained left quadriceps) sat out Tuesday despite being eligible to come off the injured list. Manager Aaron Boone said Stanton could return at some point during the Toronto series.
“He’s getting close,” Boone said. “We’re just getting through these final couple of days of getting back to playing speed. Running bases will be a part of that, making sure we’re fully past this.”
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The Yankees were also without second baseman DJ LeMahieu, who was placed on the paternity list and is expected to return later this week.
The Blue Jays began their six-game road trip with an impressive performance on Tuesday. Guerrero led the charge and is 19-for-45 with eight homers and 15 RBIs over his last 11 games.
Yankees starters had held opponents scoreless for 37 1/3 consecutive innings before Guerrero ended the streak with a two-run blast in the third inning on Tuesday.
New York will look to begin a new streak behind right-hander Domingo German (4-2, 3.05 ERA), who won his second straight start last Thursday.
The 32-year-old tossed seven scoreless innings with no walks and five strikeouts in a 2-0 win over Texas.
German is 4-0 in his past six starts with nine runs (eight earned) allowed in 37 1/3 innings over that stretch.
Marcus Semien is 4-for-11 with a pair of doubles against German, who owns a 2-3 record and 3.86 ERA in six career games (four starts) versus Toronto.
Blue Jays outfielder Randal Grichuk continued his success against the Yankees with a ninth-inning homer on Tuesday. Grichuk has 16 home runs and 32 RBIs across 55 career games versus New York.
Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge extended his on-base streak to 16 games with a sixth-inning single on Tuesday. The slugger is 23-for-53 with five homers and eight RBIs during his streak.
–Field Level Media
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