CHICAGO – Toronto pitcher Alek Manoah is set to return from a conditioning stint and start for the Blue Jays on Friday.
Jays manager John Schneider told reporters before Toronto’s series-opening game against the White Sox that Manoah will be on the mound when the team starts a three-game series in Detroit later this week.
Manoah started for the double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats on Sunday, striking out 10 and giving up one run on three hits over five innings.
The Blue Jays sent the struggling right-hander down to the minors on June 6 after he couldn’t get out of the first inning against the Houston Astros.
It was a stark contrast to his first two seasons in the big leagues.
After going 9-2 with a 3.22 earned-run average over 20 starts as a rookie in 2021, the six-foot-six Manoah went 16-7 with a 2.24 ERA in 31 starts last year. He finished third in American League Cy Young Award voting.
But this season he went 1-7 with a 6.36 ERA in Toronto before being demoted to the minors to focus on his delivery and throwing strikes.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 4, 2023.