KANSAS CITY — If you described Zack Greinke without offering his name, he might sound too good to be true.
Imagine a pitcher who repeats his delivery, throws five pitches for strikes in any count and fields his position like a shortstop. In his prime, he’d touch 100 m.p.h. while mixing in slower-than-slow curves to keep the opposition guessing. When pitchers hit, he was the best at that, too. He’d even steal you some bases.
Now, at age 39, he’s more artist than power pitcher, sitting 90 m.p.h. with his fastball and topping out at 91. But still — when he’s on, he’s tough to beat and on Wednesday, Greinke was at his unpredictable best.
Thankfully for the Toronto Blue Jays, so was Alek Manoah. Over the course of seven dominant innings at Kauffman Stadium, Manoah out-pitched the former Cy Young winner on the way to a 3-0 victory that also saw Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his first home run of the season. As the game progressed, Manoah seemed to get stronger — not that his manager was surprised.
“Back on track for him,” John Schneider said. “He’s a fiery competitor, he understands situations in games. He doesn’t want to come out and he has a different gear. We saw it a lot last year and saw it again (against the Royals). You trust him in (big) spots.”
Wearing short sleeves on a cool night in Kansas City, Manoah allowed just one hit and four walks over the course of seven innings. It represented a significant bounce-back from a disappointing opening day start in St. Louis, but ironically enough Manoah was pitching with lower velocity Wednesday, averaging 91.4 m.p.h. with his four-seam fastball, compared to 94.2 m.p.h. in the opener.
Regardless, his stuff was clearly tough to square up even though the Royals stacked their lineup with six left-handed hitters. After 98 pitches from Manoah, relievers Erik Swanson and Jordan Romano closed the game out for the Blue Jays’ second straight win to even their season record at 3-3.
Like Yusei Kikuchi on Tuesday night, Manoah benefitted from some strong defensive work behind him.
“They’re amazing,” he said of the team’s fielders. “Their first step is really a difference maker. It kind of feels like they’re moving before the ball’s even hit. They’re really fast as well. They made some great plays out there today and we’ve got to utilize those guys.”
Offensively, the Blue Jays had trouble getting much going against Greinke, who allowed just one run over six innings of work on a Matt Chapman fielder’s choice.
“He’s the definition of pitching. A future Hall of Famer,” Manoah said of Greinke. “It was great to be able to go, 0-0 for five or six innings with him there. That was pretty fun.”
Before the game, Schneider marvelled at the longevity Greinke has shown in a game that’s evolved significantly over the course of the past two decades.
“How many years has he been pitching?” Schneider asked. “Watching him go from a power pitcher to a finesse pitcher and a guy who can flip in a 50 m.p.h. curveball, it’s pretty impressive seeing a dude like that pitch this long and morph himself into a different kind of pitcher over the course of his career. You never really know what you’re going to get with him. Definitely a tough guy to solve.”
But once Greinke left the game, the Blue Jays were able to add to their lead thanks to their number three and four hitters. Guerrero Jr. led off the eighth inning with his third hit of the evening — an opposite-field home run that travelled 389 feet.
“Impressive,” Schneider said. “That’s Vladdy being Vladdy right there.”
“My mentality is just trying to look for a good pitch,” Guerrero Jr. said through interpreter Hector Lebron. “Be patient, look for a pitch, trust my teammates — and if they don’t give me the pitch I’m looking for, just take my walk.”
He’s done plenty of that early in the season, with five walks in the Blue Jays’ first six games. As for the home run, it was welcome — but not something he was actively trying to hit.
“I mean, I feel relaxed these days,” Guerrero Jr. said. “I’m the kind of person who believes when you’re trying too hard, when you look for it, it’s going to be harder. So I feel relaxed.”
The next batter, Daulton Varsho, connected for a double that gave him three hits on the night, and he’d later score on a Chapman single. Varsho, who started the game in centre field, is immediately showing why the Blue Jays were willing to part with top catching prospect Gabriel Moreno to acquire him. With power, speed and plus defence, he’s an impact player across many aspects of the game.
Beyond Guerrero Jr. and Varsho, the Blue Jays were quiet at the plate, leaving eight runners on base. Thanks to Manoah, though, they didn’t need much offence. On a night two elite pitchers took the mound, the 25-year-old outpitched the 39-year-old by just enough.
