NEW YORK – Whatever Alek Manoah and Gerrit Cole really think about each other, regardless of the Audi sign in foul territory at Yankee Stadium or anything Manoah said on Serge Ibaka’s cooking show last winter, what counts the most is what happens between the lines.
That doesn’t mean Manoah’s comments are meaningless. The Yankees, obviously, are aware that he invited Cole to walk past the painted-on Audi sign last summer then called him MLB’s biggest cheater a few months later. But it’s results that count most in the end, not verbal jabs.
On a cool afternoon in the Bronx Saturday, both starters pitched near the peak of their abilities. Cole held the Blue Jays scoreless for 5.2 innings. Manoah kept the Yankees off the board for seven. But after a drama-free afternoon from the starters, Anthony Volpe and Danny Jansen exchanged late-game two-run home runs to set up a DJ LeMahieu walk-off single against closer Jordan Romano as the Yankees won 3-2.
“Old-school baseball, right?” manager John Schneider said. “It was like, who’s going to blink first and neither one of (the starters) did. A pitching duel from top to bottom. They made big pitches in big spots, both of them, and we just came up with the short end of it.”
From a distance the Cole-Manoah matchup seemed primed for tension – especially after Yankees reliever Greg Weissert hit Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with a fastball late in Friday’s game. Yet as first pitch approached Saturday, and the two managers were asked about the possibility of bad blood, they seemed to be reading from the same playbook.
“No,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone. “It’s two good teams going at it.”
“Not at all,” Schneider echoed. “It’s just two good teams that play hard against one another.”
As it turns out, the managers were right. Cole was effective limiting the visitors to just two walks and four hits. His fastball touched 99 m.p.h. on his way to four strikeouts, and at one point he retired nine consecutive Blue Jays.
“He’s been doing it for a long time,” Schneider said afterwards. “You tip your cap, but you’ve got to take advantage when you do have him on the ropes.”
While Cole did hit one batter, there was no suggestion it was anything other than an accident. With two outs and one on in the top of the second inning, the right-hander hit Santiago Espinal on the right wrist with a 98 m.p.h. fastball, forcing the second baseman from the game. The team’s describing the injury as a contusion, with further tests to come.
But there was no retaliation from the Blue Jays, who fall to 12-9 with the loss. On a day Manoah had far better command than he has for much of the season, he stayed around the strike zone with only one walk and two hits allowed. Wearing short sleeves and high socks, he struck out five and needed only 85 pitches to work through seven innings.
“Much better command,” Schneider said. “Slider was good. He got a lot of quick outs with the sinker against a pretty aggressive team. Change-up was on against the lefties, too. More of what we’re used to seeing from him.”
Afterwards, Manoah attributed the strong start to early strikes that kept the Yankees behind in the count.
“Come in here and attack,” he said. “Get ahead early in the count and throw some of my nasty stuff. I think that’s what we’ve got to keep doing – getting ahead in the counts and making them put the ball in play or having some wiggle room to throw some put-away pitches.”
Defensively, it was a tough game for Alejandro Kirk, who dropped a pop-up for an error while allowing the Yankees to steal a pair of bases. Thankfully for the Blue Jays, though, Manoah escaped the second inning unscathed despite the misplay.
Even if it was soon overshadowed, Jansen’s home run was a significant development for the Blue Jays. The catcher started slowly at the plate but – like Brandon Belt, who hit his first homer Friday – has been swinging better of late.
“Jano’s been coming quietly with the quality of at-bats,” Schneider said. “Great at-bat. I liked his first swing on the foul ball and it’s obviously a big spot. Great swing by him.”
Aside from Jansen’s home run, the Blue Jays were quiet at the plate, combining for just seven hits as a team. Without much offence, they were unable to take full advantage of Manoah’s strong start. Maybe he out-duelled Cole, but as the final score reflects, the Yankees outplayed the Blue Jays as a collective.
“It’s just really good and exciting baseball,” Manoah said. “We’re excited to compete against them and go out there and battle. Every game in the AL East is a battle. We’re looking for a series win tomorrow.”
