Dazed and defeated Blue Jays Alek Manoah struggles in yet another loss

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They are at a loss for words really, trying to keep it simple when nothing is anything close to that for Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah.

“Throw strikes,” Toronto manager John Schneider said when asked what the key might be to rediscover the form that made Manoah a Cy Young finalist in 2022.

Yes, if only was that easy for the big right hander, who looked dazed after another rough and abbreviated outing on Wednesday night at the Rogers Centre.

In his 12th start of the season, Manoah only made it through four innings and nothing more in a 4-2 loss to the Brewers and when his manager gave him the hook, had all the looks of a shaken young pitcher who has clearly lost his way.

After a lengthy dugout conversation with Schneider — one that Manoah had no chance of winning even though he had held the Brewers to just three hits and two runs — he plunked down in the Jays dugout and as TV cameras zoomed in was seemingly fighting back tears.

With a pitch count at 89, built in part by walking the leadoff batter in three of his four innings, the hoped-for reboot of Manoah’s season went offline in a hurry.

“It’s more mindset over mechanics right now, in walking to him and having conversations with (pitching coach Pete Walker),” Schneider said, before the game reaching for answers that remain elusive for his opening day starter. “I think his mechanics and his delivery are in a spot now where just trusting your stuff and getting in the zone.”

Trust is not high for either party right now, however.

Manoah is clearly fighting both himself and opposing hitters and is unable to prevail in either battle. He can’t locate effectively and consistently and repeatedly finds himself behind in counts. After two innings, his pitch count had already climbed to 48 and the Brewers were up 2-0 thanks to a two-run homer from Quebec native Abraham Toro in the second.

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Manoah did put together a 1-2-3 third inning, but laboured again in the fourth for yet another premature end to a start long before the sun set on a beautiful baseball night in downtown Toronto. The big righty hasn’t thrown seven innings in any of his past seven starts — a workload that was routine for him last season — and Wednesday’s effort followed a three-inning outing in his previous assignment.

While everyone involved keeps the glass brimming at half full with the belief that Manoah will work his way back into form, that broken-record narrative is becoming increasingly difficult to believe.

The Jays have now lost each of the past six games Manoah has pitched, cementing him as the current weak link of the rotation.

Schneider has steadfastly supported the 2022 All Star publicly but you have to wonder how much longer it can persist.

Then again, with a dearth of starting depth, the search for answers may continue.

DUGOUT DRAMA?

The dugout showdowns between Manoah, Schneider and sometimes Walker have had their contentious moments as the personalities clash.

But Wednesday’s summit between pitcher and manager seemed particularly painful, especially for Manoah, who seemed to wear a mix of anger, frustration and ultimately dejection.

Prior to the game, Schneider described what goes down in those meetings that have been all too frequent this season.

“We’ve been through a lot of intense conversations — some good, some bad,” Schneider said. “I think we both respect each other. In the heat of the moment, any one can say something that they don’t really mean or may regret, myself included.

“Sometimes it’s Alek and that’s part of what makes him great. I think we’re at the point now where he understands I’m trying to do what’s right for him and the team.”

GAME ON

Reliever Anthony Bass was roundly booed when introduced as he came in to pitch the ninth and even louder when he walked Victor Caratini to lead off the inning … Surely factoring into Schneider’s decision to remove Manoah was the fact that his team was very much in a ball game against a Brewers opponent that didn’t exactly scream formidable and at the time, it was a 2-0 ball game … The Jays got on the board in the fifth when a Kevin Kiermaier triple brought home Whit Merrifield from first … The Brewers added some insurance in the seventh on a two-RBI double from second baseman Owen Miller … After missing a pair of games to nurse a stiff back, Kiermaier was back in centre field and based on the speed he flashed on that triple, appeared to be feeling good … Could the bat of Matt Chapman be reheating after a couple of doubles on Wednesday? … With the loss, the Jays record slipped to 29-27 with a matinee rubber match in the three-game series with the Brew Crew on tap for Thursday … Another sellout crowd of 42,205 didn’t get much to rally around as the Jays dropped to 4-4 in their past eight.