Manoah strikes out career-high 10 to lead Blue Jays past Rays
Springer, Semien, Guerrero Jr. each homer for Toronto
Alek Manoah, back from a five-game suspension, struck out a career-high 10 over seven innings of three-hit ball for the Toronto Blue Jays in their 11-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night.
George Springer, Marcus Semien and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered for Toronto, which has won nine of 12. Semien, elected an All-Star starter Thursday, scored three times.
Manoah (2-0) allowed only Francisco Mejia's bloop double with one out in the sixth and then clean singles by Wander Franco and Joey Wendle in the seventh. The 23-year-old rookie also walked Ji-Man Choi in the first.
Luis Patino (1-2), fresh off 17 straight shutout innings at Triple-A Durham, was tagged for six runs in the first two innings but settled down to retire 10 straight batters before allowing a sixth-inning run. He struck out five and yielded seven hits and a walk for Tampa Bay, which dropped its fourth straight overall and ninth in a row on the road.
ManOah man 😳 <a href="https://twitter.com/Alek_Manoah47?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Alek_Manoah47</a> fanned seven STRAIGHT hitters! <a href="https://t.co/5cp3wY3A2r">pic.twitter.com/5cp3wY3A2r</a>
—@BlueJaysMejia finished with two doubles and Brandon Lowe had an RBI double in the eighth as the Rays spoiled Toronto's shutout bid.
Springer hit his fourth homer, a two-run shot to straightaway center field, in the first. One inning later, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Reese McGuire, Guerrero and Semien all had RBIs as Toronto rallied for four more runs and jumped out to a 6-0 lead.
In the seventh, Semien led off with his 21st homer and Guerrero added his 27th to plate two runs and tie Boston's Rafael Devers for the American League RBI lead with 69. The figure also matches Guerrero's personal high from 2019.
Alek Manoah (23 years, 174 days) is the youngest Blue Jays pitcher to throw 7+ scoreless innings and strike out 10 in a single game. <a href="https://t.co/4g1gnHAY8A">pic.twitter.com/4g1gnHAY8A</a>
—@ESPNStatsInfoTampa Bay outfielder Brett Phillips pitched the eighth inning and allowed one run.
Toronto lefty Nick Allgeyer made his big league debut, pitching a perfect ninth.
'I'm so happy for them'
The day after three Blue Jays were voted by fans into the starting lineup for the American League in the July 13 All-Star Game, manager Charlie Montoyo was beaming with pride.
"I feel like a dad, when your kids do something right," Montoyo said about the selection of Guerrero, Semien and Teoscar Hernandez. "I'm so happy for them. I know it was a voting deal, but they all earned it. Their numbers are amazing, and they all deserve to be there."
Meanwhile, Rays manager Kevin Cash was happy that two Rays minor leaguers — Durham right-handers Shane Baz and Joe Ryan — were chosen for the U.S. Olympic roster.
"They're both pitchers we think really highly of," Cash said. "For them to go represent your country, that's pretty special. We're proud as an organization of both of them."
