Manoah finding fun and success in spring adjustments

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- If there were any questions about Alek Manoah’s ability to adjust to the pitch timer, he has answered them with his first two spring starts.

Manoah was so efficient against the Twins on Wednesday that he went out for a fourth inning to get his pitch count in, even though the Blue Jays had projected just three frames for their prized starter. The right-hander struck out four and gave up a run on three hits in 3 1/3 innings.

“I felt great,” Manoah said after a 7-0 loss to the Twins. “Everything is coming out of my hand the same. I’ve been working on a lot of different combinations. I was able to get into the fourth inning. Felt good.”

In the spirit of working on several different pitch combinations, Manoah said he was excited to face a lineup with a lot of hitters he hadn’t seen before, so he could make adjustments based on their swings. The strikeouts, he said, came from tweaks based on what he observed from hitters earlier in the count.

Manoah credited Matt Wallner's RBI double in the fourth -- the sole blemish in his Wednesday start -- to Wallner’s patience and ability not to visibly change his swing based on what Manoah offered.

“I tip my cap to him,” Manoah said.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider wasn’t sure how Manoah would adjust to the timer, but he’s been pleased with the work his starter has done to make the change to his advantage.

“He works kind of slow,” Schneider said of Manoah. “In between pitches, he kind of rubs the ball, walks around, thinks a little bit, so I think having that kind of clock on him is going to be a different scenario, but he has handled it well. I think he’s one of the guys that will be able to manipulate it once he gets used to it, kind of like Chris Bassitt.”

Manoah is already getting an idea of how he can utilize the timer.

“I feel like there’s still a respect factor there,” Manoah said. “Tyler White blew both of his timeouts in both at-bats, and I could’ve pulled a [Max] Scherzer on him.”

Last week Scherzer was testing the boundaries of the pitch timer by working so fast he was called for a balk. Manoah, however, wasn’t trying to take it that far. Instead, he saw White’s use of his timeouts as a confirmation of how effectively he was working.

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“I think he needed to use those timeouts because I was working really fast and he didn’t have time to think,” Manoah said. “At that point I can do whatever I want. I can hold it all the way or I can continue to speed them up.”

Working with the timer in bullpens and live batting practice has given Manoah a greater idea of how much time he really has on the mound.

He believes that “respect factor” will carry into the season for pitchers and hitters alike.

“At the end of the day, we’re all in this together,” Manoah said. “We’re trying to win ballgames, but I don’t want anyone to wear a pitch. Guys are trying to feed their families. If it’s a gritty game and I need to sneak in a slider real quick, I might, but for the most part, try to keep that respect level and use the clock when I can. If the umpire wants to call strike three and [the hitter] is not in the box, I’m going to take it.”