Manoah beats back bug as Blue Jays reclaim WC lead

TORONTO -- Alek Manoah’s stomach illness had him tossing and turning for most of Monday night. It got so bad that in addition to texting Blue Jays trainer José Ministral at 2 a.m. ET, the right-hander considered a trip to the emergency room overnight.

When Manoah’s alarm went off at 8 a.m. Tuesday, he was ready to start Game 1 of the Blue Jays’ day-night doubleheader against the Rays.

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“It’s my turn in the rotation,” Manoah said after the Blue Jays’ 7-2 win in the nightcap, giving them a split of the twin bill at Rogers Centre. “It’s my job to go out there when it’s my turn and give it my all.”

The Blue Jays quickly shut down any plans to have Manoah pitch in Game 1 of a pivotal matchup against the Rays. Instead, they asked Manoah if he could be ready for Game 2, turning to Julian Merryweather as an opener and Mitch White as their bulk guy in the afternoon.

Manoah watched from afar as Toronto dropped Game 1, 4-2. He replenished his fluids and tried to keep his food down.

Not being ready for Game 2 wasn’t an option.

“My job is not to feel good. My job is to go out there and compete,” said Manoah, who received a round of IV fluids and was cleared to pitch by the Blue Jays’ medical staff once he arrived at Rogers Centre in the afternoon. “No matter what’s going on, the circumstances, I just have to go out there and give this team a chance. And I knew [my teammates] knew I was going through it. So I knew they’d pick me up.”

If his sophomore season hadn’t become the stuff of lore before, it certainly has now.

Manoah grinded out 6 2/3 innings, striking out five and allowing just two runs -- solo shots by Ji-Man Choi and Jonathan Aranda -- with five hits and two walks over 99 pitches.

What was Manoah thinking about pregame and between innings?

“Just worried about not throwing up,” he said.

Manoah walked away with a no-decision, but his teammates really did pick him up. Though it took the Blue Jays 16 1/3 innings to grab their first lead of the twin bill, Toronto’s offensive outburst in the seventh inning of Game 2 carried plenty of positives beyond helping the club to a pivotal win that moved them a half-game ahead of the Rays and Mariners in the American League Wild Card race.

It started with Whit Merrifield, who has been in a funk since arriving in Toronto in an Aug. 2 trade with the Royals and taking on a bench role for the first time in his career. After 14 games without an extra-base hit, Merrifield laced a two-run double off Rays reliever Colin Poche in the seventh inning to give the Blue Jays a 3-2 lead. George Springer, who hadn’t homered since Aug. 28, followed with a two-run blast. Toronto added two in the eighth during a well-rounded, if slow-starting, victory.

“Any time you see a ball go in the hole, especially in a big moment, it could jump-start you,” said Merrifield. “[My] swing’s feeling pretty good, so I'm hoping to come up with some more big moments.”

Another big moment, and a rather unexpected one, came from Alejandro Kirk, who electrified fans and players by scoring from first base on Teoscar Hernández's double in the eighth.

“Total team effort,” said Blue Jays interim manager John Schneider. “It's the most exciting play in sports when Kirky scores from first.”

Splitting the doubleheader was essential. But it was especially meaningful for Toronto to come through for Manoah.

“He's been great all year,” said Springer. “He's been a stopper, he’s been a horse, he's been everything that we would need him to be. And for him to grind it out, to say, ‘You know what? Screw it. I'm going to go play’ is huge. Pretty much just shows who he is.”

The Blue Jays’ starter was far from the only one playing through pain. This late in the year, a ballplayer is bound to experience some discomfort.

For Springer, it has been a right elbow issue, which has forced him to play with a brace and at times has limited what he can do on the field.

“I'm not going to complain,” said Springer. “I understand that my job is to show up every day and to give 100 percent of whatever I’ve got, and I’m not going to complain about it. I wish these were much different circumstances, but it is what it is. And now I'm just going to go play, and hopefully I can contribute.”

With 20 games left in the regular season and no guarantees in the postseason race, there’s no point in challenging that mindset.

“I feel good,” said Manoah after the game. “I feel like there’s four days until the next one.”