Teoscar's slam, Manoah's 11 K's lift Blue Jays

ANAHEIM -- As soon as Teoscar Hernández connected on the 0-1 slider from Angels left-hander Sam Selman, he knew it was gone.

Then, when Hernández looked into the visiting dugout at Angel Stadium while the ball was traveling 419 feet to left field, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had made a beeline to the celebratory home run jacket that the Blue Jays habitually donned Wednesday night.

Hernández exemplified the power that Toronto’s lineup holds with his first career grand slam in the fifth inning, powering a 10-2 win over the Halos. The slugger’s 18th homer of the season continued the incredible stretch he’s had over the past nine days. Since Aug. 3, Hernández is batting .471 (16-for-34) with two homers and 14 RBIs.

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“No one talks about him that much. I think that's funny. He deserves so much credit,” Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said. “I mean, he's an All-Star. He was a Silver Slugger last year, and he keeps doing it. He does it when it counts, and it's been great. ... Like today, that was huge. That was the game."

Hernández’s hot streak has rubbed off on his teammates as George Springer and Gurriel each hit solo homers in the third against Angels starter Dylan Bundy, then Springer homered again in the ninth.

The offense came in support of another strong outing by Blue Jays rookie right-hander Alek Manoah. In his 11th MLB start, Manoah recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts and allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings. His lone blemish was a two-run homer to Shohei Ohtani in the third.

The 23-year-old Manoah now has 71 strikeouts this season, making him the first Blue Jays pitcher to reach the 70-K mark in as few as 11 games.

“That was outstanding. Of course, he's actually been good the whole time,” Montoyo said. “He had one so-so outing, but other than that, he's giving us a chance every time he pitches. But today was so huge, of course, because our bullpen was so thin and we needed some kind of start like that, and he gave us a big one.”

Manoah recorded 22 swing-and-misses while throwing 114 pitches, 78 for strikes. He relied heavily on his sinker (thrown 49 times) and four-seam fastball (42) as he cruised for most of the outing.

“He's got a very good slider and the sinker really does dive, and you saw a lot of blown-up bats,” Angels manager Joe Maddon said. “Plus, he goes out there with an attitude, not a bad thing. He thinks he's good. He is. With good health, that guy's going to be really good for a long period of time."

This series has featured a matchup of two American League MVP Award front-runners with Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Ohtani both showcasing their offensive ability (and Ohtani will pitch Thursday's finale). But in the fifth, Manoah got the best of Ohtani, striking him out swinging on five pitches.

“I was pretty excited [to face him]. I was able to get him two out of the four times," Manoah said. "Obviously, the long ball is something I'll definitely tell my kids about, and I'll definitely tell them about the punchout after that. It was pretty exciting.”

Although Manoah's pitch count was at 47 after facing six batters in the third, he settled back in the next inning. He struck out the side in order on 15 pitches in the fourth, then worked around leadoff singles in the fifth and sixth.

“I felt pretty good. I was able to locate the heater, I was able to get ahead with that,” Manoah said. “Put them away with some offspeeds and stayed on the attack with the heater. Everything felt really good. The zone was really good, I was able to attack it. That's pretty much all you can do.”

The Blue Jays will look for a series win on Thursday as they aim to take three of four in the series. They remain 2 1/2 games back of the Red Sox for the second AL Wild Card spot and a half-game back of the Yankees. Toronto also trails first-place Tampa Bay by 6 1/2 games in the AL East.