Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah had his start against the Baltimore Orioles Saturday cut short due to the forgetfulness of his manager, John Schneider.
Manoah had to exit the contest in the sixth after Schneider unknowingly made the Blue Jays’ second mound visit of the inning.
Schneider’s blunder forced the Blue Jays to turn to their bullpen with two outs and two runners on in a 2-2 ballgame. Luckily, left-handed reliever Tim Mayza got Toronto out of the jam by inducing a Joey Ortiz pop-out to avoid potential disaster.
Manoah had thrown 85 pitches before his start ended abruptly. So, it’s possible to believe Schneider wanted to go with Mayza in the first place. However, it was clear from Schneider and Manoah’s reactions that this was not the case.
Schneider seemed unaware that pitching coach Pete Walker had visited the mound earlier in the inning until home plate umpire Dan Iassogna informed him. Meanwhile, Manoah looked frustrated as he walked off the mound, flashing an annoyed grin before yelling into this glove.
This week has not been Schneider’s best. The Blue Jays manager came under fire on Wednesday after shouting from the dugout at New York Yankees third base coach Luis Rojas for leaving the coaches box.
Schneider’s antics occurred only a day after Blue Jays announcers alleged that Yankees’ slugger Aaron Judge was cheating after he glanced toward his dugout during an at-bat before hitting a home run.
Following Saturday’s misstep, Schneider might need a day off. Unfortunately, the Blue Jays don’t have an open date until Monday, May 29, over a week away.
