TAMPA, Fla. — Toronto Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah was hit hard in his first game after returning to the minors, allowing 11 runs over 2⅔ innings in a rookie-level Florida Complex League game Tuesday.
The Blue Jays sent the struggling right-hander down on June 6 after the 2022 All-Star and AL Cy Young finalist couldn't get out of the first inning against the Houston Astros.
Pitching for the FCL Blue Jays against the Yankees at New York's minor league complex, he gave up 10 hits, including two homers, two walks against a lineup comprising players who were mostly 17 to 19 years old.
After Manoah, 25, allowed an RBI single to Hans Montero in the first, Roderick Arias hit a second-inning three-run homer that cleared the approximately 30-foot center-field batter's eye.