We’ve got a change of plans for Tuesday’s doubleheader with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Originally, Alek Manoah was scheduled to start Game 1, while Game 2 was expected to be some kind of bullpen day that featured Mitch White logging the bulk of the innings. Instead, Julian Merryweather will be used as an opener for the first game and Manoah will start the second game.
The reason for this change is that Manoah woke up with a stomach bug and the Blue Jays are hoping he’ll be ready to go for the second game, which starts at 7:07 p.m. ET…
Alek Manoah woke up with a stomach bug so he’s resting now and #BlueJays are hoping he can be ready for Game 2
— Kaitlyn McGrath (@kaitlyncmcgrath) September 13, 2022
The immediate thought was that Manoah was dealing with an injury, so the fact that this is just a stomach illness is certainly a positive. But that said, this could still wind up being a difficult situation for the Blue Jays to navigate.
If Manoah isn’t ready to go for the second game of the doubleheader, the Blue Jays might wind up having to essentially do back-to-back bullpen games on Tuesday. Mitch White was recalled and hasn’t pitched in over a week so he should be able to handle multiple innings. Yusei Kikuchi pitched in Sunday’s loss to the Texas Rangers but also should be able to throw multiple innings again today.
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