TORONTO — Alek ManoahIn a calm, subdued setting, he sat down in his chair in front his locker. Blue JaysAfter taking the loss in his first taste in postseason action, he was in clubhouse with his right shoulder wrapped in ice. Third baseman Matt ChapmanHe saw him and leaned over to pat him on the chest. Then, he spoke quietly to the starter before heading out.
Chapman, who often takes it upon himself to be a pillar of support for his teammates, had made a similar gesture earlier in the game, patting Manoah’s chest in the sixth inning as Blue Jays interim manager John Schneider walked to the mound to ask for the ball with two out.
Though Manoah battled in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, the biggest stage he’d ever pitched on in his young career, this was not the start the 24-year-old right-hander nor the Blue Jays wanted to open the postseason at home.
The Mariners scored three runs in an energy-sucking first inning, and Toronto’s bats couldn’t generate a big inning of their own against Seattle starter Luis CastilloUse as a reliever Andrés MuñozFor a disappointing 4-0 loss in Game 1, of the best-of-3 series at Rogers Centre
If the Blue Jays want to extend their season and advance into the American League Division Series against The Cleveland Indians, they must win the two remaining games. Houston Astros.
