John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
TORONTO — Alek Manoah had the best start of his career, allowing just one run in eight innings of work. He believed he had a chance for a first full game, having made only 83 shots.
Manager Charlie Montoya disagreed with him.
The two men had a heated discussion in the Jays’ dugout as No. 1 reliever Jordan Romano walked up to the mound and pitching coach Pete Walker tried to calm things down between Manoah and Montoyo.
Romano had three quick strikeouts for his 14th save of the season as the Jays defeated the Cincinnati Reds 3-1.
After the meeting, Manoah assured not to be angry with his manager.
“I think he knows how competitive I am,” said Manoah (5-1), who allowed seven hits and struck out four. As a competitor, I’m just doing my job. It’s not every day that a feat like this is within your reach.
“However, we rely on the best reliever in baseball. He did his job by preserving my victory and we are turning the page.
Montoyo enjoys Manoah’s intensity, even when it’s directed at him.
“I love the youngster! Whether we’re fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth, he never wants to leave the game and that’s why he’s so good.
On offense, Bo Bichette hit two homers, including the one that gave his team the lead. These are the 50th and 51st long balls in the career of Bichette, who is only 24 years old.
“I didn’t know 50 was a plateau, but I’m grateful for that,” Bichette joked. I’m grateful to be here and to have the opportunity to homer in Major League Baseball.”
Second baseman Santiago Espinal extended his career-high streak to 14 games and tied for the longest active streak in the Majors.
Joey Votto, who grew up in Toronto, opened the scoring for the Reds (11-28) with a one-run double. Hunter Greene was not involved in the decision. He allowed one run and four hits in six innings of work. Luis Cessa (2-1) took the loss while Jeff Hoffman also took over.
Manoah was solid defensively in the fourth inning when outfielder Tommy Pham hit a ball his way. Manoah caught it before gently tossing it to third baseman Matt Chapman to complete the double play.
Votto, on the next at-bat, hit a double along the first base line and Tyler Naquin crossed home plate to give the Reds a 1-0 lead.
Bichette started the tail end of the fourth inning with a home run over the left field fence. It was his fifth four-goal hit of the campaign.
Espinal kept his hit streak alive by slamming a single in the sixth inning. He tied Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert for the third-longest hitting streak in 2022. St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt also stretched his streak to 14 games on Saturday .
Raimel Tapia singled in the seventh inning and made it to third base on a George Springer hit. Springer attempted to stretch that single into doubles, but was pinned at second base.
Bichette drove to the plate and catapulted the first pitch he saw from Cessa to the second balcony to give the Blue Jays a 3-1 lead.
The Torontonians had struggled with the long ball in May. Bichette’s home runs were only the Blue Jays’ 10th and 11th in the past three weeks.
Manoah once again showed his defensive prowess, in the eighth inning, when he grabbed a bunt from Naquin to put it out on first base. Romano struck out Pham, Votto and Tyler Stephenson to end the game.
