Alek Manoah pitched six strong innings in his return to the majors, Whit Merrifield hit a grand slam and the Toronto Blue Jays rolled to a 12-2 win over the host Detroit Tigers on Friday night.
Manoah (2-7), a 2022 All-Star, was sent to the minor leagues after struggling through the first two months. He showed excellent control, holding the Tigers to one run and five hits while walking none and striking out eight.
Merrifield, an All-Star this season, has three homers in the last two games.
George Springer supplied two hits and three RBIs, including a two-run homer. Danny Jansen drove in two runs while Kevin Kiermaier had four hits and an RBI.
Losing pitcher Alex Faedo (1-4) gave up seven runs and six hits in 3 2/3 innings. Matt Vierling had three hits and an RBI for Detroit.
Toronto scored a run in the third. Kiermaier had a two-out single before Springer ripped a double to knock him in.
Detroit tied it in the bottom of the inning. Andy Ibanez and Jake Rogers hit back-to-back singles. One out later, Spencer Torkelson grounded a single up the middle to score Ibanez. The Tigers had a chance to tack on more runs after both runners advanced on a groundout. Kerry Carpenter then lined out to first, ending the inning.
The Blue Jays erupted for six runs in the fourth. Brandon Belt led off with a walk and advanced on a wild pitch. A Vladimir Guerrero single put runners on the corners and Matt Chapman walked to load the bases.
Merrifield brought in a run with a single. Jansen’s one-out double to left knocked in two more runs. Kiermaier followed with an RBI groundout before Springer blasted a two-run homer just inside the left-field foul pole.
Detroit scored in the eighth when Vierling drove home Zach McKinstry with a two-out single.
The Blue Jays scored five runs in the ninth on Guerrero’s RBI single and Merrifield’s slam off Jose Cisnero.
–Field Level Media
