NEW YORK (AP) — A poised and confident Alek Manoah dominated the New York Yankees with six innings of two-hit ball to win his major league debut, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the New York Yankees 2-0 on Thursday in a doubleheader opener.
Marcus Semien and Bo Bichette hit back-to-back homers in the third inning off Domingo Germán (4-3), and Toronto improved to 6-3 against the Yankees this season by winning the makeup of Tuesday night’s rainout.
A 23-year-old right-hander selected 11th in the 2019 amateur draft, Manoah (1-0) was brought up after throwing only 35 professional innings in the minor leagues.
His mother Susana, wearing a white Blue Jays jersey with her son’s name and with her son’s name on the back, was part of a cheering section that stood out among the sparse crowd for the late-afternoon start and was visible crying when he faced DJ LeMahieu to start his big league career. She later blew her son kisses from the stands.
Manoah, a burly 6-foot-2, 260 pounds, walked LaMahieu on four pitches but then struck out Rougned Odor on three pitches, the last a changeup, then fanned Aaron Judge on a 97.3 mph full-count fastball, his fastest pitch of the game, and retired Gleyber Torres on a flyout.
Manoah allowed singles to Miguel Andújar in the second and fifth inning. He struck out seven and walked two, throwing 60 of 88 pitches for strikes and getting 10 swings and misses. He threw 30 fastballs, 26 sliders, 19 sinkers and 13 changeups.
Jordan Romano worked a 1-2-3 seventh for his second save, finishing a two-hitter in the seven-inning game under pandemic rules. New York did not advance a runner past first base as the Yankees were blanked for the second time this season. Toronto pitched its fourth shutout.
Semien and Bichette gave the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead by…
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