Alek Manoah's start at triple-A didn't go exactly as planned.
The Toronto Blue Jays right-hander recorded just five outs for the Buffalo Bisons on Wednesday in his first rehab appearance with the club.
Through 1.2 innings, Manoah surrendered three earned runs on two hits, three walks and one hit by pitch while recording one strikeout.
He threw 49 pitches, including just 27 for strikes, while sitting around 91 m.p.h. with his fastball. The Blue Jays had said the aim was to get Manoah around 70-75 pitches.
Instead, he failed to even get through the second inning.
In his previous outing for double-A New Hampshire, Manoah allowed two runs on five hits in three innings.
Manoah underwent UCL reconstruction last season after a five-game return to the big leagues in which he posted a 3.70 ERA over 24.1 innings.
His 30-day rehab clock began with a single-A start on July 22.
The 27-year-old finished as a Cy Young Award runner-up in 2022 before struggling through 2023, where he shuttled between the minors and majors.
Since his dominant 2022 season, Manoah has thrown only 111.2 innings for the Blue Jays, holding a 5.40 ERA.
Later this week, two more intriguing pitchers will get the nod for the Bisons.
Top prospect Trey Yesavage will make his triple-A debut Thursday at 6:35 p.m. ET / 3:35 p.m. PT.
The righty is 5-1 with a 3.01 ERA and 134 strikeouts while allowing only 45 hits in 80.2 innings of work in the minors. The Blue Jays are open to the possibility of Yesavage joining the major-league club for the playoff push or the post-season if he continues to show well.
Trade deadline addition Shane Bieber, also coming back from Tommy John surgery, makes his third rehab start with the Bisons on Friday at 6:35 p.m. ET / 3:35 p.m. PT. The Blue Jays are hoping he throws 80-85 pitches.
Acquired from the Cleveland Guardians at the trade deadline, the 2020 Cy Young winner has allowed four runs and nine hits while striking out 12 in 10.2 innings with Buffalo in his two starts.
