Alek Manoah’s mother, along with other family and friends, flew up from Miami to see her son make his MLB debut at Yankee Stadium on Thursday.
It’s one they’ll never forget, but one Aaron Boone and the Yankees have to forget quickly: a 2-0 loss in Game 1 of a doubleheader, a game in which the Yankees’ only baserunners came on two soft Miguel Andujar singles and a pair of walks drawn by DJ LeMahieu (his to open the game) and Rougned Odor.
“He was in control the whole game had three pitches going for him, and obviously we didn’t mount much,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after the game. “I think his fastball played up a bit, and he looked like he moved it around and mixed in his secondary pitches well.”
The Yankees had multiple challenges on the day, from the start time – which let shadows become a factor late in the game – to the sparse crowd (featuring quite a Toronto contingent there for Manoah’s debut) to having no book on the rookie, but Boone wouldn’t make excuses.
“The shadows rolled in and made it challenging, and you prefer to have as much info as possible, but you have to tip your cap – he pitched well and beat us today,” Boone said. “We’re frustrated, but we don’t have time for that right now, because we have to find a way to dig in and have good at-bats in Game 2.”
Manoah will get to watch that Game 2 with his first MLB victory under his belt, and the six innings he tossed in his debut pushing his career total to just 41.
“I just had to tell myself to go out there and have fun,” Manoah said. “It’s still baseball, 60 feet 6 inches. Have to go out there and attack, and that’s what I think I did today.”
And, his family will get to watch it, too, with a little less emotion than an afternoon game that saw Alek’s mom, Susanna, in tears in the stands as she watched her son live out his dream.
“I couldn’t let myself look up there until I came out, but I heard them a ton. That’s who I do it for. They helped me get here, and do everything for me to help me succeed,” Manoah said. “I’ve seen my mom not eat dinner to feed me and my brother. She’s my inspiration and I would do anything for her.
She teaches me how to work hard. Her, my father, my brother, everybody…I couldn’t be more thankful for them.”
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