Alek Manoah hasn’t looked like himself this season.

The Big Man was named Opening Day starter, which was a no-brainer given the excellent season he put together for the Blue Jays in 2022, and the Cardinals tagged him for five earned runs over just three-and-one-third innings.

Manoah had a dominant start against the light-hitting Royals in Kansas City, tossing seven scoreless frames on just one hit, but he wasn’t able to clear five innings in his next two starts against the Detroit Tigers and the Tampa Bay Rays.

All told, Manoah has a 6.98 ERA over four starts. He’s allowed four home runs over 19 1/3 innings of work and he’s walked 15 batters compared to 16 strikeouts.

It’s difficult to say exactly what’s going on with Manoah this year, whether it’s a struggle with the pitch clock or if it’s something physical with his delivery. There was bound to be some regression as his sparkling 2.24 ERA in 2022 was a decent amount higher than his 3.35 FIP but this is far and away the worst stretch of starts we’ve seen from Manoah since he made his big-league debut just under two years ago.

Speaking of that debut, Manoah’s next start will take him back to where it all began as his next turn in the rotation is scheduled for Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.

Manoah made his first-ever big-league start in New York against the Yankees back on May 27, 2021, and he tossed six scoreless frames on two hits, two walks, and seven strikeouts. In six outings against the Yankees for his career, Manoah has a 2.31 ERA. That number is even better when Manoah pitches in New York, as he boasts a 1.52 ERA over four starts at Yankee Stadium.

Now, of course, good results in the past against one team doesn’t guarantee good results in the future. Manoah also had great numbers against the Rays for his career and they tagged him for seven earned runs during Sunday’s loss.

The Yankees are off to a 10-6 start, the same record that the Blue Jays have through the first couple of weeks of play. Their offence has been just slightly below average, as they’re scoring 4.62 runs per game, and their lineup just took a hit with Giancarlo Stanton going on the Injured List with a left hamstring strain.

It looks like Manoah will be opposed by Gerrit Cole in Saturday’s game, which would be their first head-to-head since…

This will be a huge start for Manoah. A tough outing in New York would be a difficult pill to swallow because there isn’t a fanbase out there who are rooting against Manoah harder than Yankees fans are. A strong outing would make those rough starts against St. Louis, Detroit, and Tampa much easier to forget.