Alek Manoah, the Opening Day starter for the Toronto Blue Jays who later was sent to the minors, is unlikely to pitch again this season, SportsNet reported Tuesday.

Manoah, 25, met last week with specialists who examined his ailing knee, back and right quad. While they didn’t find any structural damage, Manoah is expected to take the rest of the season off to recover.

Manoah, who was drafted by the Jays with the No. 11 overall pick in 2019, finished third in the American League Cy Young Award voting last season when he went 16-7 with a 2.24 ERA in 31 starts.

His 2023 season was derailed starting with the opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on March 30, when he gave up five runs on nine hits, including two home runs, in 3 1/3 innings.

On June 6, the Blue Jays optioned him to the Rookie-level Florida Complex League amid a 1-7 record with a 6.36 ERA and 42 walks over 13 starts. The move came one day after Manoah was chased after just one out in the first inning Monday against Houston, having yielded six runs on seven hits.

He was recalled a month later and made six starts, going 2-2 before being sent to Triple-A Buffalo on Aug. 11. He has not pitched since Aug. 10, when he gave up four runs on four hits in four innings to the Cleveland Guardians and was charged with the defeat in a 4-3 loss.

The Blue Jays (80-64) entered Tuesday with a half-game lead for the second wild-card berth in the American League.

–Field Level Media

Former teammates Ramon Laureano and Sean Manaea are expected to go head-to-head for the first time in their careers when the Cleveland Guardians and host San Francisco Giants continue their three-game interleague series Tuesday night.

In a battle of two teams that have done well in extra-inning games this season, the Giants overcame a 10th-inning deficit to pull out a 5-4 win in the series opener on Monday.

By virtue of running their extra-innings record to 10-3, the Giants (74-70) moved within 1 1/2 games of the third wild-card playoff spot in the National League.

The Guardians (68-77) fell to 11-8 in extra-inning affairs.

Laureano has not played since jamming his left hand into the outfield fence during the Guardians’ game against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday. The right-handed hitter figures, however, to get a crack at the left-handed Manaea in the type of matchup that has produced his best results this season.

Laureano has hit .279 against left-handers this year, as opposed to .191 against righties.

Manaea (5-5, 5.00 ERA), who was Laureano’s teammate from 2018-21 across the bay with the Oakland Athletics, is scheduled to make his first start since May 10. He has made 25 consecutive relief appearances since then, going 4-3 with a 3.86 ERA.

His most recent outing was last Wednesday on the road against the Chicago Cubs, allowing two runs in three innings of relief.

The 31-year-old has gone 3-0 with a 3.21 ERA in five career starts against the Guardians, who the Giants are playing in the only scheduled series between the teams this season.

Blake Sabol was one of the home team’s heroes Monday after a game-tying single in the 10th and subsequent steal that set up LaMonte Wade Jr.’s walk-off hit.

“We were talking among ourselves (after sweeping Colorado over the weekend): Play every game like it’s the biggest game of the year,” Sabol said. “It’s great that the wins are piling up; now we’re looking forward to (Tuesday).”

Manaea and Laureano won’t be the only players experiencing something new Tuesday, as projected Guardians starter Cal Quantrill (2-6, 5.70), a former Stanford star just down the road, will be pitching in San Francisco as a major-leaguer for the first time. He’s gone 1-0 with a 3.77 ERA in three career starts against the Giants.

The 28-year-old has pitched brilliantly after a nearly two-month absence due to sore right shoulder. He limited the Tampa Bay Rays and Angels to a total of two runs and five hits over 12 innings after making his return on Sept. 1.

“Mentally, it’s been tough,” Quantrill said of having made just 15 starts this season. “I take a lot of pride in taking care of myself, and this year has been hard for me. Hopefully, that was the last of it. I feel pretty good.”

–Field Level Media

San Diego Padres right-hander Michael Wacha will be out to add to an impressive season when the 32-year-old takes the mound on the road Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Wacha (11-3, 2.99 ERA) will return to the mound after one of his shorter outings of the season — four innings Wednesday in a loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. He gave up three runs on seven hits on 94 pitches.

He should have some offensive momentum behind him after the Padres (68-77) rallied from an early five-run deficit to earn an 11-8 victory over the Dodgers (87-56) on Monday. Manny Machado hit two home runs and Juan Soto had a go-ahead, three-run shot in the ninth, punctuating it with a bat flip high into the sky.

“I haven’t seen that in a while, and I have said often that we have the ability to do that,” Padres manager Bob Melvin said after his team improved to 2-2 at the start of a nine-game trip. “It was nice to be able to come back after being down big. A three-spot in the sixth was huge; obviously, four in the ninth and Juan’s swing was even bigger.”

Since returning Aug. 15 from an injury (shoulder inflammation), Wacha is 3-1 with a 3.51 ERA in five starts.

In his first season in a Padres uniform, Wacha has yet to face the Dodgers, whom he has struggled against in his career. In eight starts against Los Angeles, he is 1-5 with a 7.54 ERA.

The Dodgers will counter on Tuesday with right-hander Lance Lynn (10-11, 6.09), whose home-run issues are ongoing.

Lynn arrived to the Dodgers leading the majors in home runs allowed when he was a member of the Chicago White Sox. In his second, third and fourth starts with his new club, Lynn gave up just one home run combined. But over the last two starts, he has allowed six combined.

In consecutive losses to the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins, Lynn pitched to a 15.00 ERA. He has given up a career-high 40 homers this season.

“I mean, once you go over 30, who gives a (expletive)?” Lynn said. “You’re just trying to make pitches. It’s just kind of one of those years where they come in bunches. It’s been the worst of my career home-run-wise. Bad pitch selection, bad execution. Everything that could go bad has gone bad when they’ve had the opportunity.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts indicated that Lynn is still in line for one of three rotation spots in a likely National League Division Series appearance. But that strategy also is a product of starter Julio Urias being suspended indefinitely amid domestic-violence accusations and Tony Gonsolin lost for the season with an elbow injury.

There also is a mechanical issue with veteran left-hander Clayton Kershaw, who has not pitched in a week and is not scheduled to return to the mound until Saturday. Kershaw says he is not injured. Roberts first referenced an injury and now says, ‘The arm’s working well.”

The Dodgers should get some answers to their rotation questions by the end of the week and whether a rotation of Bobby Miller, Kershaw and Lynn would be viable for the NLDS.

“What we do with these guys still remains to be determined, as well as with all of the other guys, but in theory, yeah,” Roberts said about the initial playoff rotation plan.

–Field Level Media

Amid a heated pennant race, the Chicago Cubs have been forced to make some tough decisions. Selecting the contract of Pete Crow-Armstrong wasn’t a hard one, though.

Crow-Armstrong, a 21-year-old outfielder, is on a major league roster for the first time and is expected to help Chicago (78-67) down the stretch. He didn’t start Monday’s 5-4 comeback win at the Colorado Rockies but will get the chance soon, possibly Tuesday night when the teams play the second contest in a three-game series.

The Cubs will send Javier Assad (3-3, 2.83 ERA) to the mound while the Rockies will throw Chris Flexen (1-7, 7.36) in a matchup of right-handers.

Crow-Armstrong had a strong season in the minors. He combined to hit .283 with 26 doubles, seven triples, 20 home runs, 82 RBIs, 37 stolen bases and an .876 OPS in 107 games between Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa this season.

He’s also considered one of the top defensive outfield prospects and MLB Pipeline’s No. 12-ranked overall prospect.

“He earned the call-up,” Chicago manager David Ross said Monday. “Big outfield here, definitely can play some defense, steal a base. He’ll get some starts mixed in; he can definitely help us out.”

Crow-Armstrong entered Monday’s game in the seventh inning as a pinch runner and recorded a sacrifice bunt in the ninth.

Pitching is always a hot topic playing in Denver, and the Cubs hope Assad can rise to the moment in his first career start at Coors Field. He is coming off a Thursday start against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and he took the loss in a 6-2 game after giving up three runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings.

He has faced the Rockies once in his career, on Sept. 18, 2022, at Wrigley Field. He took the loss after allowing four runs on two hits and four walks in two innings.

Colorado (51-92) has dropped five straight and is headed for its first 100-loss season but is still trying to take something out of a disappointing campaign. Kris Bryant returned to the lineup on Monday and went 1-for-4 after missing nearly two months with a broken left index finger, and the young lineup continues to battle.

The Rockies took a 4-3 lead into the ninth inning on Monday but couldn’t hold it. Nolan Jones, who threw out Seiya Suzuki at the plate for his 15th outfield assist of the season, missed an opportunity late in the game when he couldn’t haul in a leadoff double by Dansby Swanson that opened the door for a two-run rally in the ninth.

“I made a mistake,” Jones said. “The ball should have been caught, and it cost us the game. … I want to make that play, I want to win every game we can, but there are a lot of positives.”

Despite owning the worst record in the National League, Colorado can be a huge factor in the postseason race. Of their 19 remaining games, 16 are against teams with playoff aspirations.

Flexen can put his mark on the postseason picture Tuesday night. He will face the Cubs for the fifth time in his career — his second start — and is 0-1 with a 12.79 ERA against them.

–Field Level Media