Blue Jays forced to pull Alek Manoah from game after manager's careless mistake

Manager John Schneider and the Toronto Blue Jays made an embarrassing mistake Saturday that forced them to pull starter Alek Manoah from the game sooner than they would have liked to.

Schneider was forced to pull Manoah during the sixth inning of Saturday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles after mistakenly making a second mound visit during the inning. By rule, teams are entitled to one mound visit per inning for a conference, and the pitcher must be removed on the second visit of an inning.

Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker had visited Manoah earlier in the inning after a one-out single in a 2-2 game. Manoah then hit a batter and recorded a strikeout, at which point Schneider emerged from the dugout. The manager clearly had no intention of removing Manoah and simply wanted to talk strategy, but crew chief Dan Iassogna had to intervene and remind Schneider that, with this being the second mound visit of the inning, Manoah would have to be removed.