Alek Manoah set to return to Blue Jays’ rotation after being sent to minors

CHICAGO — Alek Manoah is set to return to the Blue Jays’ rotation after he was sent to the minors last month because he was struggling, manager John Schneider said Tuesday before the Blue Jays’ 4-3 win over the White Sox.

Manoah is scheduled to start Friday at Detroit, and All-Star Kevin Gausman will have his outing pushed back a day.

A first-time All-Star and finalist for the AL Cy Young Award last year, he is 1-7 with a 6.36 ERA in 13 starts after going 16-7 with a 2.24 ERA in 31 starts last season. The 25-year-old right-hander was sent to the Blue Jays’ Florida Complex League on June 6 after he couldn’t get out of the first inning against the Houston Astros the previous day.

“We’ve been saying all along there’s been a pretty good checklist of things we want to see,” Schneider said. “Minor tweak mechanically.

“We liked what we saw in terms of comparing it to last year as opposed to the beginning of this year. He’s in a zone.”

On Sunday, Manoah struck out 10 and allowed one run over five innings for Double-A New Hampshire against Portland.

Schneider said he will probably rejoin the team on Wednesday.

“He just wants to win, and talking to him this whole time, he just wants to be a part of it and was frustrated that he wasn’t giving our team a chance to win every time,” Schneider said. “But he wants to be here in the ups and the downs.” _