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Manoah's much-hyped Blue Jays debut delayed by Mother Nature

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Charlie Montoyo can’t get into Alek Manoah’s head.

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And even if he could, Montoyo isn’t sure what thoughts would have been percolating as the young right-hander — one of baseball’s top pitching prospects — anticipated a Blue Jays debut that was pushed back until Thursday.

As only Mother Nature can do, Wednesday’s Jays-Yankees game in the Bronx, which would have provided the backdrop to Manoah’s coming-out party, was postponed due to inclement weather.

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There has seen a lot of hype and over Manoah’s first Jays start, anticipation mixed in with trepidation, the big youngster’s lack of experience.

What kind of impact an extra night’s sleep will have on Manoah will soon be determined, which is why Montoyo wasn’t going to wade into the inevitable and predictable question of what he thought was running through the mind of Toronto’s newest fireballer.

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“I’m sure he wanted to pitch,’’ said Montoyo, the Jays manager. “He had a lot of family coming here. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

A one-day delay shouldn’t have a bearing on how Manoah handles himself amid so much scrutiny.

Had Wednesday’s game not been postponed, the media spotlight would have been squarely focused on Manoah with the Leafs-Habs series on an off-night before resuming on Thursday night

As such, the Jays — who will play a doubleheader against the Yankees —will be second fiddle to the Leafs, but that likely won’t prevent a certain network whose parent company owns the baseball team from hyping Manoah to the point of overkill.

His first pitch on Thursday is scheduled for 4:05 p.m.

Montoyo confirmed that veteran Robbie Ray will start the back end of the seven-inning double dip, an approximate start time of 30 minutes after the opener ends and no earlier than 7:05 p.m.

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The Yankees will counter with Domingo German in Game 1 and Jordan Montgomery in Game 2.

Toronto has won five of seven matchups against New York this season, including a 6-2 win in Tuesday’s series opener.

Manoah oozes confidence and one suspects he’d be perfectly content to debut in any ball park.

The fact that it is such an iconic venue such as Yankee Stadium only adds to the marquee.

Much like Madison Square Garden where every visiting hoopster seems to bring his best game to the floor, there’s a baseball buzz in the air around visiting teams when they visit the Bronx.

Just ask left-hander Steven Matz, who helped Toronto end its six-game losing streak on Tuesday.

Matz, who hails from Stony Brook, N.Y., had his dad and uncle in the stands on Tuesday. He reached 96.4 mph on his fastball — up from an average of 94.7 coming into the evening — an uptick he attributed to the excitement of pitching in the Big Apple.

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“It’s fun coming back here, just being around the city and the pulse of New York,” said the former Met. “You definitely feel the energy.”

Matz, who improved to 6-2, entered the evening with an 8.25 ERA in three appearances in the Bronx.

He yielded six hits, struck out a season-high 10 and didn’t give up a walk. There was no hype surrounding Matz’s return to Gotham, but he performed.

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The Manoah hype machine began in spring training when he turned heads twice with dominating performances against the Yankees.

Each outing provided an impetus for Manoah, whose call-up has provided plenty of talking points, good and bad.

There’s a need on a thin Jays starting staff, but there’s also Manoah’s lights-out body of work at triple-A, albeit a small sample size.

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The kid figures to summon everything he has and a delay only adds to the intrigue.

“I’ve continued to learn hitters, continued to learn their approach, continued to learn how they’re trying to beat me,” Manoah explained earlier in the week.

“I’m understanding what hitters are reading in the scouting report going into the game and stuff like that. And I’m not letting that take me out of my groove.

“I’m understanding that hitters might know the heater is coming or the slider, whatever the case may be in certain counts, but the stuff plays. I’ll continue to have confidence in that.”

Bo Bichette was featured on a pre-game Zoom call before Wednesday’s game was postponed and was asked about Manoah’s debut.

“It’s exciting,’’ said the Jays shortstop. “He competes, he brings a lot of excitement and it’ll be fun to watch him pitch.”

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Bichette was Manoah’s teammate when the two played in an all-American game in 2015.

“He’s always been a good dude,’’ said Bichette. “He brings a lot of energy off the field. He’s a good guy and it’s good to have him here.”

As Bichette sees it, young guys are always trying to showcase their talents in big league camps.

“And obviously he took advantage of that,’’ added Bichette, who believes being in The Show is still the best training ground for a young player. “Coming up in the big leagues and doing well gives you the confidence you need.

“Manoah has a lot of talent.”

THE VLAD SHOW

Bichette has seen Vladimir Guerrero Jr. launch bombs at every level, having a front-row seat to the fireworks.

“All of us knew what he was capable,” said Bichette. “It’s really not surprising. It’s fun to watch, it’s something special.”

Vlad Jr. stroked his MLB-leading 16th homer in Tuesday night’s win.

He’s batting .400 and driven in four runs in seven games against the Bronx Bombers this season.

fzicarelli@postmedia.com

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