Alex Verdugo to face Alek Manoah for the first time since April comments: 'I think Alek Manoah goes about it the wrong way; 100 percent I think he does'

Image courtesy of Sports Illustrated

The Red Sox will play Game 3 of their four-game series against the Blue Jays from Fenway Park on Wednesday night. Toronto will have its ace, the electric Alex Manoah on the mound. This will be the first time Manoah will face the Red Sox following Alex Verdugo’s comments on him back in early April.

During an appearance on the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast with Audacy’s Rob Bradford, Verdugo said he's a fan of on-field celebrations in general but believes Manoah's antics cross the line.

"If it's a genuine reaction and it’s for the boys, not directed towards somebody, then yeah (it’s fine)," Verdugo told Bradford. "Like, I’ll say it right now, I think Alek Manoah goes about it the wrong way; 100 percent I think he does."

These comments were specifically referenced after Manoah’s July outing against the Red Sox last season, where he yelled at Franchy Cordero and Bobby Dalbec after striking them out.

"You can find videos of him, footage of him in Triple-A going like this to hitters, last year, telling Franchy and Bobby like go sit, s--- like that and looking right at them," Verdugo said of Manoah.

"So it’s s--- like that just pisses me off. It’s not the way it should be played. It should be played like you’re celebrating it with your team, you’re not f---ing disrespecting another player who is -- at the end of the day we’re just trying to compete, that’s it."

It’ll be interesting to see what happens in Verdugo’s first at-bat leading off for Boston. The passionate outfielder is coming off his MLB-leading 3rd walk-off RBI this season and 8th in his career. He recorded his 5th walk-off RBI since the start of 2021, tied for most in the AL during that span (Aaron Judge-6).

Manoah who is one of the game’s best young starters told Toronto Sun’s reporter Rob Longley, “Coming from him? I don’t give a (expletive).”

“My job is to pitch and get guys out,” added Manoah.

The first pitch will be at 7:10 from Fenway Park and it will be must see television for Verdugo’s at-bats against Manoah in Wednesday night’s contest.

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