Carolina Hurricanes president and general manager Don Waddell has resigned from his position, the team announced Friday. Eric Tulsky has been named interim general manager and the team has begun a search for a full-time replacement.
The power will hopefully be back at Comerica Park on Friday as the Toronto Blue Jays look for just their second three-game winning streak of the 2024 season.
That statement can apply to the electricity at the ballpark and also the Blue Jays offence, which slugged three home runs and seven extra-base hits on the way to a series-opening 9-1 win over the Detroit Tigers on Thursday night.
Along with a chance to continue its strong play, Toronto gets a crack at redemption against Detroit’s starter Matt Manning.
Last July, Manning and relievers Jason Foley and Alex Lange combined to no-hit the Blue Jays, so they will be hoping for better results this go around against the six-foot-six righty.
Toronto’s offence has started to come around in the past week, scoring nine runs in three of its last four games. Of course, the level of competition hasn’t quite been the same as the Blue Jays were used to facing after owning the toughest schedule in baseball entering the week.
However, results are results, and Toronto has gotten them from up and down its roster. Most notably, the top of the Blue Jays lineup has been producing.
Bo Bichette is 9-for-16 this week with four extra-base hits, Daulton Varsho has two home runs and a triple, Danny Jansen is five-for-12 with a trio of extra-base hits and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. slugged a double and home run in Thursday’s win.
“It’s been nice to see the home runs, and it’s been nice to see the doubles,” manager John Schneider said to Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith post-game. “And it’s the usual characters that are getting going, in Bo and Vlad. You could kind of get used to this.”
Toronto’s bats aren’t the only thing looking to stay hot on Friday, as Alek Manoah will make his fourth start of the season, entering play with a 0.00 ERA over his last two starts.
On Sunday, Manoah carved the Tampa Bay Rays to the tune of seven strikeouts over seven innings, allowing just one hit and one walk while tossing 103 pitches and 69 strikes.
The 26-year-old earned his first MLB win since August and built on an encouraging second start off the injured list from May 12 against the Minnesota Twins.