"Pressure’s something you put in your tires" - Toronto Blue Jays star pitcher Alek Manoah showing no fear ahead of his first career playoff start against the Seattle Mariners

Toronto Blue Jays ace Alek Manoah is raring to go. The All-Star starting pitcher will be called on to lead the Blue Jays' postseason ambitions against the Seattle Mariners. Toronto will hope to take advantage of the chance to play at the Rogers Centre infront of a packed house on Friday.

Manoah is relatively young to be handed the opening game. The 24-year-old is in his second major league season. He has started just 51 games in his short career and pitched only 308.1 total innings.

The magnitude of the situation, however, doesn't seem to be affecting Manoah though. When asked about his nerves before the game, he had a confident answer ready to go.

"Alek Manoah: 'Pressure’s something you put in your tires,'" said Manoah.

Manoah smiled as he responded to the reporter's questions. He seemed calm and composed. Those are the qualities a starting pitcher requires in the postseason.

"We got a whole country routing for us. There's going to be a lot of excitement. It's going to be an amazing atmosphere," added Manoah.

The Blue Jays begin their best-out-of-three game series against the Mariners on Friday afternoon. The environment will be electric for a fanbase that has had to wait patiently for success. The Blue Jays won their last World Series in 1993. They last appeared in the playoffs in 2020 but lost in the first round to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Alek Manoah is considered one of the premier young pitchers in the majors. He has proven his ability to pitch in big situations. The eleventh overall pick in the 2019 MLB was a quick study. After spending a brief stint in the minors, the organization realized his potential and promoted him to the majors in May 2021.

All-Star Alek Manoah will start his first career playoff game against the Seattle Mariners at Rogers Centre

Alek Manoah of the Toronto Blue Jays looks on prior to a game at Tropicana Field

Alek Manoah has a 16-7 record after 31 starts in 2022. His impressive 2.24 ERA ranks fourth in the league among starting pitchers. After 196.2 innings, Manoah has 180 strikeouts and has allowed just 16 home runs. He leads the Blue Jays starting rotation in ERA, innings pitched, WHIP and opponent batting average.

Manoah pitched so well in the first half of the season that he earned a call-up to his first MLB All-Star game.

Whether Manoah can handle the pressure of playoff baseball is a whole different story. At such a young age, the Toronto Blue Jays are taking a big gamble starting him in game one. He will be thrown into the deep end in his first playoff appearance. Hopefully, the pressure of the occasion does not get to him.