Yankees Split Four Game Set With the Toronto Blue Jays
The New York Yankees faced off against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first game of a four game set at Yankee Stadium. Jameson Taillon made his first start of the season against Aleck Manoah of the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays took a 2-0 lead in the third inning from a George Springer two run homer. Taillon would not give up anything else in this outing. He pitched a solid five inning with six strikeouts while allowing two runs. Other than the mistake to Springer, Taillon pitched fantastic. The solid outing from Taillon is an encouraging sign for things to come. Unfortunately the Yankees bats could not get anything going. Manoah completely shut them down. Manoah pitched six shutout innings with seven K’s. Mike King came on for the Yanks after Taillon. The Blue Jays tacked on another run in the seventh from a George Springer RBI double. King threw 2.2 innings while allowing one run, and Ron Marinaccio threw 1.1 shutout innings. While the Yankees pitching staff kept the game completely in reach, the Yankees bats were silent all night long. The Yankees went down quietly as they dropped one of the four game set by a score of 3-0.
Nestor Cortes toed the slab in game two of this four game set against Toronto. The Yankees struck first with an Aaron Hicks two run homer in the second inning. The Yankees tacked on another run in the fourth when DJ Lemahieu scored on a throwing error by the catcher. On the other side of the ball, Nestor Cortes was absolutely sensational. Cortes picked up right where he left off in 2021, and he proved that 2021 was no fluke. Cortes threw 4.1 scoreless innings with five strikeouts. Boone questionably pulled Cortes in the fifth inning after his electric four innings of work. Clay Holmes came in for relief, and he threw 1.2 shutout innings. Miguel Castro threw a scoreless seventh inning, and Jonathan Loaisiga threw a scoreless eighth. The Yankees added another run in the bottom of the eighth with a Giancarlo Stanton sac fly. Aroldis Chapman pitched the ninth for the Yanks as they secured the 4-0 win over the Jays to tie the season up at a game a piece.
Gerrit Cole took the ball in game three of the four game set against the Blue Jays. Cole looked to bounce back after his shaky start against Boston on opening day. Cole faced off against Jose Berrios for the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays scored first from a solo home run by Vladamir Guerrero in the first. The ball seemed to be kept in play by Aaron Hicks, but after review the ball was said to have gone over the wall for a home run. In the bottom of the second Aaron Hicks sprinted down the line on a ground ball. As Guerrero tried to pick the ball at first, Hicks stepped on Vladdy’s hand. After Vladdy was spiked it seemed that he was exiting the game, but he stayed in the game. The very next inning Vladdy stepped up to the plate and absolutely scorched a baseball into the back of the bullpen for a two run homer, and the Jays took a 3-0 lead. The Yankees came storming back in the fifth inning when Anthony Rizzo and Aaron Judge hit back to back home runs to make it a one run game. Later that inning DJ Lemahieu smoked an RBI double to tie the ballgame at 3-3.
Other than the two homers to Vladdy, Cole looked solid. He threw 5.2 innings with six strikeouts while allowing three runs. While it’s definitely an underwhelming start and now what you want out of your ace, there were some things to be encouraged about from Cole. Chad Green came on after Cole and escaped the sixth inning. In the seventh inning Loaisiga came on in relief with a runner on third and two away. Loaisiga gave up a RBI single to George Springer to give the Blue Jays a 4-3 lead. In the eighth Loaisiga gave up Vladdy’s third home run of the night to make it a 5-3 game. Later that inning Wandy Peralta came in and gave up a RBI single to Matt Chapman to make it 6-3. In the bottom of the eighth Gleyber Torres hit his first home run of the season to cut the lead to 6-4. Later that inning Giancarlo Stanton pinch hit for Isiah Kiner-Falefa as the tying runner. Stanton teased all Yankee fans when he hit the ball on what seemed to be a home run but was caught at the warning track. JP Sears made his big league debut in the top of the ninth and threw a 1-2-3 inning. In the top of the ninth with one out Anthony Rizzo got on with a bunt single and brought up Aaron Judge as the tying runner. Judge struck out, and Donaldson lined out to end the game. The Yankees dropped the third game of a four game set by a score of 6-4.
Luis Severino made his second start of the season as the Yankees looked to split the four game set against their division rival, the Toronto Blue Jays. Severino faced off against Kevin Gausman. The bottom of the order for the Yankees has failed to provide any production for the Yankee offense so far this season. The bottom of the order looked to turn that around in this game, and they did exactly that. In the third inning the eight hitter, Isiah Kiner - Falefa reached on just his second hit of the season, and he advanced to second on a balk. The nine hitter, Jose Trevino then drove IKF in with a big RBI single. Then in the fifth inning IKF doubled, and Trevino drove him in with another huge RBI single to make it a 2-0 game. On the other side of the ball Luis Severino was masterful. Severino threw an electric five scoreless innings with six strikeouts. He also struck out the scorching hot Vladamir Guerro Jr. three times. This performance really gives hope that Sevy is on his way to returning to his 2017-18 form. After Sevy’s five excellent innings, Lucas Luetge came on to pitch the sixth. Miguel Castro then came on to throw 0.2 innings, Clay Holmes then threw 0.2 innings of his own, and Chad Green then came on to also throw 0.2 innings. In the bottom of the eighth Aaron Judge roped a leadoff double. Anthony Rizzo moved Judge to third with a grounder to first. Stanton then drove Judge in with an RBI groundout to make it 3-0.
Aroldis Chapman came on for the save, but right away it was obvious he did not have it. Chapman had no control of his fastball, and he could not find the zone. Chapman walked the bases loaded and brought George Springer to the plate as the leading runner. Mike King was called on to get the Yankees out of this bases loaded and nobody out disaster. King would have to pull off a Houdini act as the Blue Jays had the top of the order coming up. King was unfazed. He struck out Springer, and then got Bichette to line out to Lemahieu. Blue Jays baserunner Matt Chapman got too far off the bag and gave DJ a chance to double him up. After the catch DJ quickly fired to first base to complete the game ending double play. Mike King did the unthinkable by getting the Yankees out of a bases loaded and nobody out jam with the best part of the order coming up. This exhilarating 3-0 win allowed the Yankees to split the four game set with Toronto, and they finished the homestand with a 4-3 record. The Yankees now head to Baltimore for a three game set at Camden Yards.
By: Riley Briggs