The Yankees continued their winning ways over the weekend, taking 2 out of 3 vs the Toronto Blue Jays and winning the season series vs Toronto, 7-6. The Yankees improved to 7-1 since trading for Jazz Chisholm Jr. and seem to be finding their form with guys coming back from injury as well. Let’s dive into the Yankees weekend series vs one of the most overrated teams in baseball.
8/2: Blue Jays 8, Yankees 5
Friday night’s game saw Marcus Stroman take the mound against one of his former teams and he did not have his best stuff. Stroman turned in his worst start of the year, lasting only 2 and 2/3 innings while giving up 8 hits and 7 ER. The Blue Jays held to a 7-2 lead when Stroman left the game.
The Yankee bullpen effort, led by Michael Tonkin, would only let one more run cross the plate for the remainder of the game.
In the bottom of the 5th, Anthony Volpe’s two-run shot would give the Yankees some life.
However, the Bombers would only plate one more run and dropped the first game of the series, 8-5.
The highlight of the game was Aaron Boone’s decision to bench Gleyber Torres after Torres failed to run out what could have been a double because Torres thought it was homer.
The below exchange took place in the Yankee dugout shortly before Torres was removed from the game.
Torres has become one of the main guys that Yankee fans now turn to to berate, a position previously held by Josh Donaldson and Aaron Hicks. He does seem at times very disinterested in playing, and with the constant lack of hustle plays and bone-headed errors, this will most likely be his last season in pinstripes.
8/3: Yankees 8, Blue Jays 3
Saturday’s game was a better showing for the bombers. The Yankees would strike early with a Judge homer in the 1st and a Grisham homer in the 2nd, both two-run shots, to make it 4-1 New York.
Judge’s first inning homer, which was his second of the series, then forced Blue Jays manager John Schneider to choose the coward’s route and intentionally walk Judge his next at-bat.
Anthony Volpe (including another homer) and Austin Wells would drive in another 4 runs for the Bombers to cushion their lead.
After giving up a homer to Vlad Guerrero Jr. in the top of the 1st, Yankee starter Carlos Rodon would settle down and turn in a solid outing (5 1/3 IP, 3 Hits, 3 ER, 8 K).
Improving to 12-7 on the year, Rodon also improved greatly compared to his last start against Toronto on 6/27 in which he gave up 10 Hits and 8 ER.
8/4: Yankees 4, Blue Jays 3 (F/10)
Sunday’s rubber match between the Yankees and Blue Jays saw Yankee ace Gerrit Cole take the mound against Toronto’s Yariel Rodriguez. Outside of a 2nd inning where he gave up 4 hits and 2 ER, Cole turned in a solid outing to keep the Yankees in the game.
This was Cole’s first start since the Subway Series on 7/24, where Cole’s struggles against the Mets continued.
Down 2-0 in the 6th, the Yankees would tie the game with some small ball. After two straight singles from Chisholm Jr. and Volpe followed by a double steal, a Grisham fielder’s choice and LeMahieu sac fly would plate both runners to tie the game at 2.
Then, in the bottom of the 7th, Juan Soto would do what Juan Soto does.
The Blue Jays would tie the game in the top of 8th before a 2 and a half hour rain delay would start. Luckily, since the game was being played during the day, both teams had enough time to wait it out.
The game went to extras, where newly-acquired Yankee reliever Mark Leiter Jr. would record 3 K’s and not let another run cross the plate for the Blue Jays. Ever since being traded to the Yankees, Leiter has been thrown into high-leverage situations time and time again and has continued to shine and flourish. So far, a good acquisition by Cashman and his team.
In the bottom of the 10th, DJ LeMahieu would come up with the game-winning run 90-feet away. Even in a down year, DJ delivered in the clutch against Toronto.
The Blue Jays intentionally walked Aaron Judge 3x in Sunday’s game, which has not happened for a Yankee in almost 25 years.
Upcoming Series vs Los Angeles Angels (8/6-8/8)
After taking 2 out of 3 vs Toronto, the Yankees will continue their home stand with a 3-game series vs the Angels starting on Tuesday. The Yankees will look to win their second series vs the Angels after winning their first series of the season in Anaheim back in May.
The projected pitching matchups can be seen below:
8/6: Luis Gil vs. Davis Daniel
8/7: Nestor Cortes vs. Carson Fulmer
8/8: Marcus Stroman vs. Tyler Anderson
The Yankees’ August schedule is a lot friendlier than previous months with only two remaining series vs teams above .500 (vs. Cleveland and vs. St. Louis).
This month will prove pivotal to the Yankees quest for another AL East title and will either aid or hinder their playoff positioning.
