The Yankees saw Corey Kluber leave with a shoulder injury after three innings, as the Blue Jays came away with a 6-2 win.
Here are some key takeaways …
– Johnny Vander Meer’s record of two straight no-hitters will stand for another day. Corey Kluber got through two innings without allowing a hit, but Bo Bichette led off the top of the third with an infield single, as Gleyber Torres did all that he could to make the throw from deep short, but Bichette beat the throw. Next up, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. blasted a two-run homer, giving the Jays a 2-0 lead and ending the Yankees starting pitching scoreless streak at 37.1 innings.
Kluber, though, abruptly came out of the game after three innings and 58 pitches, replaced on the mound by Michael King, who was promptly greeted by Lourdes Gurriel Jr. crushing a solo home run to right-center to make it a 3-0 game.
Later, the Yankees announced that Kluber left the game due to tightness in his right shoulder, and that he will be further evaluated and receive an MRI on Wednesday. He walked three batters and didn’t have great command, and shoulder tightness is certainly a concern for Kluber, who pitched just one inning in 2020 due to a shoulder injury.
– King got into a jam in the fifth, as Guerrero and Teoscar Hernandez singled to start the inning. But he was able to work out of it thanks to a strikeout, a flyout, and a grounder right back to the mound. He performed the same escape act in the sixth, forcing a pair of groundouts to third to get out a second-and-third, one-out jam.
King gave the Yankees three solid innings of relief, allowing one earned run on six hits while escaping a couple of tight spots.
– Lucas Luetge was next out of the pen for the Yankees, but he loaded the bases with one out in the seventh inning to start his night. With the infield in, pinch-hitter Santiago Espinal rolled a grounder to short. Torres tried to come home, but his throw was wild, allowing two Jays to score.
– Yankees hitters did not have any answers for Steven Matz, as the former Met dazzled on the mound, striking out 10 hitters. He ran out of gas in the seventh with two outs though, as he gave up a Clint Frazier double and a Kyle Higashioka RBI single. Matz went 6.2 innings, allowing one earned on six hits.
– The Jays added an insurance run in the ninth, as Randal Grichuk took Justin Wilson deep.
-Overall, it was a quiet night for Yankees hitters. Frazier had a pair of hits a scored a run, and Higashioka drove in both runs, but the Yankees had just three runners in scoring position all night and struck out 13 times.
What’s next
The Yankees and Jays continue their three-game set on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m., as Domingo German takes the mound against righty Alek Manoah, who will make his major league debut.