The Yankees were swept by the Toronto Blue Jays in their four-game series, dropping the series finale on Thursday night by a score of 6-4.
Here are some key takeaways …
1. The Blue Jays’ powerful offense didn’t waste much time at all to get going. Nestor Cortes Jr. allowed a leadoff home run to Bo Bichette, putting Toronto up 1-0 just nine pitches into the game.
Cortes kept the Blue Jays quiet in his next three innings of work, but the Jays struck on the long ball again in the fifth, with Randal Grichuk powering one out to left field to make it a 2-0 game.
The lefty gave the Yankees six strong innings, allowing just a pair of solo home runs and six hits overall. He struck out five and didn’t walk a batter.
2. The Bombers finally got on the board in the sixth inning, and it started with a little bit of luck. An Aaron Judge check-swing grounder bounced off the third base bag for a single. Anthony Rizzo then clobbered a no-doubt two-run homer into the bleachers in right to knot the game at 2-2. Rizzo’s sixth-inning homer was the Yankees’ first extra-base hit of the night.
3. The Jays answered right back after the Rizzo blast. With Sal Romano in to pitch the seventh, he recorded the first two outs quickly before getting into trouble. After a Danny Jansen double and Jake Lamb hit-by-pitch, Bichette delivered with an RBI single to center to give the Jays a 3-2 lead. Romano then walked Marcus Semien to load the bases, but Wandy Peralta struck out Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to end the threat.
4. Aside from Rizzo’s homer, the Yankees didn’t have many answers for Jose Berrios. The former Minnesota Twin pitched into the seventh inning, going 6.2 innings while allowing just five hits. He struck out eight and walked two, with Rizzo’s two-run homer the only runs he allowed.
5. In the eighth, a costly error resulted in the Jays increasing their lead. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. rolled into what looked like an easy inning-ending double play, but Tyler Wade dropped the feed from Gleyber Torres at second base. As the inning continued, Peralta walked Jansen to force in Toronto’s fourth run of the night, one that easily could have been avoided.
6. The Bombers had a great chance to cut into the Toronto lead in the bottom of the eighth, as DJ LeMahieu and Judge both singled to put two runners on with nobody out against reliever Tim Mayza. But the wheels fell off the rally quickly as a Rizzo fielder’s choice and a Giancarlo Stanton double play ended the inning and killed any momentum the Yankees were building.
7. After that failed opportunity, Guerrero padded the Blue Jays’ lead with a solo home run, his 42nd of the year, off of Andrew Heaney to make it a three-run game. Later in the inning, Teoscar Hernandez singled and came all the way around to score on a Breyvic Valera double to shallow left center.
Gary Sanchez hit a solo home run with two outs in the ninth, and Luke Voit followed suit to make it back-to-back jacks to keep the Yankees alive for the moment, but the Bombers fell for the sixth straight time and have now lost 11 out of their last 13 games.
Highlights
What’s next
The Yankees and Mets meet for the latest edition of the Subway Series, starting with Friday’s matchup at Citi Field at 7:10 p.m. on SNY.
Jordan Montgomery will take the mound against Tylor Megill.