The Yankees got back in the win column on Tuesday, taking down the Blue Jays, 6-5.
Here are the takeaways…
1. Jordan Montgomery walked the first three batters he faced. But he did retire the next three (one was a sac fly, so the Yanks did trail 1-0 after one). But Bo Bichette cranked a solo homer on the first pitch of the third inning to give Toronto a 2-1 lead. After allowing three-straight two-out singles in the fourth, Gary Sanchez allowed a passed ball that gave the Blue Jays a 3-2 lead. Then, Bichette drove in two with a single that increased their lead to 5-2. In all, the lefty tossed 5.1 innings, allowing five runs, four of them earned, on five hits while walking four and striking out four. It was a lot of soft contact given up, but undesirable results.
2. But the offense picked up Montgomery throughout the night. Gary Sanchez kept up his hot hitting, blasting a solo home run to tie the game at one in the second. Chris Gittens got his first MLB hit – a solo shot of his own in the fourth that tied the game at two. Sanchez also ripped a double that put men in scoring position with Miguel Andujar at the plate. Andujar grounded out, but drove in a run to make it 5-3 into the sixth inning.
3. Brett Gardner squeaked a leadoff home run in the sixth to cut the Blue Jays’ lead to a run. DJ LeMahieu followed up with a double. He advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored on another to tie it up at five. With runners on first and second and two outs, Sanchez grounded out to third to end the rally.
4. In the eighth, Andujar opened up the inning with a single, and he was pinch-ran for by Tyler Wade. Clint Frazier pinch-hit for Gardner, and after Wade stole second, Frazier roped a double down the left-field line to give the Yankees a 6-5 lead.
5. Jonathan Loaisiga entered the game in the seventh and faced some trouble, having runners on first and second with one out. But he induced a 6-4-3 double play to Yankee killer Randal Grichuk to halt the threat.
6. Zack Britton entered the game in the eighth inning for his second appearance of the season. He ran into trouble of his own, though, as he also had runners on first and second with one out, and the bases loaded with two outs and Bichette up. But Bichette left the bases juiced as he flew out to right to end the inning.
7. After back-to-back rough outings, Aroldis Chapman retired the side to end the game.
What’s next
Gerrit Cole will take the bump for the Yankees at 7:07 p.m. on Wednesday in Buffalo, while the Blue Jays will return with Ross Stripling.