The Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 on Wednesday night, thanks to a strong outing from ace Gerrit Cole and clutch hitting by Gary Sanchez.
Here are the takeaways…
– DJ LeMahieu reached first on an error, Aaron Judge singled, and Gleyber Torres walked to load the bases for Giancarlo Stanton in the first inning. Stanton drove home a run on a sacrifice fly to right field. That would be the Yanks only run, though, as Gio Urshela and Miguel Andujar both flied out.
– Cole didn’t get off to the start he’d like, allowing a leadoff home run to Marcus Semien to tie the game at 1-1. After a single by Bo Bichette, Cole got Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to ground into a double play, and then struck out Randal Grichuk to end the inning.
– Cole let up another solo homer with one out in the fifth inning, this time to Cavan Biggio, as the Blue Jays took a 2-1 lead.
– Andujar singled to lead off the seventh inning, and with one out Aaron Boone chose to pinch-hit Gary Sanchez for Kyle Higashioka. Sanchez capitalized on the moment and launched a 3-1 pitch beyond the left field wall to give the Yanks a 3-2 lead.
– Despite allowing two home runs, Cole stayed in the game and mowed the Blue Jays down. He allowed four hits and two runs with four strikeouts over 8.0 IP and 104 pitches.
– Aroldis Chapman came in for the save and let up a single to Guerrero Jr. to start the ninth inning. Teoscar Hernandez doubled to right, as the Blue Jays had runners on second and third with no outs. Chapman then struck out Grichuk for the first out. Santiago Espinal hit a ground ball back to the mound and Chapman threw home to Sanchez, who then threw it to third to get a diving Guerrero out in time. The closer got Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to hit a line drive to center to end the game.
Highlights
What’s next
The Yankees wrap up their three-game series with the Blue Jays on Thursday at 7:07 p.m. at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, N.Y.
Michael King (0-3, 3.77 ERA) gets the start for New York, while Toronto is yet to announce a starter.