Series Recap: Yankees Sweep The Jays
Photo Via: Associated PressLast season, the last place the Yankees wanted to play baseball was at Sahlen Field in Buffalo (or maybe the Trop). In their first trip to Buffalo this season, it was a whole different story. This time, fans were allowed in and it was a HEAVY pro-Yankees crowd. Every game put you on the edge of your seat, but each time the Yankees gutted out the victory.
Game 1 (Yankees 6, Blue Jays 5)
Bases loaded and nobody out in the first inning. That is a pitcher’s nightmare. It is also exactly what happened to Jordan Montgomery. The lefty could not find the strike zone, as everything he threw ran arm-side towards the left-handed batter’s box (this happened in a start against the Rays in April at Tropicana Field where he plunked a couple batters and the Rays got upset). He loaded the bases on walks for Teoscar Hernández. After the weekend the Blue Jays had at Fenway Park, anyone watching this game was ready for 3+ runs here. Instead, Hernández hit a sacrifice fly to bring in a run, but that was all the Jays would get. Randal Grichuk popped out and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. grounded out to end the inning.
The Yankees struck right back. The Kraken led off the second inning with an absolute bomb that left Sahlen Field and tied the game 1-1.
The Blue Jays’ lineup turned back over and unfortunately that meant Bo Bichette got to bat again in the third inning. He took launch against Montgomery and gave the Jays a 2-1 lead.
The Yankees answered back AGAIN off of Hyun-Jin Ryu. This time, it was special. Hard Hittin’ Chris Gittens delivered his first major league hit and home run on one swing. He put a charge into the baseball and nearly parked it on the freeway to tie the game once again.
The 4th inning was one to forget for the Montgomery-Sánchez battery. A walk and a pair of singles loaded the bases for Bo Bichette. The first pitch of the at bat deflected off of Gary’s glove on a fly and went all the way to the backstop for a passed ball. One run scored and the other runners advanced 90 feet each. Bichette got ahead in the count 3-1, then lined a single to left field to give Toronto a 5-2 lead.
Gumby got Vlad Jr. to strike out and end the inning with the score 5-2, but the 2021 Yankees did not implant confidence into most fans that this would turn into a comeback win. The Yankees’ bats disagreed. In the top of the 6th, Miguel Andújar hit a ground ball to second base and the Blue Jays traded the out for a run (Urshela scored, who had singled earlier in the inning and moved to third on a Sánchez double). The inning ended with the Yankees down 5-3.
In the top of the 7th, Brett Gardner took a big hack and just got the ball over the right field wall for a solo shot and made the score 5-4. It’s a ballgame!
D.J. LeMahieu then doubled and advanced to third base on a wild pitch during an Aaron Judge strikeout. While Gleyber Torres was up, LeMahieu advanced AGAIN on a wild pitch to score the tying run!
The Blue Jays put two runners on base against Jonathan Loáisiga with one out, and Lasagna induced this HUGE double play to get out of it.
In the top of the 8th, Miguel Andújar led off the inning with a single, which was followed up by a Chirs Gittens strikeout. Manager Aaron Boone decided to make some changes, so he brought in Tyler Wade to pinch run for Andújar and Clint Frazier to pinch hit for Brett Gardner against Toronto’s lefty Tim Mayza. Blue Jays’ manager Charlie Montoyo countered by bringing in righty reliever Jordan Romano from the bullpen. Boone won the chess match, as Wade stole second and was instantly driven in by a clutch RBI double from Clint Frazier.
In the bottom of the 8th, Boone went to recently activated Zack Britton to get 3 outs. Britton ended up loading the bases with 2 outs for Bo Bichette — shocker! After falling behind in the count 3-1, Britton got Bichette to foul a ball away. With a full count and 2 outs, all of the runners were in motion and there was no place to put Bichette. Britton delivered and Bichette flied a ball to right field, which landed right in Aaron Judge’s glove for the third out.
The 9th inning was a little easier. Aroldis Chapman was not throwing as hard as we have seen earlier this season, but he was throwing hard enough and using his nasty splitter and slider combination to keep hitters off balance. Chapman got the 1-2-3 inning and the Yankees won 6-5!
Yankee of the Day: Chris Gittens (1): 1 for 4, HR, R, RBI. First career hit and home run.
Game 2 (Yankees 3, Blue Jays 2)
The pitching matchup was lopsided on paper, but it turned out to be quite a duel. Ross Stripling came into the game with a 4.91 ERA and was set to face off against Gerrit Cole. The Yankees scratched a run across early, but did not enjoy the lead for long.
Marcus Semien put an equalizer in the parking lot. Now, it was a ballgame. But the offenses did not carry their first inning momentum throughout the night.
The next run for either team was an opposite field home run off the bat of Cavan Biggio. The Blue Jays took a 2-1 lead in the 5th inning.
In the top of the 6th, Giancarlo Stanton hit a slow roller at third baseman Joe Panik, who tried to make a throw on the run that sailed high. Pitcher Ross Stripling had a brief meltdown on the field and later apologized for doing so. In the meantime, Giancarlo Stanton barreled right into Vlad Guerrero Jr., and it is amazing to see that those two big bodies colliding resulted in no harm.
In the top of the 7th, Aaron Boone had a decision to make. Kyle Higashioka was due up with a runner on first base and one out. Boone elected to pinch-hit Gary Sánchez for Higgy and boy, did it pay off. Sánchez hit a towering go-ahead bomb beyond the confines of the field and the Yankees led 3-2!
Gary proceeded to catch two frames for Gerrit Cole and the Yankees took a 1-run lead into the bottom of the 9th with Aroldis Chapman in for the save.
With runners on second and third with one out, Gary Sánchez made a spectacular play in the field to get Vlad Jr. out at third base, erasing the lead runner.
Yankees win, 3-2!
Yankee of the Day: Gerrit Cole (4): 8 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 4 K, W.
Game 3 (Yankees 8, Blue Jays 4)
Michael King versus T.J. Zeuch is not a matchup you expect to see in October, but this June game is fairly important in its own right. The Yankees were playing for a sweep and the Jays wanted to avoid losing three in a row against divisional foes.
A walk, a single, and a wild pitch put the Blue Jays in great position to score first in the very first inning. With runners on second and third with nobody out, a run was bound to score in the inning. Instead, the Yankees miraculously turned their second triple play of the season!
The Yankees then got on the scoreboard with some help from the Blue Jays’ defense.
Gio Urshela added to the lead with a 2-run moonshot. His 9th home run of the season went a long way. He even added a defensive gem to his highlight reel right after the homer.
The Yankees fell behind after 4 unanswered runs by the Blue Jays, which could have been 6 if not for this absolutely insane home run robbery by Aaron Judge. This will be up there for play of the year.
The Yankees took advantage of the Judge robbery and the poor Toronto bullpen when Giancarlo Stanton drilled one to the opposite field to give the Bombers the lead.
Aaron Boone pressed another button correctly. This time Gittens delivered off the pine.
The Yankees did not have the same bullpen problems that Toronto did. Part of the reason why that is true is because Jonathan Loáisiga is spectacular.
With Chapman coming off back-to-back days of work, Zack Britton got the call to close it out and it went smoothly. Yanks win, 8-4!
Yankee of the Day: Gio Urshela (6): 3 for 5, HR, 2B, 3 R, 2 RBI. Putout and assist on triple play.
Series Talking Points
Triple Play: The Yankees turned another triple play! Are you kidding! There is not much to add but it just is worth its own mention. It is the first time in franchise history that the Yankees turned two triple plays in one season. Wild.
Gleyber Torres Injury: Gleyber Torres exited the third game with lower back stiffness. He is in the lineup for the Friday matchup. Hopefully, it is not anything reoccurring because the Yankees are thin at options for the shortstop position.
Series Totals
Hitting
D.J. LeMahieu: 3 for 12 (.250 AVG), 3 BB (.400 OBP), 2 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 K (.733 OPS), 0 SB
Giancarlo Stanton: 3 for 10 (.300 AVG), 3 BB (.429 OBP), 0 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 K (1.029 OPS), 0 SB
Aaron Judge: 2 for 13 (.154 AVG), 1 BB (.214 OBP), 0 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 7 K (.368 OPS), 0 SB
Gio Urshela: 4 for 13 (.308 AVG), 1 BB (.357 OBP), 4 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 4 K (.973 OPS), 0 SB
Gleyber Torres: 0 for 9 (.000 AVG), 2 BB (.182 OBP), 0 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 K (.182 OPS), 0 SB
Gary Sánchez: 4 for 11 (.364 AVG), 1 BB (.417 OBP), 4 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 K (1.417 OPS), 0 SB
Clint Frazier: 1 for 1 (1.000 AVG), 0 BB (1.000 OBP), 0 R, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 K (3.000 OPS), 0 SB
Brett Gardner: 2 for 9 (.222 AVG), 2 BB (.364 OBP), 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 3 K (.919 OPS), 0 SB
Kyle Higashioka: 0 for 2 (.000 AVG), 0 BB (.000 OBP), 0 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 K (.000 OPS), 0 SB
Chris Gittens: 2 for 5 (.400 AVG), 0 BB (.333 OBP), 1 R, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 K (1.333 OPS), 0 SB
Miguel Andújar: 2 for 11 (.182 AVG), 2 BB (.308 OBP), 1 R, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 1 K (.490 OPS), 0 SB
Rougned Odor: 1 for 7 (.143 AVG), 0 BB (.143 OBP), 1 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 3 K (.286 OPS), 0 SB
Tyler Wade: 0 for 3 (.000 AVG), 0 BB (.000 OBP), 1 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 K (.000 OPS), 1 SB
Pitching
Jordan Montgomery: 5.1 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 1 HR, 4 Ks, 6.75 ERA
Gerrit Cole: 8 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 2 HR, 4 Ks, W, 2.25 ERA
Michael King: 4.1 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 0 HR, 1 K, 6.23 ERA
Luis Cessa: 0.2 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 1 Ks, 0.00 ERA
Lucas Luetge: 0.2 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 1 K, 13.50 ERA
Jonathan Loáisiga: 2.2 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 3 Ks, W, 0.00 ERA
Chad Green: 1.1 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 2 Ks, W, 0.00 ERA
Zack Britton: 2 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 0 HR, 0 Ks, 0.00 ERA
Aroldis Chapman: 2 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 2 Ks, 2 SV, 0.00 ERA
Brooks Kriske: No appearances.
Nestor Cortes Jr.: No appearances.
Wandy Peralta: No appearances.
Jameson Taillon: No appearances.
Domingo Germán: No appearances.