The Yankees closed out the series with a 4-3 walk-off win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon in the Bronx.
Here are the key takeaways…
– Following a rain delay, the Yankees and Blue Jays took things to extra innings still evened up at three, and newly acquired righty Mark Leiter Jr. did well to keep Toronto off the board in the top of the tenth. DJ LeMahieu then wasted no time coming through with a walk-off single up the middle with the infield drawn in to push the Yanks to the series victory.
– It was a rough day at the plate for Giancarlo Stanton. The Yankees’ slugger came to the plate time and time again with runners in scoring position, but he couldn’t come through in the clutch. In the first, Stanton had the bases loaded with one out, but popped out in foul territory. In the third, Stanton had runners at second and third, but grounded out sharply to first base to end the inning. Then, in the bottom of the fifth with the bases chucked once again, Stanton went down swinging. He went on to finish the day a brutal 0-for-5.
– The Jays were hitting the ball hard off of Gerrit Cole early, including a pair of doubles and a single in the second inning, as Toronto took a 2-0 lead. Perhaps more concerning, Cole was seen grabbing at his shoulder/neck area in the first inning, though that didn’t seem to ultimately be much of a factor. His velocity was strong early, as he topped out at 98.7 MPH and averaged 96.6 MPH through the first three innings.
Cole ultimately turned in a strong outing, going 5.2 innings while allowing just those two earned runs on six hits. He struck out four and did not walk a batter.
– Aaron Judge continues to get the Barry Bonds treatment. After Juan Soto was walked with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Judge was intentionally walked, moving Soto into scoring position. The Yankees would eventually load the bases, but Stanton went down swinging and the Yankees again failed to score.
Judge was intentionally walked again with two runners on and two outs in the bottom of the eighth, giving him a total of three passes on the afternoon, which is the most by a Yankee since Bernie Williams in 1999.
– The Yankees finally broke through with runners on in the sixth inning, thanks in part to a well-executed double-steal by Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Anthony Volpe. A Trent Grisham grounder scored the first run, and a LeMahieu sac fly to center tied the game.
– With the game tied in the bottom of the seventh, it was Soto who came through in the clutch, lining an opposite field home run off of lefty Ryan Yarbrough. The homer was Soto’s 28th of the season.
– The Yankees had a lot to say about home plate umpire Tripp Gibson’s strike zone, and after Austin Wells was wrung up in the bottom of the seventh, Aaron Boone was ejected for voicing his displeasure. Then, just one pitch later, hitting coach James Rowson was tossed for barking about a called strike that looked to be low.
– Tommy Kahnle struggled to lock things down in the eighth, though a Grisham error in center field didn’t help matters. Kahnle walked a pair to load the bases with one out, forcing the Yankees to turn to Clay Holmes for a potential five-out save. But Alejandro Kirk jumped on the first pitch for a sac fly to deep left, tying the game 3-3. And at that point, the tarp came out as a storm rolled in.
Who was the game MVP?
LeMahieu was hitless coming into his final at-bat, but he came through with the game-winning hit in the tenth to push the Yankees to a much-needed series victory.
Highlights
Upcoming schedule
The Yankees are off on Monday before starting a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m. in the Bronx.
Luis Gil is scheduled to face righty Davis Daniel.
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