Game highlights:
- Curtis Granderson commits the first error of the season on the first batter of the season
- Giancarlo Stanton crushes a 426 foot HR to put the Yankees ahead 2-0
- Granderson got the Blue Jays 1st hit of the season, singling off starter Luis Severino
- JA Happ pitching line: 4.2IP, 7H, 3 runs (2 earned), 1BB, 5K 96 pitches (58 for strikes)
- Yankees starter Luis Severino pitching line: 5.2IP 1H 0 runs 3BB 7K 91 pitches (60 for strikes)
- Jays reliever John Axford gave up back to back doubles to Stanton and Gary Sanchez doubling the Yankees lead
- Brett Gardener added a solo HR off Danny Barnes in the 7th
- Kevin Pillar scores the 1st Blue Jays run at lead off the 8th inning on a HR to CF
- Stanton hit his second HR of the game off Tyler Clippard
- Final score: 6-1 Yankees win.
My take:
- it was an emotional day with the retirement and honoring of Roy Halladay before the game. The Blue Jays did a great job with the ceremony.
- A big question heading into the season has been where the Blue Jays will get their runs. They were no hit through 3.1 innings before Granderson smacked a single. Things won't get any easier tomorrow with Jays killer Masahiro Tanaka on the bump. In the final game of the season in 2017, Tanaka struck out 15 Jays batters and had a no hitter going through 5 innings. The Blue Jays are healthy at the moment, save for Troy Tulowitzki so it is a concern that the best lineup can't produce. It's one game yes, but the Blue Jays can't have an April like last season.
- Concerns about the health of Josh Donaldson? He had a shoulder issue earlier in spring training. Today he made 2 tentative throws from 3rd base.
- A new stat to keep an eye on this season: mound visits. Each team is allowed 6 mound visits (a mound visit counts as any visit by the catcher, a coach or a fielder). Subsequent mound visits require a pitching change. By the middle of the 5th inning, both teams had used 5 of the 6 allowable mound visits
- debuts by the new players:
- LF Curtis Granderson flubbed the first flyball of the game hit his way. He also got the first hit of the season for Toronto. He also struck out and walked.
- SS Almedys Diaz was 0-3 at the plate. He did fine defensively turning a nice DP with Devon Travis
- RF Randall Grichuk was 0-3 at the plate with one strikeout. He did fine defensively
- John Axford gave up back to back doubles before striking out Aaron Hicks in 1/3 inning work
- Seung-hean Oh gave up a hit, committed a fielding error and struck out a batter in an inning of work
- Tyler Clippard gave up a HR and struck out a batter in his inning of work
- Not a lot to hang your hat on in this one. Certainly, the Blue Jays will be disappointed with the result. The big question has to be the health of JD. Will he be in the lineup tomorrow and if so at what position? If Donaldson can't play in the field tomorrow, look for one of Yangervis Solarte or Gift Ngoepe to make their Blue Jays debut tomorrow. Luke Maille will also likely make his first start of the season sometime this series.
- The beauty of baseball is you play tomorrow. Time to forget this one and look ahead to tomorrow.
