After being robbed of a victory by two brutal calls in the 9th (Vlad being called out diving back into 3rd base and a foul ball being called when Lourdes Gurriel Jr. clearly swung and missed) the Blue Jays were right back at it trying to salvage a game in this series. It was a bullpen day with Steven Matz on the IL after testing positive for Covid. He'll miss at least two starts as he must remain on the list at least 10 days. TJ Zeuch served as the opener tonight. Rafael Dolis, who left last night's game with no sensation in his hand, was placed on the 10-day IL with middle finger strain. Teoscar Hernandez was added to the paternity list. Outfilder Jared Hoying had his contract selected. Carl Edwards Jr. was transferred to the 60-day IL. Vlad got the half day off, serving as the DH with Rowdy Tellez at 1B. Cavan Biggio was in RF and Santiago Espinal was at the hot corner after Joe Panik's adventure last night. Reese McGuire was behind the plate. Could the Blue Jays snap the three game skid? Here is tonight's game recap.
Game Highlights:
- The Yankees opened the scoring in the top of the 1st on a fielder's choice hit by Miguel Andujar and ensuing fielding error by TJ Zeuch that scored Gio Urshela
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit into a triple play in the bottom half of the inning
- The Yankees added a pair of runs in the top of the 3rd as Urshela hammered a 2-run bomb to left; also scoring Giancarlo Stanton
- The Blue Jays got one back in the bottom half of the inning as Reese McGuire doubled scoring Santiago Espinal
- Two batters later, McGuire scored on a ground out by Bo Bichette
- TJ Zeuch pitching line: 5H 3R (2 earned) 2BB 2K 65 pitches (44 for strikes)
- The Blue Jays got one back in the bottom of the 5th on a ground out by Marcus Semien that scored Espinal
- Michael King 4.1IP 5H 3R (all earned) 2BB 1K 60 pitches (41 for strikes)
- The Blue Jays took the lead in the bottom of the 6th as Randal Grichuk singled home Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
- The Yankees added a run in the top of the 7th as Stanton hammered a 2-run bomb to right; also scoring Rougned Odor
- Five batters later, Chris Gittens singled home Gary Sanchez and Urshela
- The Yankees added a run in the 9th on a sac fly by Gittens that scored Sanchez
- Final Score: Yankees 8 Blue Jays 4
My Take:
- TJ Zeuch had an adventurous day on the mound, throwing the ball into center field for a run. He got lucky that the Yankees didn't do more damage in the 2nd inning when Brett Gardener was thrown out at home. He gave up a mammoth 2-run bomb in the 3rd to Jays killer Gio Urshela
- One day after the Blue Jays managed zero runs in the 1st inning on a 2nd and 3rd situation with no outs with Vlad being at fault for straying too far on a comebacker and then not getting back to 3rd base in time, the same situation arose in the 3rd inning. This time Vlad was at the plate and hit into a triple play and 2 of the outs were at 3rd base. Poor Vlad must be having nightmares
- Fundamentally, the Blue Jays haven't been sharp. Even though Charlie Montoyo has been sharing the DH duties, perhaps the players are getting tired or it's a learning curve thing
- Anthony Castro imploded tonight, giving up 4 runs on 5 hits in 0.1 innings
- Vlad extended his hitting streak to 8 games with a single in the 6th.
- The Blue Jays were 2-6 with runners in scoring position.
- Up next, the Blue Jays take on the Oroles. Last season, the Blue Jays were 8-2 vs. the Orioles, outscoring them 58-50. Friday will be a battle of the lefties with Robbie Ray pitching against Orioles lefty Bruce Zimmerman
