GUYS MAKING THEIR DE-BOOS
It was a tough day for a number of players making their Blue Jays debuts. Left-fielder Curtis Granderson dropped a routine fly by Brett Gardner leading off the game, resulting in Giancarlo Stanton’s home run later in the inning becoming a two-run shot.
Simcoe, Ont., native John Axford made his Jays debut in relief of J.A. Happ and gave up back-to-back doubles by Stanton and Gary Sanchez, allowing Aaron Judge and Stanton to score. Right-handed reliever Seung-hwan Oh pitched the eighth and while he didn’t give up any runs, he did give up a single and picked up an error when he dropped a Neil Walker dribbler when he went to throw the ball to first. Left-fielder Randal Grichuk went 0-for-3. Tyler Clippard gave up a homer to Stanton in the ninth.
“You know what? We like them all,” said Gibbons of the club’s newcomers. “(Yankees starter Luis) Severino, when he’s on, he’s dominating. He just keeps getting better and better every year.
“Pitching-wise, (the Yankees) are good. And (the Rogers Centre) is not an easy place to pitch, in this ballpark or really in this division, and that’s part of it,” Gibbons added. “But it’s good, though, to get everybody out there as soon as possible. I don’t care how long you’ve been pitching or playing this game, there’s still nerves, it’s a new season. It usually takes an appearance or two to really settle into your norm.”